ginoandres
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- Mar 3, 2016
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So a couple days ago I set up my first reef tank, a 40g custom made rimless system with herbie overflow and 20g sump. I live in Taiwan, and for some reason liverock is much easier to come by than dry rock. So I opted for some very fresh liverock, with plenty of coralline and other growth, and loaded about 40 pounds of it into my DT and sump. Within 24 hours I started to hear a clicking noise, 1 or 2 at a time, almost like my glass thermometer was banging against the glass. I checked and it was not the thermometer, however. My research indicates this is likely a Mantis shrimp, especially as the rock was collected off the cost here in Taiwan (where fishermen seed Mantis shrimp for eating).
I REALLY don't want to begin my first tank with a potentially lethal predator. I haven't been able to spot it, and do hear occasional clicks from the DT and the sump. I'm not too worried about the sump rock, but the DT rock needs to be cleared before I add sand and livestock. The tank has begun cycling for a couple days, but I am willing to put that on hold to get rid of this devilish creature. So what is your preferred method of dipping liverock to flush out the nasties, while retaining some of the beneficial bacteria/coralline? Keep in mind, this is very porous rock... it would be nearly impossible to isolate a particular hole as its home.
So far I've come across the following suggestions, which I will list in descending order of what I am considering:
1) A club soda dip for 3-5 minutes on each display rock, with salt added to appropriate levels to preserve beneficial bacteria. This is supposed to be fairly harmless to the good stuff, while shrimp and crabs can't stand it.
2) A freshwater dip in RO/DI water for 3-5 minutes (this would also kill beneficial bacteria and coralline I presume, so I am leaning away from this)
3) Just add livestock and see what happens. If things start to die, I will then know it's a Mantis and take the necessary measures (this is the lazy option and potentially the most frustrating long-term).
It's still early enough in the cycle that I can try to deal with this before moving forward. And from what I understand, any Mantis in the sump will not pose any problems for me down the line, right?
I REALLY don't want to begin my first tank with a potentially lethal predator. I haven't been able to spot it, and do hear occasional clicks from the DT and the sump. I'm not too worried about the sump rock, but the DT rock needs to be cleared before I add sand and livestock. The tank has begun cycling for a couple days, but I am willing to put that on hold to get rid of this devilish creature. So what is your preferred method of dipping liverock to flush out the nasties, while retaining some of the beneficial bacteria/coralline? Keep in mind, this is very porous rock... it would be nearly impossible to isolate a particular hole as its home.
So far I've come across the following suggestions, which I will list in descending order of what I am considering:
1) A club soda dip for 3-5 minutes on each display rock, with salt added to appropriate levels to preserve beneficial bacteria. This is supposed to be fairly harmless to the good stuff, while shrimp and crabs can't stand it.
2) A freshwater dip in RO/DI water for 3-5 minutes (this would also kill beneficial bacteria and coralline I presume, so I am leaning away from this)
3) Just add livestock and see what happens. If things start to die, I will then know it's a Mantis and take the necessary measures (this is the lazy option and potentially the most frustrating long-term).
It's still early enough in the cycle that I can try to deal with this before moving forward. And from what I understand, any Mantis in the sump will not pose any problems for me down the line, right?
and I bleached the rock for a week, then soaked it in hot tap water, rinsed with RODI, then cured it before putting it into my main display. It sucks, but everything will grow back. You can either take the gamble and possibly spend months fighting any number of pests, or nuke it now and know for certain you've eliminated the problem.
