Nuking a Tank.... How?

fishgate

fishgate

Active member
If I move everything I want to keep alive into a temporary tank what is the best way to nuke a tank. I can't remove most of the rock since it is a rock wall that is permanently attached to the inside glass. Can I just bleach the tank? So pour maybe 3-4 gallons of bleach in 150 gallons of water?

If I use the bleach method can I keep the same water since the bleach evaporates or will this require a 100% water change?

Is there some other way like some poison that will not remain once it does its job? I am investigating other ways to get rid of my Aiptasia.

What about temp? Can I crank up the temp to like 100 degrees? Will that kill the Aiptasia?
 
Just get a few peppermint shrimps or mix up some kalk paste..
no need to nuke a tank just because of some aiptasia.. thats silly.
 
Your only issue is aiptasia? Get some berghia nudibranches, they only eat aiptasia and work incredibly well.

And bleach does not evaporate. The hypochlorite isn't very stable but you'll still have chlorine in there. At the least you'll need to treat with prime after.
 
If you go with peppermint shrimp, have your LFS put them in a tank to demonstrate that they actually eat it. Some do and some don't - I think depending on where they were collected. Mine were "proven" and did an amazing job. Caveat, they don't eat large aiptasia in my experience.
 
lutz123 said:
If you go with peppermint shrimp, have your LFS put them in a tank to demonstrate that they actually eat it. Some do and some don't - I think depending on where they were collected. Mine were "proven" and did an amazing job. Caveat, they don't eat large aiptasia in my experience.
Click to expand...
I read that those that don't are actually camel shrimp, which very closely resemble peppermints.
 
I have found that consistent use of AptasiaX will eventually work. In some tanks it has taken 6 weeks but eventually I won.
 
Aiptasia are so very minor, and really hurt very little, unless the tank is absolutely wall-to-wall infested. I've never had them but they're good peppermint shrimp food. Juvvie shrimp are the most adventurous.
 
Sk8r said:
Aiptasia are so very minor, and really hurt very little, unless the tank is absolutely wall-to-wall infested. I've never had them but they're good peppermint shrimp food. Juvvie shrimp are the most adventurous.
Click to expand...

I agree with you.. My refugium is full of them.. They are good filter feeders.
However I think they are like snakes to some people:eek1:

To add to suggestions ... Raccoon butterfly fish will clean a mess of the out quickly. They just are not dependently reef safe.
 
I will try the natural way first. Berghias are not cheap either they are $10 each and I'd need 20 for my tank. I also suspect they help to release planulas as they eat so I would need to keep them forever but once (if) they run out they will be dead. It would be a vicious cycle. AiptasiaX is out I have no access to the front of the tank it is in-wall and the back of the tank has a rock wall on all three accessible sides. I used it twice and both of the Aiptasia were easily accessible an inch into the tank. So I am top down only from the back. I use a coral viewer to see clearly. And I am on a step-stool at that.

They are dotted all over the tank. A laser may actually be my only real hope. Unless I get like 10 peppermints and get real lucky that all of them like Aiptasia. Not sure if they eat the huge ones in the sump though. I might just nuke the sump and start over there that would not be too bad.

One thing is for sure I will never buy anything from anyone on the forum again!
 
If you can cut back on feeding, as in 3 days no food, one day with, most fish will just forage...ditto the shrimp, who might get hungry: they prefer the babies, but they'll seem to 'farm' one last large one. Sounds as if you have an uncommon infestation. I have plenty of them in my sump, but they don't last in my tank: I have one shrimp in a 102 gallon, and he's got it down to one aiptasia, out of about 10.
 
fishgate said:
One thing is for sure I will never buy anything from anyone on the forum again!
Click to expand...

sounds like you need better a quarantine system. beside dipping your corals, you should really check the rocks in a QT.

LFS and online vendors have Aiptasia problems too. I see them on rocks in just about every LFS nearby. However, there are many MANY local reefers that hate Aiptasia and maintain a very clean tank
 
fishgate said:
If I move everything I want to keep alive into a temporary tank what is the best way to nuke a tank. I can't remove most of the rock since it is a rock wall that is permanently attached to the inside glass. Can I just bleach the tank? So pour maybe 3-4 gallons of bleach in 150 gallons of water?

If I use the bleach method can I keep the same water since the bleach evaporates or will this require a 100% water change?

Is there some other way like some poison that will not remain once it does its job? I am investigating other ways to get rid of my Aiptasia.

What about temp? Can I crank up the temp to like 100 degrees? Will that kill the Aiptasia?
Click to expand...

Interested in seeing that reef work. Can you post a pic?
 
Here are some pics - the entire rock pictured are peppered with Aiptasia.

at2.jpg

at1.jpg
 
m0nkie said:
sounds like you need better a quarantine system. beside dipping your corals, you should really check the rocks in a QT.

LFS and online vendors have Aiptasia problems too. I see them on rocks in just about every LFS nearby. However, there are many MANY local reefers that hate Aiptasia and maintain a very clean tank
Click to expand...

This came on a ball of cheato, which I did not quarantine, but even if I did, I'm not sure how effective it would have been. I should have rinsed it well though that might have helped.
 
I've been helping my buddy with his. He went from 1 or 2 that I could see to a full on infestation from the last time I seen him. They killed every coral he had which wasn't many but maybe 5. Every piece of live rock is covered every square inch. They are all huge. The one good thing about his is since there aren't really any corals can pretty much kalk paste the heck out of them without getting it on other corals.
 
phillrodrigo said:
I've been helping my buddy with his. He went from 1 or 2 that I could see to a full on infestation from the last time I seen him. They killed every coral he had which wasn't many but maybe 5. Every piece of live rock is covered every square inch. They are all huge. The one good thing about his is since there aren't really any corals can pretty much kalk paste the heck out of them without getting it on other corals.
Click to expand...

That describes my tank. I am really thinking I need to nuke with heat. Move the fish/inverts and crank it up to 100 for a few days.
 
OMG.. you have to be kidding..
those pics do NOT show any reason to nuke a tank..
please just relax/slow down/breath.. it will be fine...
I've got aiptasia that would eat that fish in one bite.. and they come and go and can easily be taken care of with the methods above..

You don't even have corals there or anything else that they could possibly "mildly disturb"
 
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