Ohio Reef
Reef Discussion => Pests, Nudsiance Algae and Prevention => Topic started by: slandis3 on May 11, 2009, 13:53:57
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Well i am fighting an Aptaisia out break in my new tank. Being that it is 36" deep i am having some trouble reaching the middle of the tank. I have tried all the usual things to try, kalk past, joes juice, etc. I got some Aptaisia control from aquarium etc which works great but it dried up pretty quick. So i decided to give something a try today. I took about a 1/16 of a cup mrs wages pickling lime and enough lemon juce to cover it in the bottom of a small container. Then put in in the microwave for 15 seconds. i use an syringe to cover the Aptaisia . It worked great. They started to melt within about 3 minutes. So as long as i can reach them they are goners. So if you have some Aptaisia give it a try.
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Where did you get the Mrs Wages pickling lime? I have never heard of it
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I got mine at Krogers.
I use about a tsp in my top off water to help maintain calcium levels.
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yep kroger. thats what i use in my kalk reactor.
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i know you know this but for those who have the same problem, i got a copperbanded butterfly and mine were gone in no time, i have some in the sump but never in the tank
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I also tried the route of joe's juice and they always came back. I went natural and placed 3 peperment shrimp into my tank. I had over 20 aptasia throughout my 180 and within a month or so they were gone and I havent seen any since in my main tank. I have some in my overflows and in my sump but I dont mind them at all. If they should seed into to the main tank the shrimp must be taking care of them.
Jeff
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Yup, I destroy them with a combo of kalk (pickling lime), boiling water, and on occasion, lemon juice added in for good measure. If worse comes to worst and the aiptasia has itself in a nice hole that I can't reach with the pipette, I cover a good chunk of area with reef-safe epoxy. After a couple of weeks, I remove the epoxy...the aiptasia will have died from many things (starvation, no light, etc.)
If you have some really nasty buggers, sodium hydroxide is pretty much a 100% kill rate (including any corals it might touch.)
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Being that it is 36' deep i am having some trouble reaching the middle of the tank.
wow 36 feet deep thats crazy do you get the scuba gear out to clean it? ;D
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yea the guys from sea world do the mainteance on my tank
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Lemon juice and a hypodermic needle here. Kills them everytime, provided you can get the needle in them before they disapear (or get the needle without a hassle from the pharmacy). Pepermint shrimp takes care of the ones I can't get to.
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I use a mix of sodium hydroxide and kalk. I use lab grade sodium hydroxide, though I have heard that other grades of lye are sufficiently pure. I turn off all my pumps and use a syringe. It forms a sort of thin gel in the water which helps keep it in place. I cover whatever aiptasia I see and let it sit for an hour, then turn the pumps on. It all gets blown into the water and I've never seen an adverse reaction in the tank. I wouldnt recommend doing too much at one time, though, since it can always lower your pH. It doesn't rid the tank permanently of course.
In any case, like the other guy said about sodium hydroxide, it's not for the feint of heart. Nasty stuff. It'll dissolve anything living. Aiptasia, corals, fish, your eyes, your skin, etc.
I might try peppermints.
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you can get needles from tractor supply. no questions asked
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Ok, I tried this, seems to work. Question how much can I do in a day, week or what ever without nuking everything else? Up next is Vodka dosing if I can ever get the nerve.
Thanks
Lonnie
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How much of what? When it as out of control in my 29G, I did 2 .3CC Syringes a day. No problems. This was enogh to kill 5-10 of them, depending on how fast they moved, and size.
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I know that this is an older thread but a new product came out by Red Sea, its called Aiptasia X. You get tons of the treatment and you dont have to inject. All you do is put the treatment on the mouth of the Aiptasia with the syringe that is provided. The Aiptasia will take it in like food and a couple hours later its gone. I started using it about 2 months ago and its the best product I have found for getting rid of them.
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Aiptasia-X has worked best for me as well (w/out having tried the treatment Mike came up with) but I still have had to use it multiple times to get most of the anemones.
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I know that this is an older thread but a new product came out by Red Sea, its called Aiptasia X. You get tons of the treatment and you dont have to inject. All you do is put the treatment on the mouth of the Aiptasia with the syringe that is provided. The Aiptasia will take it in like food and a couple hours later its gone. I started using it about 2 months ago and its the best product I have found for getting rid of them.
I have used this and i like it very well. The problem with it is 1 its kinda pricey. 2 it dries out quick. I had mine only for a week after i opened and it dried out.
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At what concentration do you mix the sodium hydroxide (Molarity/Normality)? I am guessing you would use a needle/syringe to apply it.
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I used to have the recipe for the ratios other people use, but I lost it. What I do now is take a tablespoon of NaOH granules and dissolve it in about 100-150 millileters of water. Then I add a few tablespoons of kalk powder. The kalk settles to the bottom fairly rapidly so you have to shake/stir it before you use it.
Not to beat a dead horse, but be sure to treat lye/sodium hydroxide solutions with serious respect. If you get a concentrated lye solution on your skin it'll really start to hurt before you damage yourself TOO badly, so you can usually notice it and wash it off before it becomes a trip to the ER. However, getting a lye solution in your eyes is instant eye damage.
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Just tried that Mrs Wages pickling Lime, works like a charm they disolved within a min or two, great stuff Thanks for the Info