Help starting over after ich disaster

I have a 29g with a Bak Pak skimmer, a Penguin Biowheel, only about 8 lbs.
of live rock so far, a couple of shrimp, and a few crabs and snails. I had
2 clowns (ocellaris) and a sand-sifting goby. To make a long story short,
all 3 have died from ich. My water parameters were all within normal range
with no detectable ammonia or nitrites the entire time. The first clown
got sick and died after I removed a UGF and replaced it with live sand,
clouding the tank. He got pale and listless and died after a couple of
days. (Previously the two clowns had shown a few white spots the first day
I got them, but they went away so I thought they were fine.) The second
clown showed a few ich-like spots a few days later which went away, so
again I assumed he was healthy (mistake!) and added a sand-sifting goby.
The ich came back (oodinium or cryptocaryon, I'm not sure which), just a
few spots, and then he died abruptly (not like the first clown who was
obviously in poor health). At this point I set up a 10g hospital tank and
put the goby in it with some copper medication. He wasn't acting healthy
already, and he died the next day.

So here I am with no fish. How long do I need to wait to reintroduce them
in the main tank? I have read that I should and I have read that you can
never get rid of ich, just provide a healthy environment where the fish can
fight it off. I plan to quarantine new arrivals in the 10g now. It has
the Biowheel so it shouldn't have to cycle. If I empty it and add new
water, will it be ready for new fish? Or is it already parasite free since
I dosed it with a high concentration of copper this morning (which can
presumably be removed by carbon and/or water changes)?

Thanks for your help. I have previously kept marine fish for a couple of
years in this tank, so I'm not a total newbie, but I feel like one right
now.

--
Clay Blankenship Change 'Z' to 's' to reply
Monterey, CA

"Clay Blankenship" wrote in message
...
I have a 29g with a Bak Pak skimmer, a Penguin Biowheel, only about 8 lbs.
of live rock so far, a couple of shrimp, and a few crabs and snails. I
had
2 clowns (ocellaris) and a sand-sifting goby. To make a long story short,
all 3 have died from ich. My water parameters were all within normal
range
with no detectable ammonia or nitrites the entire time. The first clown
got sick and died after I removed a UGF and replaced it with live sand,
clouding the tank. He got pale and listless and died after a couple of
days. (Previously the two clowns had shown a few white spots the first
day
I got them, but they went away so I thought they were fine.) The second
clown showed a few ich-like spots a few days later which went away, so
again I assumed he was healthy (mistake!) and added a sand-sifting goby.
The ich came back (oodinium or cryptocaryon, I'm not sure which), just a
few spots, and then he died abruptly (not like the first clown who was
obviously in poor health). At this point I set up a 10g hospital tank and
put the goby in it with some copper medication. He wasn't acting healthy
already, and he died the next day.

So here I am with no fish. How long do I need to wait to reintroduce them
in the main tank? I have read that I should and I have read that you can
never get rid of ich, just provide a healthy environment where the fish
can
fight it off. I plan to quarantine new arrivals in the 10g now. It has
the Biowheel so it shouldn't have to cycle. If I empty it and add new
water, will it be ready for new fish? Or is it already parasite free
since
I dosed it with a high concentration of copper this morning (which can
presumably be removed by carbon and/or water changes)?

Thanks for your help. I have previously kept marine fish for a couple of
years in this tank, so I'm not a total newbie, but I feel like one right
now.

--
Clay Blankenship Change 'Z' to 's' to reply
Monterey, CA

6-8 weeks. raise the temp to mid-80's to speed it up a little.