joefitz
Non-member
First all, I want to shout out a huge thank you to Scott Merrill who came over yesterday and single-handedly raised my refugium stand a foot so it could become my new "surgugium". I'd been putting that off for months and who knows if it ever would have been completed if left to me. He also drilled two holes on the other side of the tank so the "nice" side could face the room.
Scott, thanks so much -- I really appreciate your help.
And Karl, I'm still considering using it as a "species" tank (for sea horses and pipefish) instead of or perhaps in addition to the "surgugium" concept. Not sure if the surge concept will work in which case I'll definitely throw something in there and even if it does, I may be able to isolate the flow from the surge enough that I could do it anyway.
Scott also helped me remove all the rock that wasn't covered in coral (most) to go through the flatworm treatment process (short soak in a 10x Flatworm Exit tub followed by a short and rinse soak in clean saltwater followed by storage in another tub with a normal does of Flatworm Exit). Then, once most of the rock was out I treated the main tank with a normal dose of Flatworm Exit. Wow were those little buggers dieing quickly!
So far so good, I haven't lost a single thing so far (that I'm aware of). I had siphoned out as many as I could before I started the treatment although there were still a fair number in the tank. I continued siphoning through the entire ordeal and, as I mentioned, most of the rock was treated outside of the tank first. The sand had dead flatworms scattered around -- I tried to siphon out as many as I could but it proved impossible to get them all. Hopefully that won't come back to haunt me.
I also ran a self-made canister filter filled with nearly a pound of carbon shortly after the Flatworm Exit treatment (and replaced all the carbon several hours later before going to bed).
I think this process (of treating the rock outside the main tank first) was critical to the "success" I've had so far. I won't know about the flatworms for another week or two probably, but Flatworm Exit definitely kills flatworms -- that's for sure! It didn't seem to have an impact on anything else (my micro-fauna didn't even die).
My skimmer is full of yellowish skimmate -- the flatworms apparently excrete a toxic, yellowish residue when they die. The initial Flatworm Exit tub that I used to treat the rocks individual was a nasty, nasty, nasty yellowish color by the end.
I also took this opportunity to re-aquascape my tank (really, it's the first time) and I am psyched! I think it came out awesome. I'll try to take some pics soon.
The only thing I would probably do differently would have been to take Karl Wagner's advice and treat my tank ASAP after first noticing the flatworms. I let them go from a population of a "handful" (that could be seen anyway) to the point where they were covering the entire surface of the rocks under the lighting. Bad, bad, bad decision.
Now I have to hook up my new Tunze Streams (finally bought the bullet and picked up a pair of 6100s), connect the new surgugium, and finish the darn stand...then not only will I have a decent looking tank but I'll have a tidy apartment too!
Sorry for the long post...I just can't begin to tell you how psyched I will be if the flatworms are gone for good. It would be a dream.
Joe
Scott, thanks so much -- I really appreciate your help.
And Karl, I'm still considering using it as a "species" tank (for sea horses and pipefish) instead of or perhaps in addition to the "surgugium" concept. Not sure if the surge concept will work in which case I'll definitely throw something in there and even if it does, I may be able to isolate the flow from the surge enough that I could do it anyway.
Scott also helped me remove all the rock that wasn't covered in coral (most) to go through the flatworm treatment process (short soak in a 10x Flatworm Exit tub followed by a short and rinse soak in clean saltwater followed by storage in another tub with a normal does of Flatworm Exit). Then, once most of the rock was out I treated the main tank with a normal dose of Flatworm Exit. Wow were those little buggers dieing quickly!
So far so good, I haven't lost a single thing so far (that I'm aware of). I had siphoned out as many as I could before I started the treatment although there were still a fair number in the tank. I continued siphoning through the entire ordeal and, as I mentioned, most of the rock was treated outside of the tank first. The sand had dead flatworms scattered around -- I tried to siphon out as many as I could but it proved impossible to get them all. Hopefully that won't come back to haunt me.
I also ran a self-made canister filter filled with nearly a pound of carbon shortly after the Flatworm Exit treatment (and replaced all the carbon several hours later before going to bed).
I think this process (of treating the rock outside the main tank first) was critical to the "success" I've had so far. I won't know about the flatworms for another week or two probably, but Flatworm Exit definitely kills flatworms -- that's for sure! It didn't seem to have an impact on anything else (my micro-fauna didn't even die).
My skimmer is full of yellowish skimmate -- the flatworms apparently excrete a toxic, yellowish residue when they die. The initial Flatworm Exit tub that I used to treat the rocks individual was a nasty, nasty, nasty yellowish color by the end.
I also took this opportunity to re-aquascape my tank (really, it's the first time) and I am psyched! I think it came out awesome. I'll try to take some pics soon.
The only thing I would probably do differently would have been to take Karl Wagner's advice and treat my tank ASAP after first noticing the flatworms. I let them go from a population of a "handful" (that could be seen anyway) to the point where they were covering the entire surface of the rocks under the lighting. Bad, bad, bad decision.
Now I have to hook up my new Tunze Streams (finally bought the bullet and picked up a pair of 6100s), connect the new surgugium, and finish the darn stand...then not only will I have a decent looking tank but I'll have a tidy apartment too!
Sorry for the long post...I just can't begin to tell you how psyched I will be if the flatworms are gone for good. It would be a dream.
Joe
