damonholly

So glad to see another "Holly" as crazy as me!

Thank you for all of the welcomes! Our tank is built into a wall so we get to view it from both sides. Some of you may have seen our post regarding running into Marine Velvet already which has wiped out our fish except for one which I'm trying to get out of the tank now so we can let it run fallow for 8 weeks or so (huge huge bummer). We will be running a QT for all fish from now on. I have attached a couple of pics of our fishless tank! Its been running for a little over 2 months now. The acrylic tank is 6' wide 30" deep and 30" high. The dimensions were dictated a bit by the remodel we did in the room it is in. We have an Ecotech vectra pump, 2 Ecotech vortech powerheads, 3 Ecotech radion lighting, a Simplicity 800 skimmer, and will be adding an Aqua 57w UV . We also have our RO hooked up now so we don't need any buckets and our top off tank lasts about a week. A calcium reactor will get added at some point this year. We would like to give a special thanks to Garrett, Chris, and the rest of the guys at Premium Aquarium for all of their help setting us up, answering our questions, and providing all of the lovely animals you see. I look forward to meeting all of you!

Thanks for all of the helpful advice. We are still trying to get the last fish out of our DT so we can start the clock on the fallow period which will most likely give us time to cycle the QT. So I have Seachum stability that we use. If I use that in combination with the marinepure ceramic rock and just feed the empty tank every week will that be enough to cycle? I think our QT will be running for at least a year plus constantly. Our tank is 280 gallons, since we now have no fish and we would ultimately like around 30 I figure an average of 3 fish per 6 weeks or so...that would mean at least 60 plus weeks of having fish in the QT! Still trying to decide whether to dose copper or not on new fish coming in. I sure hate the idea of something that may hurt the fish in QT but also don't want another parasite issue in the DT.

Hi All - So our new tank developed marine velvet and we lost all of our fish. Luckily we didn't have a ton of fish yet but still really sucks. We have learned our lesson and plan on quarantining all fish from now on. Our plan with the display tank is to run it fallow for 8 weeks. We have corals and invertebrates which will be in the DT while this takes place. I would like to however, start the quarantine process on some new fish so that when the fallow period is done we can add them. My question is the setup of a QT when you cannot use the DT water. A few questions: 1. I have read that your QT doesn't need to be cycled if you keep track of ammonia and do frequent water changes. If so, OK...if not how do you cycle a QT that will not have any live rock, a bare bottom and only pvc in it? If it is just through sponge/media in the filter than how long to cycle the tank just using stability. 2. We are adding a UV filter to our DT. If we are running that as well as having it fallow could the amount of time it is running fallow shorten? I do not want any chance of there being parasites when new fish are added. 3. If you cannot see the signs of parasites (velvet or ich) for awhile in the QT how long should you keep this fish in the tank? 4. Should you always dose new fish with copper medication even if they seem healthy? Will dosing ensure the parasites are killed if they have them before you see any displays of issues. If you do not dose then how long should a fish stay in quarantine before you can be sure they don't have a parasite? 5. What are the chances of fish living through a QT process? 6. How many fish can you quarantine in a 20 gallon tank to give everyone the best chance of survival. We purchased a 20 gallon JBJ Nano Cube for our QT so that we would have pumps, circulation, heater, and lights all ready to go. Our DT is 280 gallons. Obviously being completely new to the hobby and having this issue right away we are very gun shy and concerned we aren't ever going to have fish! We have used a lot of the advice from Garrett, Chris and the other folks at Premium Aquarium and appreciate it very much. Any further advice we can get from all of you would be great. Thanks much...

Hello - My husband, Damon and I (Holly) just registered today to join PNWMAS and wanted to introduce ourselves. We live in Salem and are Duck fans (sorry to those Cougs, Huskies and Beavs out there) as I went to U of O (been quite awhile!). We enjoy working in our yard/gardens and remodeling and doing projects around our house. Damon enjoys golfing and I love to cook. Our most recent remodel included a reef aquarium setup and we are really excited about having this and a new hobby. The wonderful creatures that make their home in this tank will join 3 cats, and 2 very large dogs none of which think the tank is interesting at all. Obviously we are very new to the hobby. Our tank has been running now for just over two months and is 280 gallons. We didn't jump in lightly but the more we have learned the more we realize how much we don't know, the mistakes we have already made, and often find ourselves wondering what to do. There is so much information about so many topics it really can be overwhelming. Often you find conflicting information and it is hard to know what to do. We hope to meet many of you either online or in person to get your pearls of wisdom and help with many of the problems we are already encountering. What a beautiful thing all of the creatures that inhabit a reef tank are. Makes you appreciate just how complex and wonderful the ocean is. Holly & Damon