NAS - The parameters are all good but I'm not about to put any of my fish back into my reef. It's just not worth it until I understand basics of the bio-science behind it all.
Treating already infected fish aside (not the main issue as the fish are healthy & are getting over it) these following points reflect my original question about how long it takes a fish-less reef tank to 'cycle' through it's ich infestation.
4. Cycle can be completed in less than 7 days, but usually within 24 days BUT can go as long as 72 days. Literature usually quotes ‘average’ number of days. 72 days is rare; 60 days usually encompasses more than 99.9% of the observations and research.
14. INTERESTING FIND: If no new MI is introduce into an infected aquarium, the MI already there continues to cycle through multiple generations until about 10 to 11 months when the MI has ‘worn itself out’ and becomes less infective. A tank can be free of an MI infestation if it is never exposed to new MI parasites for over 11 months.
Do I wait 7 days? 60 days? 11 months???
This point, under Treatments, is what I referring to in letting the tank go fallow.
10. Let aquarium go fishless (without any foreign saltwater additions (e.g., water from LFS system, water from another tank or system -- use only distilled or RO/DI for evaporation and freshly made, uncontaminated salt water for water changes), without contamination from infected tanks, live rock additions, etc.) for at least 8 weeks and the tank will be free of MI. This 'fallow period' has over a 99.9% chance of success.
Points 14 & 10 above seem to contradict each other, much like other reports & papers I've seen in researching Ich.
Regards No Sick Fish reef safe Ick Treatment...
6. No known ‘reef-safe’ remedies work consistently. Many aquarists think a particular remedy works when in fact the fish acquire an immunity or defense against the parasite. It’s easy for any manufacturer to have an independent study done on the effectiveness of the ‘reef-safe’ remedy but they don’t because. . .
3. It goes away with a ‘reef-safe’ remedy. Untrue. This is one of the biggest and most 'dangerous' of the misrepresentations in the hobby. The aquarist thinks everything is okay when it isn't. What usually has happened is that the parasite has killed the fish it will kill and the rest have developed a resistance or immunity. The parasite is still in the aquarium, possibly infecting the gills of the fish where it can’t be seen.
So where does that leave me?
Back to square one. Leaving my reef tank fishless & question marks over how long to do it for.
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