Overhaul

[jjboods]

A while back, my tank crashed. 2 clowns and a chromis are the only survivors. Recent finances the way they are, I haven't been able to replace anything . Since the crash, there has been an unbelievable infestation of aiptasia. Since the tank load is low and no corals survived, I figured I could take some drastic action that might affect the water chemistry. I want to remove all live rock and destroy the aiptasia. I know I could just take out the rock and let it dry out. Would removing it and putting it in tubs of fresh water work and be any cleaner/easier than just letting it dry out?

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by jjboods
http:///forum/post/3148596
A while back, my tank crashed. 2 clowns and a chromis are the only survivors. Recent finances the way they are, I haven't been able to replace anything . Since the crash, there has been an unbelievable infestation of aiptasia. Since the tank load is low and no corals survived, I figured I could take some drastic action that might affect the water chemistry. I want to remove all live rock and destroy the aiptasia. I know I could just take out the rock and let it dry out. Would removing it and putting it in tubs of fresh water work and be any cleaner/easier than just letting it dry out?
It might. MY suggestion would be to take to rock out and coat it in reef salt for a few minutes which will burn off the Aptasia. Then rinse it well in fresh RO and put it back. THis way you save the bacteria. Dry salt is great for killing crap.

 

[jjboods]

I have some tube works and algae I'd like to eliminate too. Will the salt work or will I need to scrub them?

 

[snakeblitz33]

No. Do not take it out of the tank and put salt on it. Chances are most of them will survive and you will be killing off a lot of beneficial microfauna in the process. Do something natural to get rid of your aiptasia. Buy about a dozen or so Atlantic Peppermint shrimp - they will take care of it in about a week. Once the aiptasia is gone, either remove them or leave them in there. They are cheap (about $2-5 each) and it's much better then what you are wanting to do.
Also, you said you were wanting to do something different with the water chemistry - all is needed is a simple 50% to 75% water change once a week.

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33
http:///forum/post/3149064
No. Do not take it out of the tank and put salt on it. Chances are most of them will survive and you will be killing off a lot of beneficial microfauna in the process. Do something natural to get rid of your aiptasia. Buy about a dozen or so Atlantic Peppermint shrimp - they will take care of it in about a week. Once the aiptasia is gone, either remove them or leave them in there. They are cheap (about $2-5 each) and it's much better then what you are wanting to do.
Also, you said you were wanting to do something different with the water chemistry - all is needed is a simple 50% to 75% water change once a week.
Ah... But you missed the part where he said finances are limited. Even at $5 each 10 or 12 will cost 50 - 60 bucks plus shipping.
Salt will kill aptasia in high concentrations. I have seen it done. The bacteria will grow back.
Yes, killing your rock will work as well, but you have the same problem you will more than likely need to recycle. Do you have a small tank you can move the clowns & chromis in until your tank is back to normal?
OP: When I Said fresh RO, I meant fresh, SW, or water from a change.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Even a small amount of peppermint shrimp will work over time. Vinegar syringes over the course of a few weeks will also take care of the pesky problem. Vinegar is extremely cheap. Just make sure you don't use too much at a time, or it can alter your pH too much. If you do want to a lot at a time, research kalkwasser dripping. You can buy some Mrs. Wages Pickling lime and make up a strong solution and inject them as well. Using both at the same time and taking pH tests every 30 min to an hour would definately help.
I mean, there are other ways of taking care of this type of infestation besides doing something drastic like nuking your rocks.

 

[rebel06]

One thing that worked great for me was to take some RO water.. boil it.. suck it into a syringe.. and inject the aiptasia... it's a little hard to stick the little b@$tards.. but works every time... you can watch them shrivel up right in front of your eyes..