I think I have finally realized I have to bite the bullet and deal with the problem.

[Florida Sunshine]

So, I have been in this hobby for over 20 years in one way or another (once up to 3 tanks totaling about 250 gallons of water.)
We got rid of several tanks and kept only our Oceanic 90g Tech Tank.
This tank has been through everything. I finally have the aiptasia almost beat. This week I will remove the only rock I know of in the tank that still has colonial hydroids.
The tank has MP40s for circulation, Raidon lights and is finally looking pretty good. Some soft corals growing nicely and an RBTA that is gigantic. Oh and we recently purchased a clam for the first time in a long time and it is doing pretty good so far (about 3 weeks).
Sound good right. A tank on the way to wonderfulness.
Well that is almost true. Unfortunately, I have been forced to admit that the tanks is infected with either ich or velvet. I don't have very many fish. Right now, I have only a Picasso Clown that I have had for 10 years, a flame hawk that I adore, and a gorgeous Red Sea Sailfin tang. (I know my tank is too small but it is fine for the foreseeable future.)
When we got the Sailfin it came down with something that I thought was velvet. Not having any way of treating the fish I just kept a close eye on water changes and rooted for him. It got really ugly for a while, but he made a miraculous full recovery and is absolutely gorgeous. My other fish have not shown any signs or symptoms of disease.
However I cannot add any new fish. Anything I have purchased since has either disappeared quickly or in the case of a Powder Blue Tang I bought a month ago, develop velvet type symptoms and die quickly.
If anybody is still reading I am getting ready to capture my fish and treat them in a hospital tank while leaving my tank fallow for 79 days.

 

[jolt]

You will get various opinions. I prefer trying to go ich free and QT everything, so personally I think what you plan to do makes oerfect sense,

 

[Florida Sunshine]

That post just got too long so here is where I am.
I have a 29g crappy tank with a HOB filter. I am going to set that up using water from my tank but I need to replace the filter in the HOB since the normal one has carbon in it.
I will also get a small power head for circulation in the tank.
Other than that, What will I need.

I know I need a Seachem Ammonia badge
a Hanna Copper Checker and lots of reagents.
lots of NSW and keep making more,
Copper Power? (Some kind of copper. Is this the best or does it really matter which of the types of copper I use.?)
I was going to order a simple sponge filter with an air pump and seed it in my sump for a couple of weeks. This should make sure there is enough oxygen in the tank and provide some biological filtration.
What else do I need? I am sure I am forgetting a thousand things and I want to get things ordered.
Then I have to find a light for this little tank so it can take turns being a fish QT and a Coral QT.

 

[jolt]

I just run sponges only in my HOB, no other media. I like to run an airstone, probably more important than a powerhead in my opinion. I use Copper Safe and the Hanna Checker. Ilike to run copper at salinity around 1.020 because it can oxygenate better. No experience with Copper Power personally. I do not QT coral in my fish QT tank so no light is used. I have a glass lid on my QT and a heater, HOB with sponge, and an airstone. I use PVC fittings as hiding places and keep it bare bottom. When I do QT a sand sleeper I put a pyrex dish with some sand in it in the tank, which I throw away after QT that fish. WIth this method I have QTd all kinds of wrasse, anthias, clownfish, tangs, and foxface.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

I just realized my flaw there. I am going to need 2 tanks because I can't use a copper treated tank to QT new coral. Ok added to the list. And you say Copper Power is your preference.
I'll be honest, the Hanna Checker is a game changer. I was always afraid to treat because of testing error and my eyes aren't so good. At least I will know when I am at therapeutic etc.

 

[jolt]

No, I've never used Copper Power, I use Copper Safe

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Ok, step one is done. The rock that had hydroids is now drying out outside and can be bleached later. A new rock has been put back in it's place. I'm not sure I like the scape but since the tank is going to be fallow I have plenty of time to mess with that.
Next step is to order everything I will need for the QT. I have a tank with a HOB filter to set up. I need an air pump for extra oxygen, Copper, Hanna Copper checker, ammonia alert badge, extra reagents for checker, pieces of PVC for hiding and such. Hopefully I can find all of these things in one place and get the tank set up and started before my husband comes back on Thursday.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Well headed in the right direction anyway. Ordered most non medicine needs from BRS so I will be able to seed sponges in my sump etc. oh and the Hanna Checker was ordered. Then I had to give my wallet a rest.
This QT stuff isn't cheap and I already have half of what's needed. Should be able to set up the QT and start it's cycle since I am not in a huge hurry. Hopefully I can get the qt through a quick cycle before I begin treatment.
Then, I have to catch my fish. Oh what fun that shall be. Well at least for my husband. We have a trap so we will try that first.

 

[foxt]

Just checking, you have a Picasso clown, a flame hawk, and a sailfin tang destined for the 29g to treat and then hold while your DT is laying fallow? If the trap doesn't work, it might be easier to just take out the rocks. You will have plenty of time to play with your scape!

 

[Florida Sunshine]

That is the plan. The sailfin is by far the biggest fish but even it is only 3-inches or so. I'm estimating on the size of the QT. I will fill it with tap water first to see exactly how much water it holds so I can medicate appropriately.
I just realized that my awesome water storage and exchange system is going to be a bit difficult. Usually during a water change I have a pump on a hose that puts the new water in the tank. It's going to be a bit of a challenge measuring the water and treating it first. Things to think about while I get ready for this adventure.
The good part is that none of my fish are currently showing systems so I have some time to get everything set up and ready for the QT. That should help a lot.

 

[BeejReef]

What is really frustrating is how darn expensive those stupid pvc elbows and connectors are.. lol.
I'm used to getting ripped off on fish stuff, but I think I spent more on those darn elbows that I did on my garage sale qt setup.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Do you have an old 1 gallon bottle of Tea, or water, or vinegar?
They all can be used to fill the QT to get a measurement.
Fill with 5 gallons with a mark @ the 1-2-3-4-&5 gallon mark.
Then measure between the marks so you know where the next gallon would be & you can figure the rest.

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Well finally the QT is up and cycling. Now to order those meds.
I think I decided I wanted to go with chelated copper as it is listed as easier on the fish I am going to QT. Does anybody have any suggestions on what brand to go with. I have one recommendation for copper safe but I am having difficulty finding it. Most places seem to have Copper Power (I have seen both green and blue) and/or Cupermine which isn't chelated. Any other suggestions would be welcome as would a recommended vendor if you have one.

 

[foxt]

Well finally the QT is up and cycling. Now to order those meds.
I think I decided I wanted to go with chelated copper as it is listed as easier on the fish I am going to QT. Does anybody have any suggestions on what brand to go with. I have one recommendation for copper safe but I am having difficulty finding it. Most places seem to have Copper Power (I have seen both green and blue) and/or Cupermine which isn't chelated. Any other suggestions would be welcome as would a recommended vendor if you have one.

I'd suggest Copper Power (long thread, but great read):

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Ok so I just placed my meds order. I tried to cover as many bases as reasonable.
I did discover along the way that my little QT tank is smaller than I thought. So I may get a larger tank for the fish for after they are done being medicated and the tank is still sitting fallow as it may be tough to keep 3 fish in 11 gal of water.
I bought
General Cure
Selcon
a small heater- Debated this one as I live in Florida but winter is coming and the small amount of water changes temp more quickly.
Ammonia Alert badges
Ruby Reef Rally
Prime
Copper Power
Focus
Metroplex
Kanaplex
Cuprisorb
A new HOB filter since my original one just died. This one has a bio-wheel which I think is a good thing.
Should I catch the fish first and put them in the QT to settle in and start eating, before I medicate or should I get the Copper to like 1 and then put the fish in?
They have no symptoms currently so all choices are open.

 

[jolt]

I like to get the fish settled in and eating before medicating if possible. Sometimes the meds will spoil their appetite and if they are also stressed out from new quarters then it is very difficult to recover for them. If they are not eating I will hatch some live brine shrimp and that often entices them to start. Then I mix in mysis with the live until they are eating well. When I use copper or prazi I like to bring it up slowly. Prazi several dose during a single day. Copper I spread over 4-5 days and use a Hanna meter to tell when I hit theraputic level. I do not trust blind dosing of copper.

 

[SDK]

I would second the Hanna Checker. Spend just a bit more now that you have come this far. I tried to get my copper levels correct with standard kits and found out I was under medicating when I decided to double check with the Hanna.

I would almost go so far as to call it mandatory equipment since you have a narrow acceptable range between not enough to fully work and harmful to the fish.

Good luck!

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Thank you both.
I actually did do some homework and the Hanna Copper Checker and extra reagents were part of my order from BRS so I got that. I'll admit I haven't used it yet but I don't have my copper yet. LOL
Thanks for the heads up though. The Hanna Checker is one of the reasons I have finally gotten brave enough to QT. I was just too scared to mess it up before. And I didn't have velvet in my tank before.

 

[KJoFan]

I am in the same boat as you. While majority of my fish had never shown signs of illness I had a kole tang come up with suspected velvet. I pulled all fish and put them through 14 days of therapeutic copper using copper power. My tank will sit fallow for 76 days because why not?

All my fish have graduated now to their extended stay hotel, otherwise known as a 100g Rubbermaid trough. They have heat, powerheads and a skimmer. It will hopefully get them by.

I did have one wrasse that had an issue during qt that I successfully medicated and he's fine. My yellow tang ended up with a bacterial infection that was also successfully treated. Everyone made it through.

In my case I believe it was due to uncycled qt tanks going up quickly in hopes of getting ahead of the velvet. So, there was stress involved.

But, you're equipped and have a plan and you can do it. On the upside, I also removed all my rock to catch the fish and have now re-scaped and am moving ahead. My focus now will be keeping the fish well fed as well as the corals in the system since I've removed their main nutrient source.

Good luck!

 

[foxt]

The other suggestion I would make is to not solely rely on the ammonia badge. I have had them fail to warn me before, and it is easy enough to test for ammonia with a test kit. I will still stick a badge on the tank just in case, but now I also test at times that I know there could be ammonia present.