What a nice connection to have... A marine biologist!
The level of salt is actually pretty mild but effective and won't hurt anything. Your friend is correct about the higher temp but I was reluctant to suggest this in case there was ammonia in the water. Ich usually has a hard time living in temps above 82 but it can. It seems you are one of the unfortunate ones. Just be sure to keep the temp up for a good long time so the ich doesn't become resistant. You can actually go up to 93 if you feel the need, but 86 should be ok...