Treefer32
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2013
- Messages
- 1,466
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- Location
- Fargo, ND
- What state or country do you live in
- North Dakota
Well, I've had a few posts of the zerg, err I mean aiptasia invasion of my display. Every rock. (over 150 lbs of rock) has hundreds if not thousands of aiptasia sticking out of it. I cleaned one small rock off by soaking it in a thick kalk slurry. it killed them all, but within about 3-4 weeks that rock was covered in them again. So, I need a long term solution.
I have to preface this with in a few weeks I'm going on a vacation to Hawaii for a week. So, I'm not doing anything to the tank right before I leave. Just feel that would be bad.... I'm formulating plans for a week or two after I get back.
1. plumb a 40 or 55 gallon tank with a hang on back overflow into my return and overflow into my sump. I have a work bench above my sump that I used to use to hold a 75 gallon sump. So, I know it'd hold a 40-55 just fine and I'd have gravity to assist me with the overflow. I would put in a nice inline valve to control the flow into the tank. I wouldn't have to worry about filtration, cycling, or heaters, as it would all be the same water and filters, controlled by my main sump.
I would place a few rocks in this tank at a time with a few Berghia. I may get a cheap either LED or power compact light for the rocks that have corals attached. Something cheap and simple, it's not meant to be long term. I'm thinking more like a 40 Gallon Long tank as like a frag tank. I might consider a Filefish in this tank as well... I have a lot of aiptasia and I'll admit I know nothing about the rate at which a couple berghia eat aiptasia nor their gestation periods for eggs and rapid population. But my wrasses would eat them. (4 wrasses)
That's the largest line of attack for making some headway. . .
The maintenance and control of them I'm thinking a Copperband in the display. ASAP. I'm hoping to have one in the display within the next couple of weeks before I leave for Hawaii. If nothing else, he might be able control the aiptasia from continuing to reproduce while I'm gone. (If I'm really lucky.)
I'm not willing to consider the alternatives at this point. Has anyone done something like this and had success? Was there anything to consider in using a simple remote tank to do this? I'd start with rocks that don't have corals and not light the tank. If I see that the rocks are getting fairly clean from the berghia I'd put them back in the display. One solution I've thought of for keeping the berghia from migrating to the display is when a rock is fairly clean of aiptasia, move a new aiptasia riddled rock into the "aiptasia fight club sump" and wait a few days for them to migrate to the new rock and then move the clean rock into the display. I foresee this being a lot of work. . . But, in all honesty, it's much easier than tearing the tank down in my opinion. And still much cheaper and less stressful to my livestock.
Thoughts?
I have to preface this with in a few weeks I'm going on a vacation to Hawaii for a week. So, I'm not doing anything to the tank right before I leave. Just feel that would be bad.... I'm formulating plans for a week or two after I get back.
1. plumb a 40 or 55 gallon tank with a hang on back overflow into my return and overflow into my sump. I have a work bench above my sump that I used to use to hold a 75 gallon sump. So, I know it'd hold a 40-55 just fine and I'd have gravity to assist me with the overflow. I would put in a nice inline valve to control the flow into the tank. I wouldn't have to worry about filtration, cycling, or heaters, as it would all be the same water and filters, controlled by my main sump.
I would place a few rocks in this tank at a time with a few Berghia. I may get a cheap either LED or power compact light for the rocks that have corals attached. Something cheap and simple, it's not meant to be long term. I'm thinking more like a 40 Gallon Long tank as like a frag tank. I might consider a Filefish in this tank as well... I have a lot of aiptasia and I'll admit I know nothing about the rate at which a couple berghia eat aiptasia nor their gestation periods for eggs and rapid population. But my wrasses would eat them. (4 wrasses)
That's the largest line of attack for making some headway. . .
The maintenance and control of them I'm thinking a Copperband in the display. ASAP. I'm hoping to have one in the display within the next couple of weeks before I leave for Hawaii. If nothing else, he might be able control the aiptasia from continuing to reproduce while I'm gone. (If I'm really lucky.)
I'm not willing to consider the alternatives at this point. Has anyone done something like this and had success? Was there anything to consider in using a simple remote tank to do this? I'd start with rocks that don't have corals and not light the tank. If I see that the rocks are getting fairly clean from the berghia I'd put them back in the display. One solution I've thought of for keeping the berghia from migrating to the display is when a rock is fairly clean of aiptasia, move a new aiptasia riddled rock into the "aiptasia fight club sump" and wait a few days for them to migrate to the new rock and then move the clean rock into the display. I foresee this being a lot of work. . . But, in all honesty, it's much easier than tearing the tank down in my opinion. And still much cheaper and less stressful to my livestock.
Thoughts?
Be nice to have a small school of them. Such great personalities and beautiful fish. Would love to have 3 just from a fish perspective. But, I'll take one that eats Aiptasia. . . 
