Quarantine Tank Setup

[ws6driver]

After selling my two reef tank 3 years ago, I'm ready to get back into it again. I've learned my lessons and I'm quarantining AND preemptively treating all fish with copper power before adding them to the display tank. I LOVE Copper Power and I saved my Clownfish which were on the edge of death with it. I couldn't believe it was strong enough to kill the ich(maybe velvet?) I had yet not kill the clownfish which were hanging by a thread. I may have to do the tank transfer method for copper sensitive fish. I know that you need to eliminate cross contamination, keep tanks 10 feet away, etc.

I have a few silly questions:

1. How do you avoid cross contamination when transferring fish via the tank transfer method? I get that you're trying to move fish during the encysted stage where the cysts are stuck on solid surfaces but is it possible to accidentally scoop them up when netting your fish to move them to the other tank?

2. How do you keep the quarantine/treatment tank cycled? I plan on keeping a quarantine tank running at all times for emergencies. Is it a good idea to just keep a hardy fish in there at all time to keep the cycle going? What can you do for biological filtration? I know everyone says live rock is a no no due to it screwing up your copper concentrations by releasing it or absorbing it creating fluctuations. Perhaps this further strengthens the case for the tank transfer method: Ammonia levels probably don't accumulate enough.

3. Will emptying out a tank and letting it dry kill any ich, velvet, other major and dangerous disease?

4. Is there any method other than the tank transfer method able to treat copper sensitive fish?

5. I kept the concentration of Copper Power at no more than 2.0. I've heard many anecdotes that you need to keep it up at 2.5 There's so much conflicting advice on wheter or not 2.0 is an adequate concentration.

 

[vetteguy53081]

1- after treatment, acclimate as you would a new purchase. Freshwater dip right before introduction
2- water changes and add liquid bacteria such as bacteria xlm
3- likely not. Similar to mosquito eggs, they can resume life cycle
when wet
4- yes, hypo salinity running at 1.012-1.014
5- 2.25 is the happy medium and be sure to have a reliable copper test kit to monitor copper and no API brand either

 

[ws6driver]

Thanks. I have the Hannah checker, I love it. It's Been years since I used it. Hope it's still in calibration. It's amazing how much I have forgotten in 3 years.

Copper power saved all my fish a while back so I swear by it. What parasites can't be treated by copper? Brook?

 

[Lonestar77566]

Brook is treated with Formalin. I believe it can be used in conjunction with Copper.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I will highly recommend Hanna Checker for copper

 

[BostonReefer300]

Good answers above, Regarding keeping a QT cycled on standby, I wouldn't recommend that because of the extra effort and wasted electricity. In my QT, I run both a small HOB pinwheel filter and an air pump driven sponge filter. I keep both the pinwheel and the sponge in my DT sump. When I need my QT, I just pull those out from the sump and use them in my QT. It's probably overkill, but I usually add a small bottle of biospira too.

 

[Tamberav]

After selling my two reef tank 3 years ago, I'm ready to get back into it again. I've learned my lessons and I'm quarantining AND preemptively treating all fish with copper power before adding them to the display tank. I LOVE Copper Power and I saved my Clownfish which were on the edge of death with it. I couldn't believe it was strong enough to kill the ich(maybe velvet?) I had yet not kill the clownfish which were hanging by a thread. I may have to do the tank transfer method for copper sensitive fish. I know that you need to eliminate cross contamination, keep tanks 10 feet away, etc.

I have a few silly questions:

1. How do you avoid cross contamination when transferring fish via the tank transfer method? I get that you're trying to move fish during the encysted stage where the cysts are stuck on solid surfaces but is it possible to accidentally scoop them up when netting your fish to move them to the other tank?

2. How do you keep the quarantine/treatment tank cycled? I plan on keeping a quarantine tank running at all times for emergencies. Is it a good idea to just keep a hardy fish in there at all time to keep the cycle going? What can you do for biological filtration? I know everyone says live rock is a no no due to it screwing up your copper concentrations by releasing it or absorbing it creating fluctuations. Perhaps this further strengthens the case for the tank transfer method: Ammonia levels probably don't accumulate enough.

3. Will emptying out a tank and letting it dry kill any ich, velvet, other major and dangerous disease?

4. Is there any method other than the tank transfer method able to treat copper sensitive fish?

5. I kept the concentration of Copper Power at no more than 2.0. I've heard many anecdotes that you need to keep it up at 2.5 There's so much conflicting advice on wheter or not 2.0 is an adequate concentration.

1. Some extra transfers built into the system to be sure it gets them all.

2. Something like a sponge filter or bioballs. Don’t put a fish to live in there. Bacteria is hardy and impossible to starve. You can always ghost feed.

3. yea but needs to dry complexity.. bone dry… I let it sit bone dry for at least 48 hours. This means inside of filters and other areas that don’t dry as quickly may need longer and a fan.

4. Maybe hypo but pretty sure it doesn’t work that well on velvet.

5. it’s just for copper resistant strains and because Hannah checker does have a margin of error.

 

[Spare time]

Thanks. I have the Hannah checker, I love it. It's Been years since I used it. Hope it's still in calibration. It's amazing how much I have forgotten in 3 years.

Copper power saved all my fish a while back so I swear by it. What parasites can't be treated by copper? Brook?

Flukes don't care about copper. That's why prazi and copper are the go to meds

 

[Lonestar77566]

I will highly recommend Hanna Checker for copper