Aiptasia Farm

[cthegame]

I want to have an aips farm in my sump. Can someone help me on how to go about getting this done? Currently i have no aips in my DT thanks to my peppermint shrimp but i do have 10 or so aips in my fuge.

How can go about doing this? Can the aips farm be the same as my fuge?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[kyle]

so you have light in the sump

 

[kyle]

why do you want an aips farm? I thought these thing were pests.

 

[NewbReefer]

it might not be the best idea. Aiptasia i believe can reproduce by releasing spores into the water that will then be put into your DT. if you've got enough things in there to eat em as they pop up you might be ok but if it all the sudden they get outta hand you got a big problem on your hands.

 

[McCrary]

If nutrient removal is the goal then you might want to think about just using some macro algae.

 

[d.french]

read about this on another website and another local reefer wants to try it, he seen a few tanks that were just flawless and in sump was a fuge and an area of nothing but aiptasia. to keep out of display keep a copperband butterfly my buddy has tons of aiptasia and his butterfly is happy and eats well.

 

[RigoSharon]

i read somewere that you need also a uv sterilizer to prevent them spores to get into the tank..

 

[Bifferwine]

I've seen it done -- you need the aiptasia farm and the fuge on separate lines, and you need a UV sterilizer after the aiptasia farm, or else the aiptasia will spread into the main tank. Basically, the aiptasia farm needs to be completely separate from the sump and fuge.

 

[cthegame]

If nutrient removal is the goal then you might want to think about just using some macro algae.

I already have macro

 

[cthegame]

Well basically under my DT, i have 3 different sections within 2 sumps. One is the fuge and the other two open area with just water. I can prevent any aips getting into the DT.

How long does it usually take to have so many aips grow? Its seems that since i have had my fuge for a year, i only have a total of about 10 of them in there right now. It seems like they are not reproducing as fast as i would want them to if i did move forward with the Aiptasia far.

 

[Altohombre]

i want to see pics of your farm. Is there an aptasia petting zoo for the kids (and me)

 

[NewbReefer]

lol as big of a pest as they are you could probably get in there with a knife and cut em all in half to double how many you have now. I hate aiptasia, Joes Juice make quick work of em though.

 

[reeffreak]

You wan't them to spread fast then squirt them some cyclopeeze and mysis.Then again,target feeding adds to the nitrate you are trying to remove.I think it's debatable if aiptasia actually makes a dent in nutrient removal.,,,maybe do a xenia farm instead?

 

[kyle]

wat if ur farm dies will it take out the tank. it is a nem??

 

[yote]

I'm gonna agree with Reef.I think Xenia would be a safer choice.

 

[cthegame]

Hey Yote. Welcome back!

What are the benefits to Xenia compared to aips? And what are the downsides of aips compared to xenia?

I have a hard time finding xenia in a few of the LFS' i have been too. DO you know of any reliable websites that sell them at low cost?

I dont like to buy livestock from internet companies but if i have no choice, i will.

Thanks

 

[daugherty]

do you have any local reef clubs if so you could try there.

 

[hibye]

another thing is that if u buy a xinia u have a 50/50 % of it living . ?why? i dont no some ppl cant just kep em alive like me xenias are strange.

 

[daugherty]

my xenias are alive but do not grow like crazy. i think that if you have a super clean system than they do not grow very well as if you have more nutrient rich water

 

[reeffreak]

Hey Yote. Welcome back!

What are the benefits to Xenia compared to aips? And what are the downsides of aips compared to xenia?

I have a hard time finding xenia in a few of the LFS' i have been too. DO you know of any reliable websites that sell them at low cost?

I dont like to buy livestock from internet companies but if i have no choice, i will.

Thanks

Xenias won't spread back to the main tank but you will need to run carbon on a part time basis,they are a soft coral after all....chemical warfare and all that.I have nothing to base this on but I think xenias would remove more nutrient than aiptasias.I don't think I ever seen a coral grow as fast and spread like xenias...well maybe kenya but they don't count.My advice,look for the aquacultured silver-tip xenias.They generally don't wither away for no reasons like other xenias.