Hospital tank

[Southpaw240]

In the process of setting up a ht for some sick fish. Can I use a 50/50 mix of new water and dt water to bypass the cycling process? If not what is the process of setting up ht. I need it asap to put fish in.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

In the process of setting up a ht for some sick fish. Can I use a 50/50 mix of new water and dt water to bypass the cycling process? If not what is the process of setting up ht. I need it asap to put fish in.

The amount of beneficial bacteria in the DT water itself is minuscule, you need something with bacteria growing on a surface - do you have any filter media you can transfer over? Otherwise, you'll need to rely on "bacteria in a bottle" products.

Jay

 

[Southpaw240]

Live rock?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Live rock?

That would work fine except that it reacts with copper medication and you won’t then be able to use the rock again except in fish only tanks.
Jay

 

[Southpaw240]

Ok that's not a problem have plenty of rock. So I understand I need to avoid the ammonia and nitrite spike of the cycling process with the fish in the tank. Does the seeding process prevent that or just make the process go faster? I really need to move the fish pretty quick.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Ok that's not a problem have plenty of rock. So I understand I need to avoid the ammonia and nitrite spike of the cycling process with the fish in the tank. Does the seeding process prevent that or just make the process go faster? I really need to move the fish pretty quick.

Tough to say- depends on fish biomass and how much rock you move over. I’ve done this by moving about a third of the rock and never saw any ammonia rise at all. You should have some ammonia remover on hand just in case.
Jay

 

[Southpaw240]

Ok thank for your help.

 

[Southpaw240]

I'm going to have more questions soon

 

[Southpaw240]

The only copper treatment I could get at the lfs was fritz Copperfield. Directions say add 1 tsp per 4 gallons. I'm suppose to gradually increase the dosage to this or will this be the starting dose?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The only copper treatment I could get at the lfs was fritz Copperfield. Directions say add 1 tsp per 4 gallons. I'm suppose to gradually increase the dosage to this or will this be the starting dose?

You need to dose the coppersafe based on the actual tank volume, not it’s rated capacity...for example, a 29 gallon tank may only hold 22 gallons of water.
You can bring coppersafe up to full strength right away, but you need to monitor things with a copper test kit.
Jay