# Help with hyposalinity treatment for Ich



## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

Well after 5 hours of taking my tank apart to catch all the fish, here we go:
Right now I have 6 fish in a 60 gallon tank with about 30 gallons of water from the main tank. I am using the canister filter from the main tank with coarse sponges and some live rock pieces. I also have a few pieces of live rock in the tank to keep the bio filter going while I get my bearings. I'm currently dripping some RO water to get the salinity down from 1.026 to 1.024 tonight.

-How quickly can I lower the salinity?
-Should I remove the live rock in the HP tank? Why?
-How much water change should be done and how often?
-Can you use Arm and Hammer baking soda to maintain PH? how?


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

Take a look here


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for the links. I've already read some of these before but this was a good refresher. It answered a couple of questions, but I still want to know why I need to remove the LR. I have a whole lot in the display so no problem if they need to be reseeded after the treatment. I just don't feel like getting some pvc pipes and putting them in the tank if I don't need to.


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## SKurj (Oct 26, 2011)

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...nts/23131-hyposalinity-treatment-process.html

Quoted: A hyposalinity treatment will kill: Pods, snails, crabs, invertebrates, corals, live rock, most marine algae, and Marine Ich.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

The drawback to hyposalinity is that you must keep the salinity stable, at say 1.010. To do this properly, you really need to set up an auto top off system, or you will have to be manually topping off 3-4 times a day.

You don't need to remove your LR, but understand that the rock may have mass bacteria die off.

Depending on the fish you are keeping, you can lower the salinity fairly quickly. If they are larger fish, you can likely do this in one day. However, when you are ready to raise it, this must be done very slowly (like .01 a day max.).

If you have a cycled tank, you might be able to get away with no water changes at all, as long as you do not have any detectable ammonia/nitrite. Low nitrate and phosphate will not harm your fish in a short period of time (~6 weeks).

You can use arm and hammer baking soda, but you must bake it first to avoid large pH swings. Every 1.1grams will increase the dkh by approximately 1 dkh per 10 gallons of water (double check this if you are going to use it!). It is used to increase the buffering capacity of the water (alkalinity/kH/buffer), not directly for pH control.

Hope that helps some.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Dax said:


> Well after 5 hours of taking my tank apart to catch all the fish, here we go:
> Right now I have 6 fish in a 60 gallon tank with about 30 gallons of water from the main tank. I am using the canister filter from the main tank with coarse sponges and some live rock pieces. I also have a few pieces of live rock in the tank to keep the bio filter going while I get my bearings. I'm currently dripping some RO water to get the salinity down from 1.026 to 1.024 tonight.
> 
> -How quickly can I lower the salinity?
> ...


FWIW.....I've had better success with copper over hypo...and those that I've recommended it to as well.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1735391


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Depends what fish though, but the same goes with hyposalinity.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

have a look if going to use Baking soda

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## SKurj (Oct 26, 2011)

Another suggestion for treatment is the tank transfer method, seems pretty quick, but maybe a little costly and requires 2 tanks to do it:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996525


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## talon (May 7, 2009)

I've lost 4 fishes when I did hyposalinity treatment. I never did it again.
The LR will die off in 1.010 may release some toxic.

I've had better success with copper over hypo...and those that I've recommended it to as well.


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

Chris S said:


> The drawback to hyposalinity is that you must keep the salinity stable, at say 1.010. To do this properly, you really need to set up an auto top off system, or you will have to be manually topping off 3-4 times a day.
> 
> You don't need to remove your LR, but understand that the rock may have mass bacteria die off.
> 
> ...


Exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thanks.

I removed the LR because as you said there will be die off and this will add to the bioload and cause ammonia/nitrite spikes.

The idea of no water changes surprised me. I used all the water from the main tank and a fluval canister that was there. I would expect this would be "closest" to a cycled tank. I don't really know how the nitrification process woud work when the nitrifying bacteria are being forced to a different salinity and most will die off. I am removing water as I add RO water for the first few days to keep the level constant so this takes care of water changes in the beginning. After this we'll see how often it is required. Might do it every 2 or 3 days as it is small amount anyway.

Going to buy a refractometer today to keep the salinity at 1.009. I have 30 gallons so manully topping off in the morning and afternoon should keep the level constant.

I did a fair bit of reading and seriously considered copper over hypo. Even though Copper is guaranteed to work, it will DEFINATELY damage the fish organs and reduce the lifespan. Since I have to wait 6-8 weeks to keep the main tank fallow, I figure this is a good learning experience.


> Steven Pro, "Copper is probably the most popular method of treating Cryptocaryon irritans, but is not my first choice. It is far too labor intensive for me to recommend to the general public, has a large risk of overdose, lowers the fish's resistance to other diseases, and can cause serious damage to the kidney, liver, and beneficial intestinal flora of the fish being treated. Damage to intestinal flora is what many hobbyists point to as a possible contributing cause for Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE), although there is currently no definitive cause of HLLE.".


I read about the tank transfer method as well and Holy Crap , who puts themselves through this craziness? Besides, it's not quick if you can't put the fish back to the DT right away.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Copper, just like hypo, is very hard on certain fish that are sensitive to it. If used properly, it should have minimal impact on a fish's organs - usually the treatment period will be for 2 weeks.

Be aware that hypo can also damage the kidney of fishes.

You haven't mentioned the fish you are planning on treating though.


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

1 Heniochus (Butterfly) 6" - cloudy eyes and probably worst case
1 Foxface rabbitfish 4" - looks infected but acts healthy
2 Clarkii Clowns 2-3" - moderate case with hazy eyes
1 Sixline wrasse 3" - seems perfectly healthy
1 yellowtail damsel 2" - no idea

Getting mixed feelings on hyposalinity vs copper? Which is easiest and safest to implement? (i.e. least likely chance of screwing up) and which brand of mediciation specifically that is readily available?


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

The heniouchus has really cloudy eyes and is not eating. Is there anything to do at this point or simply keep going with hyposalinity and it should clear up?


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

bioload said:


> FWIW.....I've had better success with copper over hypo...and those that I've recommended it to as well.
> 
> http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php
> http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1735391


The Heniouchus didn't make it. Wish I'd known more about a Freshwater dip to possibly buy some time, but too late now. Anyway, I gave up on hyposalinity and decided to go copper. Trying to get the salinity down was a massive PITA and losing the fish just made me give up.

Now I understand why people recommend copper. It is easier to implement, starts right away, and proven to be effective. Everthing else is either more difficult, slow and/or has a larger likelyhood of screwing up. Lesson learned.

Maybe in the future I might give hypo another shot, but first lets see how the Cupramine works out.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Sorry to hear.....no guarantees either way. This is what I've used following the mfg directions, in separate quarantine tank

http://www.aquariumsupplies.ca/coppersafe-p-1497.html


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

Already started on Cupramine yesterday. Second dose is scheduled for tomorrow and then the copper is at full strength; suposed to keep it like this for 14 days. Keeping the copper level constant is not a problem but I can't seem to get any info on is how much or often to do a water change. Waiting for an ammonia spike before doing a water change sounds silly to me because I have a reasonable bio filter in there.


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

*Update*

Cupramine worked like a charm. Stopped dosing after 2 weeks and relying on water changes to lower the copper. I'll put carbon in a week before moving the fish back to the display, which will probably be next weekend. Hopefully 6 weeks fallow is enough because the wait is painful.


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