ick and QT, please help!

[sorryfish]

hi all, most of my fish got 3-5 white spot on gill and tail. I tried UV and it seems like just controlling the increasing rate of ick. But still, I would rather go for QT for all my fish.

My tank is fish only tank with 50lb live rock and 20lb live sand. I really want to start a QT NOW but the thing is if i start the QT now, the QT is not cycled yet, what if ammonia and nitrite spike?? it may be more harm and stress to my fish? I dont really want to do too many water change in a week, one or twice is ok for me. Really, time is contraint.

Now, I have one 10g empty tank, one aquaclear 150 hang on filter and a heater. But again, cycling the QT and doing many water change are my main concern.

Any help would be greatly appreicated!

[nanoman123]

syphon water out of ur big tank into the 10 gal. or, you could try a FW dip for ur fish

[Strictly Marine]

Try Hyposalinity. since you have a fish only and no inverts, you can just bring down the salinity to about .010 and leave it there a two weeks. Do the change gradually over a few day period. This is the best way to treat the paracites with no need for copper or formulin.

[steve1s]

You do not need to cycle a QT tank. Using the 10 gal and the HOB filter with a heater is all you need. Fill the 10 gal with water from the main tank to allow for an easy transfer of the fish. The water will allow for a proper ph, SG and temp match. It's best to have the heater calibtrated toimaintain the proper temp before moving the fish.

As far as cycling the QT that is also unneccessary. Any filter media from the main tank can be used to seed the QT. Bio ball, filter floss and so on. Once set up you can gradually lower the salinity to 14 ppt. >>Here (http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html)<< is a step by step instruction on how to do it properly. Ensure that you monitor ph/alk during the process. You will still need to monitor NH3/NO2 and do neccessary water changes to manage these levels in the beginning.

Never use hyposalinity on the main tank. It will not only kill the inverts/corals but any other organism in the LR as well. Worms, pods, snail will all perish. The only thing that will survive hyposalinity is bacteria and the fish.

Cheers
Steve

[reeferdude]

For a fish only I would use Kick-Ick. I use it on my reef tank and have neer had a causualty due to the medication. Also, it does not turn the silicon blue-green like other meds will.