The Ultimate Aiptasia Solution

[hyperfocal]

I’ve had persistent problems with aiptasia in my nano. I’ve tried Joe’s Juice, which did nothing aside from pi.... uhh, ticking the little buggers off. I tried Aiptasia-X which, in spite of it’s excellent approach to the problem, failed to actually *kill* any aiptasia. I’m now ready to take more… potent action.

$20 at the local Home Despot (less than what I’ve spent on Joe’s Juice + Aiptasia-X combined) provided me with the ultimate in aiptasia control technology: a 2500º F butane torch. Aiptasia may be able to ignore corrosive paste and toxic goop, but let’s see them ignore fundamental thermodynamics! MUA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!

Step One:

Live rock is pulled from the tank. Torch is lit. Aiptasia spotted (this is the tough part, finding the little buggers on the rock when out of the water is not easy).



Step Two:

Apply CLEANSING FIRE to the aiptasia!



Step Three:

Continue to apply HOT FIERY DEATH to the aiptasia.



Step Four:

Pause for a moment to enjoy the satisfying *sizzle*pop* sounds made by the aiptasia’s incineration. Continue scourging the live rock, all the while resisting the urge to see how those little sponges, vermetid worms, bristleworms, coralline algae… Tank, STAND and CURTAINS (Fire! FIRE! FIREFIREFIRE!) would deal with a good TORCHING [ahem] Sorry. I’m better now.



Step Five:

If a little is good, more is better. They’ve got it coming. “Release planaria� my ***.



Step Six:

Scrub off the ashes.



Step Seven:

Looks pretty good. CSI:Miami couldn’t find an aiptasia on there.



Kudos to Joel at Waves for suggesting this fine course of action. Thanks to my son for taking the pictures; hopefully he’s not *too* mentally scarred by my “BURN WITCH BURN!!� chant.

[Fish_wiz2]

Interesting might be the evolution to removing aiptasia since peppermints

[Amazon4]

LOL, excellent

[Flavum]

haha

Thats awesome!

[coop47]

...and once more all my co-workers are looking at me like I am crazy, as I laugh myself to tears for no apparent reason. rofl.

[Slakker]

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!

[burton14e7]

That is awesome. Hope it works perfectly.

[bubbly]

This is pretty dangerous, IMO, and should definitely be done wearing safety goggles.

Water vaporizes when heated, and if it heats up while trapped in pores in the rock without enough room to escape, it will explode (think coke+mentos in a sealed bottle).

This explosion can send sharp flying LR shrapnel everywhere, including your face and eyes.

Your face will heal but your eyes won't so be sure to wear safety goggles. I me a person who lost an eye by using a wood saw without safety googles, and my local reef club has a guy who lost a couple fingers while doing a DIY project without adequate safeguards.

So safety clown says be CAREFUL when using torches around wet porous rock that fractures easily.

[hyperfocal]

While I'd never advise *against* using safety equipment, I didn't see any "explosions" or "LR shrapnel." You can be sure that if I did, I would have mentioned it.

I'm kind'a disappointed now, fragmentation damage to aiptasia would have been icing on the cake.

[tush]

that is an awesome idea hyperfocal! - i wonder if a soldering iron would work to - of course taking the rock OUT of the tank before doing it - HMmmmmmmmm...

and i will don my fireretardant suit - my flak jacket - my hardhat - my safety goggles and my firemans gloves for all those that have horror stories about every experience

[xtm]

does the torch work underwater? My rocks are unmovable but that was great, lol.

[Laddy]

Thanks for posting......I was worried I would never finish my book entitled "101 Things You Shouldn't Do While Intoxicated," I've been stuck on 100 for weeks.

[hyperfocal]

No, I don't think it'd work underwater -- maybe one of those special welding units they use on oil rigs and the like?

[jimwat]

This reminds me of using gasoline and a rake to take out fire ant mounds in the yard. Even though a little Amdro would have worked better, it was not nearly as satisfying.

[bubbly]

Originally posted by hyperfocal
While I'd never advise *against* using safety equipment, I didn't see any "explosions" or "LR shrapnel." You can be sure that if I did, I would have mentioned it.

I'm kind'a disappointed now, fragmentation damage to aiptasia would have been icing on the cake.

Some rock is going to be more porous than others. I am glad that you didn't see any "explosions" or "LR shrapnel", but that doesn't mean that it isn't going to happen sometime.

There are plenty of people who have done woodwork without protection and have not lost eyes or fingers, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

I just want everyone to be aware of the dangers. I am sure that there are other things more dangerous than running a torch to wet live rock, it doesn't hurt to grab some eye protection just in case.

What I did with my aptasia was rinse it with FW, and then pour salt on it and let it sit for a few minutes. History!

Not as spectacular as the blowtorch method, but it worked great for me.

[unbreakable]

Originally posted by Laddy
Thanks for posting......I was worried I would never finish my book entitled "101 Things You Shouldn't Do While Intoxicated," I've been stuck on 100 for weeks.

LOL


while this is great for nanos, i cant imagine someone with large boulders in their tanks doing this.

i have some aiptasia growing on my hammer coral and trying to figure out what to use.. might get those aiptasia eating nudis for the tank

[chrissreef]

I can attest that this does work! I use a long nose bic lighter though.

works on algae and unwanted crabs too!

[snorvich]

Great pictures. I bet it did not survive that!!

[hyperfocal]

Originally posted by nietzsche

while this is great for nanos, i cant imagine someone with large boulders in their tanks doing this.

All joking aside, yeah this is easier in a nano but given my experience with the pastes & goops I'd *absolutely* go the same way if I ever saw an aiptasia in my big tank. As much of a pain as it'd be to get a chunk of LR to the surface, it's nothing compared to the pain of an aiptasia infestation.

Others have had success with Joe's Juice, Aiptasia-X and the like. Not me. Given that, the nuclear option is the only one.

[widmer]

Originally posted by bubbly
This is pretty dangerous, IMO, and should definitely be done wearing safety goggles.

Water vaporizes when heated, and if it heats up while trapped in pores in the rock without enough room to escape, it will explode (think coke+mentos in a sealed bottle).

This explosion can send sharp flying LR shrapnel everywhere, including your face and eyes.

Your face will heal but your eyes won't so be sure to wear safety goggles. I me a person who lost an eye by using a wood saw without safety googles, and my local reef club has a guy who lost a couple fingers while doing a DIY project without adequate safeguards.

So safety clown says be CAREFUL when using torches around wet porous rock that fractures easily.

I can't imagine any exploding live rock. Even if there were somehow hypothetically a perfectly sealed off pocket of water and/or air in there, I don't believe it could expand to the point where it creates enough pressure to actually break the rock in peices. Either way, I think I'd use a pen torch for easiness.

[pledosophy]

Alright I know the blow torch is more fun but a bic lighter works just the same. I don't scrubb off the buggers, just let them chill and put the rock back in, they're dead.

Originally posted by hyperfocal
Kudos to Joel at Waves for suggesting this fine course of action.

Should have known Joel was behind this. Joel has a problem with fire. Did you see what he did to the pipes in is 60g cube?

[Logzor]

When I have aptasia problems I just dip my rock in the local Volcano.

[Zplay]

LOL That's crazy... I just mixed Kalk paste and never saw them again....

[hyperfocal]

Originally posted by Logzor
When I have aptasia problems I just dip my rock in the local Volcano.

That's very wise.. eliminates the aiptasia and protects your village from lava flows by appeasing Pele.

[hyperfocal]

Originally posted by pledosophy
Should have known Joel was behind this. Joel has a problem with fire. Did you see what he did to the pipes in is 60g cube?

Dang, I must've missed it -- I'm sure it was suitably catastrophic