Ok, my thousandth question. I have a quarentine tank running at hyposalinity with 2 precula clonws( a precaution) figured I would hypo with new fish. Anyway I put way too much baking Soda into the water(did not add right in, put in RO water) ph after a few hours read 8.8! Anyways I did a water change and slowly got my Ph to a nice 8.2. problem is Alkalinity is still reading like 19 or higher? What should I do? I know in regular SW I can add calcium and lower Alk, but what do I do In Hyposalinity? One fish seems to be breathing heavy and was spitting his food out, could have been ph shock? Amonia, nitrates and nitrites are 0.
Alkalinity in Hypo
- Thread starter Jpaul
- Start date
I applaud you for using a quarantine tank but have to say...Many will tell you a quarantine tank should best be used to simply observe new fish to see if they do have any illness/parasites, get them eating/used to what you are feeding. The water should be approximately the same parameters as your DT (you would acclimate them to your DT after the quarantine period). Ideally (IMO) fish should not be treated as though they were sick when they haven't proven to be.
Hyposalinity is mainly used to kill Ich, so if your fish don't have Ich, it isn't really helping them in any way.
What type test kits are you measuring the Alk & pH with? Did you run that Alk test more than once?
19 seems impossibly high -- and that was after a water change?
Rapidly adjusting pH is probably one of the worst things you can do to a fish. Best to leave it as is tonight and run new tests in the morning and post the results here.
Do you have a source of oxygen in the tank, like an air pump & airstone?
Hyposalinity is mainly used to kill Ich, so if your fish don't have Ich, it isn't really helping them in any way.
What type test kits are you measuring the Alk & pH with? Did you run that Alk test more than once?
19 seems impossibly high -- and that was after a water change?
Rapidly adjusting pH is probably one of the worst things you can do to a fish. Best to leave it as is tonight and run new tests in the morning and post the results here.
Do you have a source of oxygen in the tank, like an air pump & airstone?
I have ich in my main tank, so that is empty. I have read that hypo is also helps relieve stress in newly shipped fish so I thought it would be helpful. I have Api and I tested it many times! It still says it's high yet the ph fluctuates between 8.0 and 8.2. I have a 5 gallon quarentine for now, aquaclear 30 powerhead in at as well as an aquaclear filter and a sponge filter.
I can see why you are being cautious 
How long has it been empty now?
8-8.2 is ok, most likely the fluctuation you are getting could be due to the kit and tiny differences in how much water you put in it or even the size of the drops.
I have no issue with API kits for reading like ammonia, nitrite, nitrate - even pH but would like to see you get an Alk measurement from a Salifert or Elos or LaMotte kit if at all possible.
Can you do that tomorrow?
Your mechanical filtration should be adding enough oxygen to the water the way you have done it
How long has it been empty now?8-8.2 is ok, most likely the fluctuation you are getting could be due to the kit and tiny differences in how much water you put in it or even the size of the drops.
I have no issue with API kits for reading like ammonia, nitrite, nitrate - even pH but would like to see you get an Alk measurement from a Salifert or Elos or LaMotte kit if at all possible.
Can you do that tomorrow?
Your mechanical filtration should be adding enough oxygen to the water the way you have done it
- Location
- Queens, NY
Dude why did u go get fish so soon after the others died? Ur tank has a long way to go if u want to get rid of the ich 8-10 weeks and that is still no guarantee. Use your quarantine tank for observation make sure they r healthy mainly active and eating. I gave good advice to help save ur fish but u listened to her and look they all died. I used my method on my tank with ich and sps's and everything is alive and healthy.
I see u r stressed out.
Keep taking her advice.
Good luck....
I see u r stressed out.
Keep taking her advice.
Good luck....
'Her' advice was to NOT delay treatment, but this reefer was not comfortable using a hospital tank that wasn't cycled, so he waited and unfortunately lost all of his fish.
Once again Kordon Ick Attack (what you used) does NOT kill Ich it merely irritates the fish outer body, so he wasn't going to rid his tank of ich with your idea at all.
As you stated in another post - you know you tank still has Ich in it - Sorry but I would not consider that a health tank...if you ever plan to sell any frags from your tank, you might want to warn others they will probably transfer Ich to their tanks as well...
Tank Has only been empty since Aug 6. I got the fish because the quarenteen was cycled and since I have to wait 8 weeks on the main display, I would get the new fish and when the 8 weeks are done put them in. Tested Alk this morning, still very high and ph still seems to hold about 8.0. Fish look better after water change though. I love reefs and fish but damn is this get frustrating!
- Location
- Queens, NY
Well that is why we all dip our frags to prevent. Ich is something we have to deal with in this hobby. Just because u don't see it on ur fish does not mean it's not there. Unless u r a marine biologist and look at your water under a microscope. And I have traded frags with friends and no ich. The main thing is to keep the fish active and eating (Garlic boost helps) so they fight it off ich attack is not a miracle cure but it gives them a fighting chance.
I wouldn't worry about the alkalinity if you're just QTing fish. If the pH is good and stable (8-8.4 is fine) then it's okay. Temporarily lowered salinity levels can help relieve stress in fish, but lower does not mean hypo therapy. I'd gradually (over a period of days or even weeks) raise the salinity by performing water changes with regular "strength" saltwater. Prolonged exposure to extremely low salinity can damage the fishes' kidneys resulting in a premature death.
If you're leaving your display fallow to combat Ich you may want to consider raising the water temp to the mid 80's as this increases/speeds up the life cycle of the parasite and can help get rid of them. Do NOT do this if you have corals or other inverts in the tank. Prolonged high temps may harm them.
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