Hello

Colin

Reefing newb
Hi, I just bought a 30 gallon saltwater tank. The guy I got it from obviously didnt care about it because it was overrun with aptasia probably 150 and all different kinds of green algae. I do have a few questions about getting rid of it all. Mainly the aptasia how do I get rid of that many without hurting anything else? Thank You
 
Welcome to the site Colin....Fellow Coloradan! Aiptasia is a REAL PAIN to try to control. If you combine that with a serious algae infestation, then you've inherited a real headache. But....all is not lost. Before going any further....do you have any animals in this tank?
 
Hi and welcome! With that many aiptasia, there's really no good way to get rid of it without hurting anything else. If there are just a few aiptasia, you can get shrimp or fish that will eat it, or you can inject them with a chemical to kill it.

I hope you didn't pay full asking price for that rock, because in order to use it, you will pretty much have to kill it via boiling or letting it all dry out.
 
I would encourage you not to add anything else until you've got the rock cleaned up. You've got a couple of options....

1) ditch the rock. buy all new stuff. be sure that the rock you get is FULLY CURED since you will be adding it to an established tank. You don't want to start a cycle if you have animals in there.
2) take all the rock out of the tank...all of it. Set it out in the sun to dry out. This usually works best in the summer time :) Leave it out there for a solid week. Everything should die. You will then have dead rock to put back in the tank.
3) get a great big pot....BOIL every piece for at least 20-30 minutes, longer if you can. This won't smell very pleasant, so be prepared to throw open a couple of windows.
 
Dang, so if I do boil the rock what can I do about the little mushrooms on it or are they just going to have to be a casualty of war? If I boil them will I have white rocks or will it still be somewhat cured?
 
If you just have the shrooms, or in other words the aiptasia isnt an immediate threat to anything, You could try getting a copperband butterfly, a file fish, a berghia nudibranch, peppermint shrimp, or any combination of those stated. They are all natural predators of aiptasia. Then get yourself some aiptasia-x and go to town. Feed them the aip-x a few at a time every couple of days. It will take patience and commitment but you can get it under control without boiling your rock. On the other hand, shrooms are only $5 at the LFS and everything else I listed is more so you may just boil the rock and sacrifice the shrooms... Good luck!
 
Ive been doing the apt X for the big buggers but am debating whether it is worth the 12 bucks a bottle for the little ones. I had a peppermint shrimp but found him on the floor one night.
 
I'm sorry for your troubles. In some ways, its better to build your own tank. You learn a lot of things along the way and won't end up inheriting some one else's problems. You'll just develop your own problems! J/K. It can be very frustrating to start out in this hobby with a lot of clean up work to do before you can start enjoying your tank. But don't worry, we can help you get it all better! :)
 
when I bought the tank I thought it was going to be empty. Then when I saw that he had the few fish in it I was kinda bummed. I was looking forward to doing it on my own and getting my own fish. Andysgirl do you know of any good fish stores in the Denver area?
 
*L* I am in C Springs. There are only 4 stores in my area. One, I never go to (too far). The other 3 I go to for different things. All my fish and inverts come from one store, my most trusted one. All the animals have been incredibly healthy. The other two stores I visit infrequently for my dry goods.
 
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