Aiptasia problem

[Bubbles]

hey guys, got a bit of an ongoing problem in my 30gal aquarium
i've been trying for a while to eradicate the many aiptasia in my tank, i've been using aiptasia x which i have run out of now, and although it works, some aiptasia seem to return less than a week later....
i may not be doing it correct, but the main problem is i don't access to some of the aiptasia which are growing under rocks and in impossible positions. which means that while they live, they breed, and i therefore have a problem.
i have been considering investing in a peppermint shrimp, however i have a coral banded shrimp which i am sure would not be too happy with another shrimp stepping into his territory. He is quite large as well, which could mean that the peppermint shrimp could live in the small areas of the aquarium?
Anyway, do you guys have any long-term solutions?
Cheers in advance
Braden

[V]

Holly crap, yet another ozzie, & how did you manage so many posts without me noticing. Unless......... its actually me on another computer writing questions to myself so i could ask about myself about myself. aaha,think about that one abit..lol!

so yeah anyways. sweet funtasia, rather crappy ride for most of us, you do get the odd freak (you know who you are) that cultivates them like some sick snatch & grab baby factory. Luckily, that trend hasn't caught on just yet..

how bigs your sump, if your interested in going that route if its big enough, you could swap the shrimps out if you noticed any confrontational habbits. If youve already had a decent crack at the plunger method its worth a shot.

Considering you only have 113lt (what are you american. i had to convert in order to work out what my own countryman was saying..lol) it shouldn't be tooooo much of a stress with a complete pull down worst case sitch. Although definitely a last resort id imagine when tempers flare!

[rayme07]

I agree with V if you can take out the coral bandit shrimp and put him in a QT tank or a sump for a while till the peppermint shrimp are done then stick him back in and hope he don't go after them. You can also use Joe's juice from the cultured reef one of TR's sponsors. I have seen it work and it works instantly. Here's a link

JoesJuice

[CarmieJo]

Just be aware that peps may or may not eat aiptasia so this is not a sure fire solution.

[Rob]

Just be aware that peps may or may not eat aiptasia so this is not a sure fire solution.

this is a true statement, what i have done in teh past is take the small aptasion and a pep shrimp and put htem in a small tank (can do this during acclimation/QT) and see if it eats it. Generally if the pep has a taste for it you will see it disappear pretty quick.
the joesjuice works well too the only issue is its a direct/topical solution, so you can only treat/kill what you can see or get to. but for those it works very well.

Peppermint shrimp are always great addition so that might be a great place to start. Joejuice (or even kalkwasser) is a good option to "help"

[V]

yea....Post #4 for 2009 for ol Rob J/Kidden bud, you know how much i miss revving you up..lol

[Bubbles]

haha, i know mate! you're confusing me already though, haha. well it's actually a 120 L but whenever i say that on here, people are like what are you talking about? haha
anyway to the problem at hand
well, when i bought the aquarium, which was already up and running with fish etc, it had and still does have no sump, but a canister filter. i'm working on some space to make a sump, even one with just a bucket. On that note, V can you point me to somewhere i can buy overflow boxes? in melbourne? over internet?
Also because i was such a newbie to aquariums when i bought it, i never used a quarantine tank when adding live stock. Shocking i know!
Now i know i need one, just for the sake of having one. But i don't because my tank is pretty much full!
BTW whats the plunger method?
so, in a nutshell: i have no sump or QT tank, but if i could find somewhere to get an overflow box, i could have a sump set up as soon as i have an overflow box.
you said the peppermint shrimp may or may not eat them. so what percentage would you put on them eating it?
can i get this joes juice stuff in australia?
Cheers to the quick reply guys!

[V]

your actually in Melbourne?

If thats the case i can help you directly. Even if it means loaning you a tank whilst your drill yours. That takes care of the invasion at the same time mine you!

Other than that i dont know where you can buy a decent hang on overflow unit in oz bud. I can definably give heads up on the DIY route however to be honest, i wouldn't really want to. I just find them way to unstable when Murphy's Law comes knocking.

oh and plunger method, you were using apsX weren't you, did you have a plunger with 2 different needle dispensing heads, one straight & the other bent?

Yes, Joe's juice is avail here. Although its all the same Sh^t. Ive used 3 different brands, the secret is not to be shy on application.

[Bubbles]

yeah mate, in beaumaris, you heard of it?
woah! drilling? sounds like a pretty big task?
what about this one i just found on ebay
Aquarium Siphon HANG ON Overflow Box, 3000LPH,NIB !!!!! - eBay Other Supplies, Fish, Pet Supplies, Home. (end time 03-Jan-10 07:30:30 AEDST)
its in hong kong which puts the reliability down like 100%
i only had the bent one, but that did the trick. yes it was aps X
well before i go the whole drilling thing, i might take on your advice and just go nuts with it
cheers again

[V]

yeah bud, your over on the bay, its bout 20 clicks straight run from me down Greens rd. Im over near Fountain Gate.

What LFS store you hook into>?

Im not sure on the Hang on stuff. Deeply suspicious. Maybe others can shed some light, but i wouldn't place my own trust in it. Not to mention it has only 3 month warranty. Mix that with a splash of "another country" & you have your self a bitter drink should something fail

Whats your tank dimensions & do you know who made it?

[Bubbles]

V what are you doing on at one in the morning!
Okay, so you're not too far away
It's called Reeflections aquarium. in Moorabbin
Yeah, i was thinking the same as you on the overflow....
its about 59 cm width, probs 60
34cm length (by length, i mean from front of tank to back of it)
59 height
nah i don't unfortunately, i can send the guy i bought it off an email to find out, is there anything else i should find out before i send the email?

[V]

yeah it was late, i just came back from watching Avatar at gold class. orsome movie bud if you haven't seen it yet, however for 4 of us it was like $300 smacko's when you factor in some drinks & food. Thats nuts.

oh yeah, good old Reflections. I remember them, although i thought they changed the name to Reef to River. or was it the other way round, hmmm, anyways, been way to many years. How do you find them?

I very rarely visit the LFS anymore, although i do have a bloke i can actually trust currently in the trade.
If you have any doubts with your current store, head over to Mick @ Victorian Marine. He's over near Keys Rd, Morrabbin as well. Recently moved store due to splitting with his other half, It showed too, it look like she literally took half the store..lol.



when talking tanks, its usually LengthXDepthXHeight.
eg being. 6X2X2ft, or 182X62X62

given your measurements, its 140lt, im actually surprised, on face value, i would have thought less. You know, i wouldn't mind see a shot of your tank bud.

[Bubbles]

MATE! I saw that yesterday! not in gold class unfortunately. As a teenager i typically tend to lack the funds haha

Yeah, i think it's still reeflections. well i used to go to mentone aquarium and reptiles or something like that, next to warrigal rd, kfc, some car shop, off nepeans hwy. and we just tried out reeflections place once and got a membership so we get cheap saltwater. + the mentone place is a lot more commercial. i don't go there much to get anything either, just the weekly saltwater and the odd freshwater every two or three weeks.

although i might go check this place out sometime.

i'll post the pics in about an 1hour if i remember i just cleaned it so none of the corals are too happy at the moment

[Bubbles]

there we go, not too fancy, do you know what the purple thing is i have, i posted a pic of it when i first got it and it was declared a xenia? so i looked them up and supposedly they pulse? never seen mine pulse
sorry about the crappy quality, its from my phone

[V]

Plenty of Euphyllia species. I dont see any telltale xenia though.

bud, having a drilled tank with sump does make it a sh^t load easier keeping tanks healthy, not to mention clearing the DT of equipment. However now that ive seen it, namely just due to the sizing, Unless you happy to pull it down for a week, i really wouldn't bother with drilling. Id save that for your next tank upgrade. As i said, if you did want to go that way, im more than happy to assist.


We've got to tackle that canister filter though, i dont know what history has been written before, as this is the first time ive seen you. However your aware that fresh water mentalities dont apply to salt yeah?

Post me in the direction if youve already gone though your equipment and tank with others on the board ok.

[rayme07]

Great looking tank Bubbles.

[Bubbles]

Cheers Raymond!
I did have a post with all you pros analyzing the stats, but i can't find the link
anyway, i saved all the stats from the ebay page and i'll copy and paste them now, because the page has expired


An established Marine Sun Sun 110 Liter Fish tank, been running for over 12 months, contains a TON of life on the rocks ! Cost me WELL over $3000 to establish !

Comes with:

Cabinet Stand.

The original T5 x 2 Lights Hood.

Super Win 2ft 250W Halide + 4 x T5 flouros, 2 x actinic, 2 x marine. All running on timers

200 Watt Heater

4 x Extension board.

Jebo 110 Hang on skimmer.

13 Watt UV Steralizer.

A 25 liter plastic drum & 30 Liter plastic drum.

Ehaim 2213 Exteranal Canister Filter

thats the stats, i remember everyone telling me to get rid of the canister filter, and i had a solution which is: i use an overflow box to get the water into this 30 litre cylinder drum i have, and then use the canister filter ( after i got rid everything in the canister filter) and use that to flow the water back into the tank
agree? disagree?

any solutions?

[CarmieJo]

Hi Braden,

You are lucky to be just down the road from V!

I agree the purple coral on the right is a Euphyllia. As to species, I'd guess a hammer.

I've not used an overflow box so I can't offer any advice based on experience. I have read to make sure you get one that is self starting after a power failure.

[Michael]

i used a lemon juice injection but i only had 2 aptasia so it didnt effect ph any. but it worked great

[V]

I didn't realise you spent that much, normally id have a playful crack & say they saw you coming, but then i realised how blind we generally get after awhile on how much most things cost..lol

Yes, technically speaking, its possible to do what your thinking.
Your are trying to bypass the units closed cycle function you realise.
There is also no redundancy or fail-safes though. So in keeping that in mind - Its up to you whether your willing to take that risk.


Use your canister as a water polisher - aka activated carbons, phozorb ect ect, or load it with coral rubble. Its just a breeding ground for aerobic bacteria exclusively, so thats why most say not to use it. Cause unless your looking at how your going to process the nitrates, it can build quite quickly if your bacterial system is in bias mode.


Got to do the rough math on the actually overflowed water to bud, thats everything in the DT at the lowest pickup level + what ever is in the pipes, both to & from, as its an open system without a check valve in play.

Design isn't really a factor if its a 30lt container, its pretty much going to be a mixing pot, you'll have all your equipment in there (keeping your heater away from the plastics of course) and the dump pipe & ehim pickup & return.

The main positive aspects is your skimming the top layer of the DT, & your increasing your overall water volume. Both are benifical, however unless your going to try get creative, the sump wont be design functional if you know what im saying.

Still a big call, IMO, i personally wouldn't go that route, but then again, im not in your position.

[Bubbles]

I didn't realise you spent that much, normally id have a playful crack & say they saw you coming, but then i realised how blind we generally get after awhile on how much most things cost..lol

nah i didn't spend that much! that'd be my life savings if i did! haha

Your are trying to bypass the units closed cycle function you realise.

Can you repeat that?

Use your canister as a water polisher - aka activated carbons, phozorb ect ect, or load it with coral rubble. Its just a breeding ground for aerobic bacteria exclusively, so thats why most say not to use it. Cause unless your looking at how your going to process the nitrates, it can build quite quickly if your bacterial system is in bias mode.

okay so my current setup in the canister filter is, a few filter pads and then a bunch of ceramic rings. i can understand getting rid of the filter pads, but the ceramic rings?

Got to do the rough math on the actually overflowed water to bud, thats everything in the DT at the lowest pickup level + what ever is in the pipes, both to & from, as its an open system without a check valve in play.

you're going to have to explain what an open and closed system is to me man!

Design isn't really a factor if its a 30lt container, its pretty much going to be a mixing pot, you'll have all your equipment in there (keeping your heater away from the plastics of course) and the dump pipe & ehim pickup & return.

i thought i was going to use the ehim as the pump back to the DT?


The way i understood the overflow box is that in the event of power failure, the water levels out and the the siphon stays primed? if so, wouldn't it be pretty much fool proof, assuming it doesn't build up with any air bubbles?

What route do you think i should take V?

BTW thanks for the ID but i meant the one in the center above right to the hammer coral, and left of the leather coral (which is shedding)

Thanks for all the help again guys!

[V]

noodles, or coral rubble. Its the same thing, porous real-estate for bacteria.
Its just the mentality or principle behind why you need to be mindful of the practice. If you have too much in the way of converting ammonia & nitrite, without enough means to convert nitrates, the its a logical conclusion that follows.

Close loop means having anything plumbed so it eventually returns. All our systems effectively fit into this category. I should have been more specific, cause its like an extended closed loop i guess. All i was trying to say is that your not using one pipe in, one pipe out on your unit. Your effectively dumping into your container, ehim pickup, through the unit, then return to the DT, then into the overflow dump pipes again.

Your unit keeps a primed line on critical shut-off? If memory serves correct, Unless i manually closed the flow flap, gravity still emptied the lines.

As i said, technically it will work, however like anything, it just takes one thing to go wrong. Your biggest issue is if your hang-on overflow fails to remain self primed or function properly, you'll overflow. I also just dont really put alot of stock into external canisters working at decent head pressures. In saying that, they seem to run for years

You think you'll be able to add the skimmer and such to the side wall of your plastic container?

[CarmieJo]

That does not look like xenia to me. I'd say it is a finger leather of sorts.

[Bubbles]

Well, in saying all this stuff about nitrates, i don't really have a nitrate problem.

hmm i could probably be wrong, let me tell you my theory with the overflow box,
if the draining pipe section of the overflow ( ie, the part where the water goes down the pipe after it has been through the siphon.) is higher than the lip of the input section of the siphon (ie where water first enters the siphon) then in the event of a power failure, the water levels will even out on each side of the siphon; about a centimetre below the lip of the drain pipe and a little bit above the lip of the input of the siphon; therefore the siphon is completely submerged, thus gravity cannot "drain" the siphon because air cannot access it in the first place.

another good point V, if i did do all this, i would probably go and buy one of those pressure sensor things? the ones where they shut off the power if the water gets too low?

i think its do-able, if not couldn't i just have it sitting in there anyway?

BTW, (this may be a real newbie question) but what do i have to do the math for? and also is the lowest pickup level the lowest point where the proposed overflow box is, or is it the input for the canister filter? or am i just wrong completely.
Thanks a lot V

[Bubbles]

thanks carmie