Best way to restart a tank

[TylerR]

I've been struggling for years just get started. I was making decent progress, but at the beginning I let a Vermetid into my tank. I saw it but I was new and didn't know they had no predator and were a pest so I just left it. Big mistake! The kind I had was so bad they covered my rocks and overflow and even killed my monte all in ~6 months time.

I tried to remove rocks and let the tank sit without feeding for several months to let the vermetids die off. 3 weeks ago I added dry rock and today just found ~10 vermetids on the new rock so they're still in the tank.

I only have a few sps and cleanup crew. I don't want to deal with any vermetids ever again. I don't want a solution that may work. I want a solution that will 100% be sure they do not exist in my tank. I want to nuke my tank and start fresh. I only have ~6 frags and cleanup crew. I'd rather start over now than deal with vermetids for the next several years.

I'm considering moving my existing corals and snails to quarantine, leaving the substrate and live rock then just dumping bleach in the tank. (40 gallon tank, probably about two cups of bleach). Let it run for a day. Drain it, replace 40 gallons of RO dosed with seachem prime, sit for a day then drain and replace with 40 Gallons of salt water to start new.

Letting things drain and dry will work, but will take too long so I'd rather chemically sterilize. Will the above kill all life and vermetids once and for all?

I started QT all corals and fish after my first vermetid infestation so it won't happen again.

 

[mta_morrow]

I had vermiteds introduced to my tank as well.

I bought a new pair of needle nose pliers and proceeded to crush at the base and remove.

Did it daily for about a week.

I can honestly say I have yet to see another one in almost a year now.

 

[TylerR]

These are not the big ones. They're pretty small. And I had been manually removing them every weekend only to find more the next week. I want them gone.

 

[mta_morrow]

These are not the big ones. They're pretty small. And I had been manually removing them every weekend only to find more the next week. I want them gone.

I hear ya. Just sharing what I did.

I don’t know that I would bleach the whole tank.

I would perhaps take the rock out and bake it in the sun for about a week.

Then a RODI bath for a few day

You could do a good sand bed cleaning as well as leave your corals in the tank.

 

[Mical]

I found my longspine and tuxedo urchins mow them down.

 

[devin]

Same boat as you. Rock is sitting dry in a bag and the sand is in the garbage along with all snails, had some vermentids growing on the snail shells. I fragged what I could and placed them in a new tank. Even then I’m still seeing snails pop up. Those I kill on the spot. I have my stone cutters and just take the whole base off with a little bit of the plug.

The display tank has been sitting cycling with 70 gallons of unheated RO with one gallon of white viniger. I’m hoping this will of killed off any in the plumbing and sump. But I can’t say for sure. Also no clue on how they reproduce.

Later this week I’m going to start cycling the display. Then I will be placing any frags on a new plug then back in the display.