Taking down tank...to upgrade

[Sahin]

Hello.

 

I have been in hospital for the past two weeks.

I left the tank in the care of my younger bro.

Now before I went into hospital, I bough a small piece of rock with some button polyps. I noticed that there was a large aiptasia on the rock, I would have taken care of it, but I had to suddenly go into hospital.

 

Now I got back 2 days ago, and the tank is infested with aiptasia. And the flatworm problem has gotten worse.

 

I want to take the tank down and keep only a few of the corals.

 

I want to know how long I could possibly sustain a tank without

live rock and DSB. I would still run the Skimmer and do 25% water change every week.

 

Could I maintain a tank this way for a month or so?

 

The rocks I plan to give to the LFS that gave me the flatworm infestation. -Thier tanks are FULL of flatworms when I last went there. Maybe they can give me some money for the rock?

 

I just cant handle the flatworm problem anymore. Although the aiptasia arent too bad as I got rid of a few in the past, but there's so many now and I just hate the flat worms.

 

Let me know what you think. I need some advice. Thanks.

[Crakeur]

why not toss a wrasse in there to rid the tank of the worms and, if you are going to break down the tank, just take each rock out, kill the aiptasia and put rocks back.

[tinyreef]

hey sahin,

sorry to hear you were laid up in the hospital. hope everything's ok.

 

with 25% wc's and no vertebrates significantly adding to the nutrient levels you should be able to keep the corals (unfed) for a long time (indefinitely imo). it's when we start insisting on adding fish, predators, liquid food, etc. that we need the surface areas of the rock and sand to process said inputs.

 

if you're just going photosynthetic the corals/inverts should be able to process/filter the system themselves. (e.g. clams)

 

btw the water still may retain flatworm larva as well as the LR the corals and such inhabit. crak (i mean the Almighty) may have a point. rent a wrasse or mandarin (easier to catch afterwards) to eliminate the flatworms may be more effective. good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Satchmo]

Hope you're feeling better Sahin. Ripping down the whole tank sounds rather drastic. Do the predator thing. Or just leave them be. Eventually, the flatworms should crash.

[Sahin]

I got a six-line wrasse and a pep shrimp.

Hopefully the two will solve my problem.

The guy at the LFS said he used some of the Peps to get rid of aiptasia in thier own tanks, so fingers crossed, aiptasia will be gone soon.

 

As for the flatworms, for many months I had the upper hand.

I delibrately left the flatworms in the tak during todays water change so the six-line might notice them and start eating.

 

Well, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

If it all works out I will give away the two critters to any UK reefer with same problems.

 

PS, I am feeling better, thanks.