ojessiesgirlo Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 TL;DR: We have a 34 gallon tank full of 200+ majano anemones, and a new tank on the way. We're hoping to salvage some of the corals from the original tank, but don't want to risk contaminating the new tank with anemones. What should we do? 18 months ago, we decided to get a 34 gallon RedSeaMax from Craigslist. The guy who sold it to us said he had had it for 3 years and that it was his "pride and joy," but he was moving and couldn't bring it. When we got everything home, we quickly realized there were some issues with the tank. It didn't have any media for filtration, for example, and there was no heater. We bought what we thought we needed and continued on. The tank came with some "great corals," like anemones and kenya trees... The original owner had a friend who gave us his torch, a mushroom, a chalice, a toadstool and some birdsnest. Shortly after *that*, the anemones really got out of control. There are about 70 pounds of live rock in the 34 gallon tank, and it's nearly impossible to reach several areas of the tank as a result of the bulkiness. We tried Aptasia X and had some good results against the anemones, but after we went on vacation for a week at Christmas, they have been out of control and nothing we do will help. Clearly, we made some newbie mistakes and have since learned from them. We didn't initially realize that the anemones would sting our other corals, so we just put up with them for the most part. When they started to get out of control, however, our corals started to suffer and we realized we either had to get rid of the tank or get serious about reef keeping. Our tank is under a bulkhead in a rec room, so we decided to get a longer tank - the 30 gallon Nuvo Fusion - rather than a cube so we could do a better job cleaning things. The new tank is on it's way, and we're thinking of using Marco rock and going through the full tank cycle from scratch because we're so afraid of anemones and other hitchhikers. We haven't fully decided on brands of anything, but with a toddler and an infant at home, anything that reduces the upkeep of the tank (a skimmer, for example) is something we're interested in. We had hoped to save some of the original corals - not because we didn't want to re-buy things, but because we felt really bad about taking them on before we knew what we were doing and harming them. The plan right now is to cycle the new tank while the old tank limps along. Once we transfer whatever we can, we're going to sell the RedSeaMax and move on. We have a clown, two damsels and a wrasse, so at the minimum we have to keep things going for them. Some of the corals are fully attached to the live rock, some are just resting there on plugs. So, what should we do? Give up on the old corals so we can start the new tank without any anemones? Can we get rid of the old live rock (we suspect there are anemones hiding within it) and leave any removable corals in the tank, using the old tank as a quarantine? (I worry that leaving the live rock will harbor the anemones, but that removing it will remove too much bacteria and kill everything) Should we just get a 10 gallon tank and use that as a quarantine since we don't have a great need for the new lights while we're cycling? My husband feels very comfortable with the process of cycling a tank from scratch - I think at this point, we're just not sure if anything can be salvaged, or if we just have to learn our lesson and move on. Thanks so much for all the help in advance! This forum has been wonderful in the past, and we look forward to the day when we can help people instead of always asking the questions! Link to comment
Sancho Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 This may be a stupid question but are you 100% that they are majano? Could they aiptasia? Pics? Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I vote start from scratch and cycle a new tank. you could always give the old rock a muratic acid bath and reuse the rocks later once they're cleaned up. Link to comment
ndrobey Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Pics would help so we know exactly what you are dealing with. Link to comment
ojessiesgirlo Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 I am embarrassed, but here you go.. Link to comment
whatisit Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 If they were the green and pink ones I would have taken them all from you Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Besides a leather and euphillia, I don't see any other corals. Perhaps I'm missing them in the photos but it look slike all anemones. Frankly, none of it seems like something you'd want to keep. Suggest a total re-start with new rock (live, dry, uncured - whatever your choice) and new corals. The SPS all seem to be covered with the majanos or cyano. Right away removing those will improve the appearance of the tank. Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I have to agree with Metrokat You can transplant the toadstool and Euphillia. But the rocks will need to be Dried and cleaned before reuse. Link to comment
ojessiesgirlo Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Thank you guys so much. We hadn't been considering moving the rocks at all - I think we were planning on selling them once the transfer was done, along with the tank. If we could clean them up and break them down, though, we might consider it. If we were able to salvage any of the corals, though, wouldn't they have to be quarantined for a while in order to avoid re-contamination with the anemones? Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 As long as you can get the anemones off the rock that the coral are attached to you shouldn't have to worry. Mojano do not spawn enough to worry about gametes. Link to comment
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