About ready to give up

Don't all fish have ich no matter what, but when they are stressed they aren't able to fight it off? And also if the tank is too cool ich is more likely to show up. I know it's like that for freshwater, but not sure about saltwater fish.

 

SG of 1.026 is just fine. It is where I keep mine. If you keep, or plan on keeping corals, then that is the target number. If you are keeping fish only, then go ahead and lower it a tad, maybe 1.021 - 1.023.

10G is way too small even to QT 3 fish. One at a time. I kept my 4 inch tang in a 10G while treating for ich. All I did was change the water by siphoning the bottom every day. More than that is too stressful, IMHO ;D

Fish stores are not always the best place to get advice from. Hm.

If you just set back up in August, consider your tank a "new" system and all that goes with it. It needs to cycle and stock it slowly.

What test kits are you using? I prefer the Seachem, or salifert if you can afford them. They are a little better that some others.

What is your water temp also?

Thanks for answering all my questions, but it helps craft a better course for ya! ;D Your main tank has a wet dry, right? How about a skimmer? Carbon? How much live rock? Powerheads in the tank?

 

yes tell us what your tank has arty-smi

 

Thanks everyone.
Is the 10G QT to small period or did you mean to small for 3 fish?
I do not have corals and most likely will not add any, my current lighlty is only 1 50/50 bulb and I had not planned on investing in better lights at the moment.

The test kit I am using is a Seachem MultiTest.
The main tank is a wetdry I built, it has a 300gph overflow on it, 5 gallons of bio-balls, the top draw has both a carbon pad and blue/white floss pad in it. I am using a mag-drive 9.5 for the return. The protein skimmer is a coralife 125. There is only about 20 pnds of live rock and another 10 of base rock at the moment, my plan was to add some over time, and about 100 pnds of live sand. The water temp is 78. There are currently no powerheads setup I removed them recently to make it look cleaner but can add them back if you think I should.
My skimmer has been setup of about 3 weeks now, I am getting gunk in the uptake but it has not overflowed into the collection bin yet. I have been told that since there was nothing but a coral banded shrimp and a hermit crab in the tank that the water was probable not dirty enough to be producing anything yet.
As for fish like there is the coral banded shrimp, a hermit crab, 2 very small domino damsels, the kole tang, and lawnmower bleeny.

 

Don't add anymore fish for a while....like, months! Give the system time to build a bacterial population that can handle the bioload in the system. It is a slow process. Try not to overfeed. It is tough, but necessary. I feed my tang twice to three times per week but I have a reef, so if you need to feed daily, just a little pinch..OK!

 

Hm, I was hoping the blue text would show a bit better there...sorry, your gonna really have to look for my replies there... ;D

 

The wet/dry is under the tank I think the 9.5 was rated at 600 gph at 4 feet and I have a ball valve on it that I have adjusted to keep the sump at a constent level. The overflow says it will do 300 - 600 I am guessing it to be closer to 300 based on the position of the ball valve.

If I hold off on the fish for a few months, can I can add more live rock?

 

i would certainly add more live rock at this time, it will be the easiest time to get all of your overhangs and crevices and the ilk sorted out before the fish get in your way....and like mine do.....nip at you if you venture to near!

the added bonus is you get more filtration and lots of weired critters comming from the rock....it may be just that i am a geologist but i got alot of enjoyment from my rock for the three months i waited before adding fish.


as they say....go slow and let it grow!

best wishes!

 

oh by the way my skimmer has never produced anything. but that wont answer your question... i would heed the advice of the ever knowledgable bird lady....

 

when you had more live rock your skimmer will go crazy at first but will calm down afterwards.well depends on how much you put in at once ;D