New tank riddled with pests

[pbell101]

Hello all. I've just begun cycling my first reef tank, and have found nasty stuff in the live rock I got from a lfs. I got some of my rock from live aquaria as well. I don't think there was anything in that, it was dry when I got it. I'm pretty sure I have aptasia:

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I'm also not sure what this brownish/gray stuff is, but it looks nasty:

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I also found this stuff on the wall of my tank. It's also on a lot of my rock as well:

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I have this as well. I believe it's bubble algae?

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So, I'm feeling a little defeated at the moment. At this point in the game, if this is all what I think it is, would it be worth it for me to just break it all down, kill the nem, take out the stuff from the lfs, give everything else a good vinegar bath and scrubbing, and put it back? Or would that pretty much solve nothing, since it's probably all in my live sand as well? Maybe get new live sand? Should I do nothing, and let my eventual fish/inverts take care of the pest issue? I'm not really sure what to really do, but any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[hotelbravo]

it looks like majano instead of aptasia. i just use peppermint shrimp to get rid of either of those pest anemones some people say peppermints will only eat them if they are starving but my two peppermints ignored food to eat the aptasia i had and demolished it within two days.
it looks like sponges growing to me which isnt a bad thing but im not 100% that they are ALL sponges.

the green algae is macro algae. looks like a type of caulerpa and i wouldnt consider that to be a pest.
the red looks like red bubble algae or some form of Botryocladia occidentalis species which usually is a pest. manual removal of that works but some fish and inverts have been known to eat it.

 

[pbell101]

lfs suggested peppermint shrimp, but my tank has just begun it's cycle. I can't put anything in it till it's done, right?

 

[hotelbravo]

it will still be there when your tank is finished cycling.

 

[Reefstarter2]

let it run its course . algae happens in new tanks , some people don't get any ( how is beyond me ) after its cycled add some clean up crew and peppermints iuf you want or manually remove the mojanos . I haven't had much luck removing them myself .

 

[billdogg]

The first picture is a pest anemone. Especially if it's just the one (but there are probably more), I would use a syringe and boiling water to cook it in place. No big deal, really.

I think the second is of a bacteria bloom - just siphon it out, stay on top of it, and it will cease to be an issue. Another no biggie.

The third appears to be hair algae. It will come and go, especially in new tanks, and is usually related to a phosphate and or nitrate issue, often from PO4 leeching from the rocks. Manual removal and a GFO reactor, along with time, and it too will be a memory. Another no biggie.

The last picture is has several things going on. The red bubble algae can be very invasive. Manual removal will eventually allow you to win that battle as well, although removing the rock and soaking the area in hydrogen peroxide for 30 second or so will help kill it. Don't soak the whole rock - use a syringe to apply it only to the area where the bubble algae was after you've removed as much as possible. Although some might see it as a pest, the green algae with the paddle-like leaves is, I think, a Halimeda sp. I think it's very pretty as long as it doesn't spread too much. The downside to it is that it will take calcium from the water that your corals will want.


I wouldn't tear it down. You'll just have all the same problems when you start it up again, even if you use 100% dry rock. Pest species have a way of finding their way to our systems regardless. Learning how to deal with them is just a part of the learning curve.

Good luck!!

 

[gone fishin]

I agree with billdogg. I got some Halimeda in on a frag. It stays in one corner and I occasionally pull some out and toss it in my sump. I have learned over time to use it as a calcium indicator.

 

[oldbones]

Embrace diversity.

Coexist.

 

[ericarenee]

I agree with the above to leave it alone.
But i have to ask . What kind of lights are you using and Rather you have RO/DI WATER or not..

I would get ro/di unit for sure and Cycle this tank with Lights out. Be sure it gets NO NATURAL Sunlight as well..with that much growth Are you sure the tank is NOT Cycled already.. Check nitrate and phosphate.

 

[pbell101]

I use rodi water. My lights are two Kessil A160WE's. I use the Kessil controller. It gradually turns the lights off starting at 8, and turns them off completely at 10 pm, the lights gradually start coming on at 8:00, and are fully on at a 9:30. I checked ammonia, and it's at .35 or so ppm mg/L using the Api test kit. I haven't kept much of an eye on nitrates and phosphates, since I just started the tank a couple weeks ago, and have not added any ammonia before a couple of days ago. I thought if it still had ammonia, it was still cycling? I wanted to get my sump and heater and everything worked out before I started cycling. Some of the live rock was cured when I bought it at a lfs. Much of it came dry from live aquaria, though. Could the die off from the cured live rock have started the cycle?

 

[nuxx]

Used live rock on our first few tanks.

The biodiversity is nice, but now I'm a bit more anal and like to know exactly what's going into the tank. Man reason we QT everything wet and started with dry rock.

 

[Mark9]

Embrace diversity.

Coexist.

I have to disagree on this one, if the pest majano/aiptasia spreads, it gets real annoying and ugly. I was never able to get rid of them using aiptasia-x or joes. I killed the rock.

 

[Sk8r]

Pep shrimp---juvies---1 in 5 will take to them ---better yet if you can get them from an lfs that will swear they eat aiptasia. No fuss no bother from then on.

The red bubble is a problem. The green is probably halimeda, which grows slowly, and doesn't bother much. Outside of that, there's sponge. If there is ANY caulerpa, go after it and get it out unless this is a huge tank aimed at tangs.

 

[pbell101]

Thanks all, for the advice. I'm not gonna break it down. I've decided to follow the advice of Mr. Billdogg, and treat this all as part of the learning curve. It was just frustrating getting so much pest stuff even before my first fish.

I've also gotten rid of my bioball, in favor of some cheato, and some rock in my sump. I also have a lamp in there on a timer.

A lfs near me recommended I use a needle syringe and inject lemon juice in the pest anemone, since I don't have any fish in my tank yet. I'm gonna try the boiling water method first, though. It seems less invasive, and I don't want lemon juice in my tank, if I don't have to. How fast can these things take over? Can peppermints kill an anemone that size? I just don't want to have to deal with Mr. Anemone and his 10 kids, by the time my tank's done cycling and I can put in some peppermints to deal with him/them.

As for the algae, I'm not really sure how to deal with that yet. The stuff goes everywhere when I try to scrub it off, and sometimes seems to stick like glue. I don't have a phosphate or nitrate or phosphate test kit yet. I tried to find one today, but the lfs's are closed. I'm just getting one on amazon. I've just been going by ammonia presence for cycling. Should I get a reactor if I do have high phosphates, though? And, if I get one, would it fit in this manifold I'm building for my in-line heater (minus the brass fittings, of course)?

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My return pump is an Eheim Compact+ 3000, if that helps.