Why don't more people do this?

[andrewkw]

I just tried this and maybe because I don't have a proper applicator but I feel like this was perhaps the most dangerous thing I've ever done with my reefs.

First I tried a little plastic target feeding baster (not a full size turkey baster) as soon as I collected the water it shot back out. Yes it was hot, but I was prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for the boiling water to shoot back out. I tried a full sized turkey baster and it also shot back out. Then I tried a 5ml hard plastic syringe from a salifert test kit. It held the water fine but didn't get much reaction from aiptasia. Not sure if the water just didn't stay hot enough or it wasn't enough.

Additionally a small amount of water cools really fast so this is going to require constantly going back to your heat source then to your tank. Obviously this has worked for some people but I'm just going to stick with aiptasia x and other chemical methods, far less troublesome imo.

 

[YumaMan]

Inject Aiptasia with citric acid in its stem with a syringe and needle. After it recoils plaster its face with Kalk paste using another syringe without a needle. The thing will die of humiliation, and the net pH change in your water will be near zero.

 

[ksed]

I do the same to keep GSP under control.

Yep, the scalding risk. Kalkpaste is fast, easy, available, safe and effective. I don't like to recommend animals for the reason you wrote, and because peppermint shrimp can become terrors. I do like CBB if you can get them to eat the pests.
Toothpaste consistency kalkpaste in a syringe with no needle. Turn off pumps, apply over aiptasia, really cover them. Wait 45 minutes and the kalk forms a crust which often stays in place when the pumps are turned back on, and if it doesn't it is harmless at that point. Don't go crazy and do a million, but you can do a bunch without impacting the tank. If you don't trust the crusty kalk, siphon it out or turkey baste it out. Also can work on algae.
I used to do the hot thing, like 25 years ago. This is way easier. YMMV

 

[jeffchapok]

Can you break your process down step by step from boiling the water to actually applying it to the affected area?

First I turn off all circulation in the tank so the water is still. Then I bring a few cups of RODI water to a boil in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup.

Once the water begins to boil, I carefully carry the hot the water to the tank and suck some up with the turkey baster. I lower the baster into the tank and slowly squeeze the water onto whatever spot I want to treat. I do it slowly so the water remains on the spot as long as possible.

That's pretty much all there is to it.

 

[Doctorgori]

Boiling water is medieval and you all should be reported; ...I find dissolving them with 32% H2O2 much more 21st century

 

[lebreef]

Yep, the scalding risk. Kalkpaste is fast, easy, available, safe and effective. I don't like to recommend animals for the reason you wrote, and because peppermint shrimp can become terrors. I do like CBB if you can get them to eat the pests.
Toothpaste consistency kalkpaste in a syringe with no needle. Turn off pumps, apply over aiptasia, really cover them. Wait 45 minutes and the kalk forms a crust which often stays in place when the pumps are turned back on, and if it doesn't it is harmless at that point. Don't go crazy and do a million, but you can do a bunch without impacting the tank. If you don't trust the crusty kalk, siphon it out or turkey baste it out. Also can work on algae.
I used to do the hot thing, like 25 years ago. This is way easier. YMMV

Just did the kalkpaste with toothpaste consistency thing and looks like it worked like a charm! Didn’t blow off after the pumps were turned on and formed a nice white blob. Thank you for that!

 

[PhreeByrd]

This is indeed a method that's been around for a long time, and I've seen it suggested at least hundreds of times in forums. Personally, I think it's very hit-and-miss because it's very difficult to do. Even if your "boiling" water is 200 degrees F in your syringe or baster, as soon as you put it into the aquarium the temperature will drop like a stone. Getting water of sufficient temperature to the right place is very difficult at best. Couple that with the fact that aiptasia can regrow from just their pedal disc, which may well be inside a rock where the hot water can't reach, and you have a major waste of time which actually could make things even worse.
Of course, it is a method that's free, so for those on a strict budget, maybe it's worth a try.

 

[S2G]

Sometimes I worry that I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but I've found that applying boiling RODI water with a turkey baster is very effective at treating both GHA and aiptasia. Yet I seldom see anyone discuss it and when I do bring it up, no one ever comments.

I try to keep my reef using only natural methods as much as possible, and haven't used any chemical treatments other than H2O2 (and that ended very badly!).

Is there some particular reason no one but me does this? It seems to me to be the cheapest and lowest risk thing you can do, as we all should already have access to RODI. The only drawback I see is that you can't use it immediately adjacent to coral without harming them as well. But I've done it within an inch or two with no adverse effects.

Here's a before and after of an aiptasia I eradicated last week this way after the often touted lemon juice treatment failed.

You can even see that the algae where it was is all gone too. I've used this to great effect to spot treat GHA, and once you do, the CUC go crazy over it. Boiled GHA must be delicious.

But I'm curious as to why this isn't more commonly discussed.

Never thought of it to be honest. I would think boiling water wouldnt be good for an average plastic Turkey baster though.

I'd love to try it.

 

[jeffchapok]

Never thought of it to be honest. I would think boiling water wouldnt be good for an average plastic Turkey baster though.

I'd love to try it.

It hasn't hurt mine at all. It's nothing special, just an $8 baster from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

 

[jeffchapok]

This is indeed a method that's been around for a long time, and I've seen it suggested at least hundreds of times in forums. Personally, I think it's very hit-and-miss because it's very difficult to do. Even if your "boiling" water is 200 degrees F in your syringe or baster, as soon as you put it into the aquarium the temperature will drop like a stone. Getting water of sufficient temperature to the right place is very difficult at best. Couple that with the fact that aiptasia can regrow from just their pedal disc, which may well be inside a rock where the hot water can't reach, and you have a major waste of time which actually could make things even worse.
Of course, it is a method that's free, so for those on a strict budget, maybe it's worth a try.

I've only used it once on aiptasia as shown above. So far it hasn't reappeared.

But I've used it to great effect on GHA. It turns bright green and then dies away, provided my CUC doesn't completely remove it first.

Apparently even though it's no longer boiling, it's still hot enough to easily kill GHA.

 

[bigdrew]

I have never heard of this. Knock on wood, in the 1 year and 2 months that my tank has been setup, I haven't had any. I will store this in the back of my brain as a potential solution, should it ever pop up.

 

[Schnizzle]

I'll try this out. I've been using Aiptasia-X and there has been no advance from either side of the war.

 

[2000se]

I've only used it once on aiptasia as shown above. So far it hasn't reappeared.

But I've used it to great effect on GHA. It turns bright green and then dies away, provided my CUC doesn't completely remove it first.

Apparently even though it's no longer boiling, it's still hot enough to easily kill GHA.

Do you find it destroys the coralline algae as well?

 

[jeffchapok]

Do you find it destroys the coralline algae as well?

I don't have enough to notice. But I imagine it would.