Riddle me this

Ok, I'll cut back both vacuuming and water changes, the alk is at 300ppm and the cal is at 400 so it's a little low. And (Mark) you've mentioned the garlic oil before I do remember that now. Where would you suggest I get it at? I've only used garlic guard. It says that I can freeze it with the food so that's why I've been doing it that way. I'll get the ph measurements to you (Mark) tomorrow and I'll email the photos after I finish this pm. Thanks again for eveyones' advice and suggestions. I truly appreciate it. David, Mark, Billy, Fatman,Trevor, Wicked, Adam, Dlindquist you all are so wonderful to help me out. I'll copy and past that article(David) for future reference. 

I get garlic from the grocery store.  I put it through a ricer or finely chop/puree it.  dump it right in the tank, helps keep the ich away from my 8 tangs - powder blue included. 

 calcium, ions, fuel. All Seachem products (Aquavitro). Iodine on monday only.  I test for alk before I add it. If it's in the ok zone I don't add more. Same with the ph. Again Seachem products. I'll get that reading for you tomorrow.

Good, thanks for that info.

There is a time zone and daylight savings time difference between us. Am I figuring correctly that post was made at 5:48 AM your time (12:48 AM Hawaii Time)?
That's not totally bad pH for that time of the morning, but it could be better. For comparison, how far does pH swing night to day? What's the pH 12 hours later after the lights have been on all day

Did you see my earlier comment about Alkalinity being way high? Update
I would suggest stopping all supplements for now. As far as I can tell, the tank has everything in place to be a healthy environment. Even the high Alk will not be a problem, because it will come down on it's own, in time. The tank just needs to be left alone to recover on it's own, to build a healthy biofiltration.

And how about the surface scum? Did you use the paper towel trick The reason this is important is because the oily scum restricts the free exchange of gases between the water and the air, thus lowering pH.

A more active rolling of the water surface helps increase pH too. The pic down below shows a good rolling surface water when powerheads are aimed closer to vertical. That way the water flow hits the surface and spreads out in all directions.

Also, have you purchased a $5 bottle of stinky Garlic Oil (gel caps) at the grocery store The Garlic Guard did not work, but another product can be found that will work for this tank.
Because there is only one fish, I would squeeze the gel cap and just wipe a quarter drop of the oil on a fourth of a cube of frozen meaty food, then let it thaw and marinate before feeding slowly to ensure the fish eats the food before the oil has a chance to separate from the food. I am no expert, but I have helped hundreds of hobbyists avoid the problems caused by the Ich parasite and they didn't have to go to all the trouble described in the 6 elaborate steps a few posts above.

Oh, and thawing and refreezing frozen food is not so good. Consider this: Would you eat meat that had been thawed and refrozen?




Edited by Mark Peterson - May 29 2012 at 1:30pm

From all the research I read. Garlic doesn't actually get rid of ick. Garlic actually builds fish immune systems and that helps in keeping fish healthy enough to keep ick away.
Not sure if that was said yet. Didn't read whole thread.

I'm not sure if I said it right but I was asking for a pH reading in the afternoon/evening and also for an Alk reading which can be done at any time.

After using a paper towel, residue may not show up on the paper towel, but the oily scum will cover less of the water surface. The oily scum is only visible from outside when looking up at the water surface. It's very common in aquariums that don't have an overflow or only a small overflow to a sump.

Fish will eat any fish food until their bellies look like they will burst. I abhor dry processed flake or pellet foods. I've seen how they are manufactured. 95% of what I feed is natural meaty and vegetative foods. Emerald Entree and Rod's Food are two very good frozen meaty foods because they contain some algae as well. Nori, macroalgae and phytoplankton are good for almost all fish and inverts.

Regarding Garlic Oil
From the experience I have had with using it for many dozens of my own and 100's of others aquariums, my observation is that something about Garlic Oil irritates the Ich parasite making it not host on the fish in sufficient numbers or strength to bother the fish. Period.

The theory about Garlic preventing the Ich parasite because it assists the body's microscopic immune system just does not make sense to me. The immune system may have some role, longer term, but when a seriously infested fish is fed a Garlic Oil product in the evening and the next morning wakes up almost completely clear of the parasite and acting normal once again, isn't that an immediate chemical response, rather than a biological immune building thing?

As I said in the Reefkeeping Tip about Garlic Oil, we don't know exactly why, but different fish in different reef aquariums respond differently to different Garlic Oil Products. Each product is made differently. All are not the same. I've used a Garlic Oil, or maybe two, that have not worked at all and then the next one I try does the job overnight.

A very important aspect that some people miss is the fact that many other variables in the fishes environment also lead to the conditions which may cause Ich to be less affected by any type of Garlic. Those hobbyists that have tried a single Garlic Oil product without much success, did not go far enough. Besides trying another Garlic Oil, they needed to discover and then change the conditions in their aquarium that were compounding to create an unhealthy, stressful situation for the fish.



Edited by Mark Peterson - May 30 2012 at 10:45am

That's awesome.
Please forgive me but because of some questionable parameters, I'm very interested in seeing this through.

What was the Alkalinity level in a recheck? Lower?
And how about pH in the afternoon/evening? hopefully 8.2 or above?
With more water movement, is the morning pH above 7.8?
Did the new Garlic Oil turn the tide? (pun intended)

So this mornings reading was 8.0 and this evenings reading was 8.4. I haven't noticed anything with the garlic yet and the other koralia has been installed. Alk is still high but it's because I have alk in my premixed water for top off. 

Ich was gone before I could use the garlic oil. I'll dilute the water and start a new batch of RO water. Thanks for your help Mark!