UPDATES
1) Skimmer
I had noticed a massive decrease in foam production in my EV-180 skimmer for months. this went hand in hand with the removal of my fish to clear out the Ick infestation from back in July, as expected. However, since returning the survivors and adding a few new fish, the skimmer was producing next to nothing. I needed it to work like a charm for my Flat Worm assualt operation, so i took the whole thing apart. first the Rio 3100, which was running farely well and barely any build up. I did notice one of the moveable flaps from the impeller was missing. Cleaned, the pump was pushing water nicely, but still no bubbles. i removed the spray injector nozzle for inspection and cleaning, which i have never done, and found the missing flap lodged nicely in there. After removing the blockage and reassembly, the skimmer thanked me with an explosion of water bubbles! after some small adjustments and the addition of the collector-cup enlargement system - i am brewing some NICE iced tea, who wants a glass??!
2) Flat Worms - Red Planaria
After following the advice as found on Melev's Reef and the other numerous sources citing the same information, i cleaned my tank (so far) of this pest. The trick is to remove as many as you can for at least a week before treating with Salifert's Flatworm Exit, which will kill the remaining worms, which in turn, any not skimmed, or removed bodies will release a toxic chemical. I first tried a turkey baster which was somewhat successful but rather frustrating. Then i built my continuous - syphon Melev-inspired Flatworm suck-o-matic. works like a charm!
after a week with this device, and none were visible, i dosed the recommended amount. I removed dead bodies, though a bunch were free floating and were too difficult to nab with the wand in the current. i guess i should have shut off the flow systems, but no matter, it was a small amount and any bodies would eventually get pulled into the skimmer. after an hour i did another 1/2 dose. no evidence of FWs at this point. the only coral that did not look too happy was my red /green open brain. this was only temporary. I ran a half of a bag of black diamond carbon in my phosban reactor (with no phosban) with increased flow rate, and placed two full bags of Chemi-pure in the sump after 1.5 - 2 hours. All fish and corals are accounted for, no FWs in site!