AEFW treatment

[hobogato]

Ok, i think i have a plan. i have been thinking long and hard about this, and it seems there are two main issues to deal with when doing an in tank treatment of fluke tabs:

1. rapid medication removal at the end of the treatment period
2. a solid biofilter in place even after the tank is nuked with fluke tabs.

this thread is to document the plan i have come up with and how things turn out.

First, a little about my setup for those who havent seen it.

Tanks:

240 gallon (8'X2'X2') reef ready viewable from both long sides - room divider

50 gallon (40"X28"X14") clam tank built into a side table - viewable only from the top

Filtration:

combination sump/fuge (6.5'X14"X14') with 4 sections in the following order - drain in chamber with 80 pounds of liverock rubble, skimmer chamber, fuge chamber with 8" deep sandbed and mangroves, and return/skimmer pump chamber

return pumps - mag12 and mag18
clam tank supply pump mag7

single beckett skimmer (6" diameter tube 30" tall) driven by a mag12

dual chamber calcium reactor (4" diameter tube 24" tall)

kalk reactor (6" diameter tube 24" tall)

about 350 lbs of liverock in the display

Lighting:

Display tank - 8 @ 65 watt PC true actinic, 3 @ 250 watt CV 14k SE, 2 @ 250 watt CV RL 12k DE, 70 LED blue moonlights

Clam tank - 2 @ 40 watt URI super actinic T5, 2 @ 65 watt URI super actinic T5, 1 @ 175 watt CV RL 12k DE

here is the tank not too long ago - before i nothiced the flatworms

front
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pretankfront.jpg
back
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pretankback.jpg
filtration
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/filtration.jpg

[cpreefguy]

Im keeping my fingers crossed for ya Ace.

[hobogato]

So here is the reason i have to do something

A. valida i first noticed the flatworm damage on
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/valida.jpg
closup
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/AEFW.jpg

Ok, so the plan is as follows:

I have disconnected the display tank from the sump/fuge and clam tank. i have moved all zoas and lps into the clam tank and made sure there are no SPS in that system (clamtank and sump/fuge). here are some pics of he tank and clam tank today

display without zoas and lps
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankprepared.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial2.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial3.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial4.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial5.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tankpartial6.jpg

clam tank
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/clamtankpacked.jpg

[hobogato]

I have installed a temporary sump and two hyatt torpedos on the display tank. i also moved the skimmer over to the sump on the display tank. in the first chamber of the temporary sump i added a 5 gallon bucket amount of live rock rubble. here are some pics of the parts and the finished temporary filtration for the display tank

plumbing parts
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/plumbing.jpg

sump and torpedos (notice there are three torpedos, the third will come into play a little later in the treatment
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/sumptorpedos.jpg

tempory filtration complete - i also rerouted the plumbing of my calcium reactor so it draws from and returns to the temporary sump and my kalk reactor dispenses to the temporary sump as well.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tempfiltration.jpg

[dark8nge1]

filled that clam tank to the brim I see Ace. Hope everything works out. Guess i'll be treating when I move the tank since I just got some of the vailda from you. Wish you the best of luck

[hobogato]

it turns out that the concentration of the fluke tabs can be varied with good results. some people are using 4 tablets for every 5 gallons of water for 20 minutes. i will be using 2 tablets per 5 gallons but treating for 60 minutes. this will allow easier removal of the medication after the treatment time.

treatment procedure (performed 4 times total - once every 7 days):

1. turn off the return pumps so the tank is isolated.
2. add the fluke tabs (previously dissolved in about 5 gallons of tank water) into the display tank.
3. wait 45 minutes.
4. perform a 50% water change on the display tank (85 gallons - half of the water volume after subtracting for live rock and sand).
5. restart the return pumps adding in the third torpedo filled with 12 lbs of fresh carbon
6. skim wet for 24 hours and do additional water changes as needed.

[SoLiD]

Sorry to hear about your plight. :( Good Luck Ace, I'm pullin for Ya. -SoLiD

[thedude]

Ace,

Seriously please reconsider doing this as an in tank treatment.

I know you're trying to pioneer something that helps us all but all results indicate that acropora do not like fluke tabs in high concentrations. The thread on reefcentral did not do well at all with an in tank treatment, and neither did Clint's corals. Perhaps frag all your colonies as previously suggested or simply wait it out for a better solution to come out. I do not think fluke tabs put into an established system will have good results.

John

[hobogato]

john, i plan on fragging before i do any treatment. if i dont treat the tank, i will never be rid of them unless i completely break down the tank and cook the rock etc. they are just too grown in to get all of them out to dip and quaranteen everything.

[Ram_Puppy]

ace, do you need any help w/ the water changes etc? this sounds like a huge chore and I am sure many of us (myself included) could be helpful.

[brewercm]

Same here, if you need help let me know. Looks like you have a plan off attack, now we'll just hope for the best.

[dark8nge1]

So do the AEFW live on the rock as well? I was just going to dip before I put each colony into the tank but it seems like i may need to treat the rock as well.

[hobogato]

they do crawl of onto nearby rock, and they lay their eggs at the base of the coral or on the rock nearby. if you can, you may want to set up a quaranteen tank for the acros for after you dip and scrape off the eggs. keep the display tank without acros for a while so any flatworms on the liverock will die of starvation. i think they can survive almost a week without acros.

[Bill S]

Got my fingers crossed for you Ace! PLEASE CALL if you need a hand. I really, really, really don't mind.

[hobogato]

well, i have spent the morning setting up a small experiment using the fluke tabs. i mixed 1/2 gallon of tankwater with 1/4 tablet (this is the dosage i would like to use), and started with 18 frags of an affected valida and another colony of valida with lots of damage. i placed all of the coral into the solution and waited. at 45 minutes and every 5 minutes after that i removed 2-3 flatworms and put them back into non-medicated tank water to make sure they were dead and not just stunned, placed one frag in tap water to make sure there were no flatworms left on the frag, and placed one frag back into the tank to make sure it would live thru the treatment. i also removed the colony and placed it back into the tank at 60 minutes because this was the amount of time i hypothesized would be sufficient.

preliminary results: only the frag at 45 minutes still had a flatworm on it after medication, there was movement of one flatworm in the 45 minute, 55 minute, and 60 minute saltwater containers. i will update later today.

[hobogato]

now no movement from any of the flatworms, but i am going to replicate that part of the experiment to make sure.

the valida colony that was in the medication for 60 minutes is already starting to polyp out back in the tank.

[cpreefguy]

good experiment, glad to hear that the valida is OK after the treatment

[hobogato]

repeated the experiment with the equivalent of 2 pills per 4 gallons, and even the sample of worms that was in the medicated water for 85 is showing movement in 1 out of 5 after they were placed back in non medicated tank water for a couple of hours. will have to try again tomorrow with the 4 pills per 5 gallons strength.

[hobogato]

discouraged.

running the same experiment today with the fluke tabs at 1/2 pill for 1/2 gallon (a little stronger than the 4 pills in 5 gallons for 20 minutes that most people do to dip their corals), and there are signs of living flatworms after 40 minutes once they are placed back into non-medicated tank water. i am going to run it to 60 minutes, but if it doesnt kill them all at 60 minutes, i will not do an in tank treatment. i will just have to take the corals out and dip them repeatedly with TMPCC dip - that's gonna make for some long days.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: if you are dipping your corals in fluke tabs at the dosage of 4 pills per 5 gallons for 20 minutes, you may not be killing all of the flatworms that are present.

[caferacermike]

Ace, I just want to say thank you. It seems that each of us at some point wil ahve this trouble. Your experiments will come in handy if I ever get the bug.

[Bill S]

Ace, is it POSSIBLE, that they die some time after treatment?

[hobogato]

i am going to observe them for many hours, but i just wanted to post what was going on during the process. i doubt that they will die later.

[Richard]

I don't know Ace. Your already at 8x the effective dose for flukes. I'm kind of worried about what it will do to your fish/other inhabitants if you do an in tank treatment. The spec sheet on trichlorfon says it causes acute toxicity in fish between between 1.67 and 180 ppm depending on species and that the symptoms may be delayed 1 - 4 weeks after acute exposure. I guess we don't know the amount of trichlorfon contained in Fluke tabs but if we did then maybe someone (not me lol) could do the math on how high you are taking it. I'm thinking the trichlorfon in fluke tabs is having the biggest effect on the AEFW's (just a guess) and it says that it breaks down rapidly in alkaline water (99% in 2 hours) so extending the time may not help at all.

I think I would not do the in tank treatment.

[hobogato]

not going to.

actually, i am at 10X the reccommended dose on the bottle. it says 1 pill for 10 gallons, and i was using 1/2 pill in 1/2 gallon. i will think of a new plan of attack after Christmas.

[Texreefer]

Sorry to hear Ace. i really hope it works out

[Richard]

I have an empty 70 gallon (36x18x29H) RR tank & stand you can borrow if you want to setup a qt tank if you want.

This sucks! All the meds that are real effective on flatworms don't kill them. I don't think there is an easy treatment (like interceptor for redbugs) for them on the horizon. Time for sps lovers to start dipping and qt'ing IMO.

[hobogato]

yes, i would love to use that tank. i am also gonna try to get a 100 gallon tank on loan from jeff, and i will use them both as the quarantine. i just need to find one more MH pendant to use.

[GMFett]

ace- i've got 3 extra 400 watt de pendants laying in my garage if you want to borrow it... i think it will also fit the 250 bulbs?

[Richard]

Or you could use our old frag rack that I can't manage to sell. Two 48x24x12H tanks and sump. Not sure how well pendants would fit over them but they might. Would be a PITA to move but might work.

[Richard]

Or my 210 (7'x24x24). Drilled but no overflows.

[Bill S]

Ace I have a 400W DE, with bulb (it should have some life left in it), and what I THINK is a still working old coralvue ballast. Welcome to them.

[hobogato]

thanks everyone - once i plan out what i am going to do, i will let you know. this is very generous of you all.

btw bill, just dumped out the containers of saltwater with the treated flatworms, and every one had at least 1 live one. even the one with the worms that spent 1 hour in the medicated water.

[SuperXdude]

good luck Ace! Hope you kill every last one of them.

I've got a few rocks here with mega aiptasia!

[SoLiD]

Fluke Tabs TREAT Aiptasia??? Is that true? - SoLiD

[hobogato]

Acro Eating Flat Worms - not aptasia. apparently they dont work 100% for AEFW either.

[brewercm]

I'm just curious at this point but does the Flatworm Exit not work on the AEFWs? Seems like that would be a somewhat safer approach.

[hobogato]

it doesnt cliff.

[SuperXdude]

went to buy a generator after the oct earthquake.

the store had a tank with more aiptasia than rocks. It was quite pretty seeing 3-4 inch aiptasia. Largest one might have
been 5 inches tall.

[hobogato]

well, it has been a long day, but i finally finished setting up the quarantine tanks.

heres the setup:

2 qt tanks (48"X24"X10"), a sump (48"X20"X18") with 30 lbs of live rock rubble and a single beckett skimmer. two hyatt torpedos, calcium reactor and kalk reactor (from the main setup).

2 @ 250 watt DE RL 12k (i was going to add a third light in the middle, but the those two seem to be enough)

thank you to richard and mark of CB pets, bill, felipe and sarah at finaddict, and jeff for loaning me various parts of this qt setup and to the countless others who have offered help or equipment.

the qt tanks:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/qttank.jpg

the sump and torpedos:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/tempfiltration.jpg

i will be dipping the corals before they enter the qt setup and once a week for 5 or 6 weeks, with one final dip before they go back into the display.

what an understanding wife i have for not giving me grief about taking over the dining room!

[LoneStar]

what an understanding wife i have for not giving me grief about taking over the dining room!


No Kidding! :o

[dark8nge1]

oh wow.... now thats a qt setup

[stephencraig]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, Ace.

Will dipping prior to putting new SPS in your tank with Lugol's work as a preventative? These things, after seeing what they did to Clint's tank, are VERY scary.

Stephen

[don-n-sa]

Hey Ace, I have a full bucket of the tri-base carbon that you can HAVE if you want it...I tried to do an alternate form of the HYatt and it did not work. It is used just so you know.

Donny

[hobogato]

thanks for the offer donny, but these torpedos are already full, and once i am done with this treatment, they will be going back to bill, so i wont have any use for the carbon.

[Bill S]

Dang. Thought I'd found a home for them... :lol

[JeffCo]

Ace,
are you still planning on dipping with the fluke tabs? Your test results seemed to indicate that it did not work that well. The quarantine setup looks good and I think is a better plan.

[mojo]

Ace, before abandoning the Fluke Tabs, might I suggest that you duplicate your experiment with the TMPCC and see if you get similar results regarding flatworm mortality? I suggest this for 2 reasons. First, TMPCC seems to be a little harsher on acros than Fluke Tabs. Second, TMPCC is a lot more expensive, and if you get similar kill rates, then you may want to stick with the cheaper, less toxic medication. And since the treatments will be repeated over 6 or more weeks, perhaps the worms that survived 1 treatment might perish during a subsequent exposure. Just a thought, and good luck.

Mike

[hobogato]

actually i'm going to use levamisole, some people on RC have had good results with it.

[mojo]

Levamisole is even MORE toxic to acros than the others ... I'd repeat the fluke-tab experiment with levamisole to be sure that it works better before subjecting all of your colonies to it. Just my 0.02

Mike

[hobogato]

too late.

it has been a long day, but all acros are removed and soaking in the dip. all bits of encrusted acro have been scraped off of rock that will remain in the display tank.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/strippedfront.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/strippedback.jpg

the acros soaking:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/dippin1.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/dippin2.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/dippin3.jpg

[hobogato]

well, after dipping, no initial casualties except the flatworms. even the bird's nests are already extending their polyps in the qt tank.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/qt1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/qt2.jpg

my little helper :)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/helper.jpg

[fishypets]

WOW

[rocketeer]

:o OMG :o

It can be a challenging hobby. I really hope all your effort will result in success. If anybody can do it you can.

Jack

[brewercm]

Keep us posted, crossing my fingers for you.

[Texreefer]

:cry >_< i can't watch.. let me know when its over

[GMFett]

Ace gets the dilligence award!

[hobogato]

well, still no coral casualties. i thought my blue hoeki was a gonner, but it is showing polyps now - just not so blue anymore. actually most of them have gone fairly brown (i guess that is better than shiney white eh).

redid my aquascaping and got all of the LPS and half of the zoas/palys back in today.
front full
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/aquafront.jpg
front left
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/aquafrontleft.jpg
front right
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/aquafrontright.jpg

back left
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/aquabackleft.jpg
back right
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/aquabackright.jpg

i think i am pickled from having my hands in salt water so much over the last few days - now it is mostly a 6 week waiting game with a day of work a week until the acros go back in.

[Texreefer]

your the first person i'm calling if i ever have to deal with this.. look like your on the right track :)

[fishypets]

Any updates Ace?

[hobogato]

lots of brown acros, but they are still extending thier polyps. no casualties.

[fishypets]

Cool deal man. Keep up the good work.

[Jeff]

welcome to the brown coral club , i am not only a member but also the president. i'm glad to hear everything is going alright so far.

[Texreefer]

I'll take any of the brown ones you don't want ;) :P

[hobogato]

update time.

since i didnt lose anything during the first dip, i thought i would document the whole process this time. i wish i could say there were still no coral casualties, but i cant. losses are still minimal, two small colonies were lost and about 6 more are showing some STN at the bottom.

first casualties:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/1stcasualties.jpg

ok, so here is the dipping process. first, i mixed up 26 gallons of new salt water yesterday. i took out 26 gallons from the quarantine system and replaced it with the new water this morning. the 26 gallons is used for the dipping containers and two rinse buckets. next, i removed all of the corals from the quarantine setup and placed them into four dipping containers (two icechests, a bucket, and a laundry tub)

empty qt tanks:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/empty1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/empty2.jpg

rinse buckets:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/rinsebuckets.jpg

dipping containers with corals (the orange bucket is for the corals that didnt look very well to begin with - didnt want them RTNing in the main dipping containers and taking other corals with em):
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pre2nddippin4.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pre2nddippin3.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pre2nddippin2.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/pre2nddippin1.jpg

here is the levamisole hydrochloride i am using. it is packaged as a sheep dewormer. i calculated one bolus (.184 grams) would treat 1 gallon 27 ounces. this translates to 5 boluses for 6 gallons of water

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/levasole.jpg
dissolving in some water before putting into main dipping container
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/dissolving.jpg

here are all the dipping containers with the levasole in them. i left the corals in the solution for 2 hours. i read that the flatworms fall off almost immediately, but some people had left corals in the solution for up to 5 hours, so i opted for 2 hours (not as hard on the corals) with vigorous shaking in solution and two separate rinse containers before replacement into the qt tanks.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/2nddippin4.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/2nddippin3.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/2nddippin2.jpghttp://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/2nddippin1.jpg

after two hours, each colony is vigorously shaken in the dipping container to dislodge any stubborn flatworms
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/shakeindip.jpg
then vigorously shaken in the first rinsing bucket
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/1strinse.jpg
and once more in a second rinsing bucket
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/2ndrinse.jpg
and finally replaced into the qt tank
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/replace.jpg

here are all the corals replaced into the qt tanks about 30 minutes after finishing the process - about 80% of them have already extended their polyps and show no signs of stress.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/post2nddip1.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/post2nddip2.jpg

[Richard]

Are you still finding flatworms in the dipping or rinsing containers?

[hobogato]

no. i think the worms are probably really tiny now if there are any. i only found eggs on one colony during the initial dipping, so i am hoping that
i caught this thing really early

[Texreefer]

Awesome documentation Ace,, very valuable stuff to the rest of us..

[GMFett]

ace- great work man! this is gonna help so many people in the future!

[mojo]

Very nice treatment setup Ace. Might I suggest you add a small heater to your treatment containers and maybe a small powerhead? Here's to no more losses!!

Mike

[Bill S]

GULP!

I'm back in town, Ace, let me know if there's anything you need/want.

[hobogato]

half way there!

finished the third treatment today. two more casualties, a small milli and a small prostrata. a few more are looking pretty stressed, but 90% of the
original 160 or so corals are looking fine and even getting a little color back. some are even continuing to grow. one thing is for sure, this has shown
me that i will never have a bare bottom system - too much work syphoning and cleaning :)

[Texreefer]

Hey Ace was one of those loses one of the New Robusta we just got...Mine is starting to grow good i will get you a frag in a couple months

[hobogato]

Hey Ace was one of those loses one of the New Robusta we just got...Mine is starting to grow good i will get you a frag in a couple months

yep, thanks mike ;)

the other three were a blue hoeki, blue/purple tip prostrata, and pink milli.

[Marc]

Any of you that still have AEFW in your tank, Eric Borneman (in Houston) is still looking for some. If you have any, be sure to let him know.

[hobogato]

ok. four treatments down and two to go. it seems to be taking its toll on some of the acros.

THE GOOD:
i counted 130 or so that continue to show no signs
or minimal signs of stress - mainly browning and less PE than they had in the display. these include my largest and most colorfull colonies.

THE BAD:
there are about 20 small colonies and frags that are showing varying degrees of stress from no PE to bleaching or STN

THE UGLY:
the casualty total is now 20 small colonies and frags - the most disturbing so far, the blue hoeksemai, and a nice
red with purple tip possible chesterfieldensis (sp?)

two more treatments/ten days until they go back into the display.

[hobogato]

thats it. i couldnt watch any more corals die, so i cut it one treatment short. i lost the turaki, two marshall island ora corals and a couple more, so i decided to cut the bases off of all the rest of the living corals, treat them once more, and put them back in the tank. it has been a long day.

i will not do this again, if the flatworms come back, i will remove and dip only the corals i see them on like others have done.

i will also be dipping EVERYTHING new that i get - i hope others will do the same ;)

removing the bases
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/base.jpg

all the bases that were removed
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/baserubble.jpg

total treatment casualties - about 30 out of 170 total (i fragged some that were starting to go at the base)
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/casualties2007_1_15.jpg

the full tank with all the survivors
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/full2007_1_15.jpg
left side
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/left2007_1_15.jpg
center
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/center2007_1_15.jpg
right side
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/right2007_1_15.jpg

[Bill S]

I just got back from Ace's... It's kind of tragic. I'm not sure I could go thru what he went thru. In spite of the losses, I'm thinking he's going to LOVE the result of the aquascaping - it already looks great!

Oh yeah, you have SEE his Clam tank in person to BELIEVE IT! I'm still trying to figure out how to do one of those. Thanks for the leftovers, Ace.

[Texreefer]

Glad your back up and running Ace

[fishypets]

Mike and I feel your pain and losses Ace. Please let this be a lesson to all DIP EVERY CORAL!

[SoLiD]

in what???

[SoLiD]

and where do I get it???

[hobogato]

tropical marin pro coral cure, fluke tabs, or levasole (levamisole hydrochloride). online for the first two, feed store for the third.

[SoLiD]

Thanks Ace. You're the best. -SoLiD

[caferacermike]

What about Lugol's? Not strong enough?

[brewercm]

Ace, good to see that your tank is back up. I can't imagine going through all that with the number of nice pieces you have.
I still want to get by there and take a look at them 12K reeflux DEs and see what they look like. Putting together thoughts for the next tank.

[hobogato]

What about Lugol's? Not strong enough?

not sure mike - i have read that it works, and i have read that it doesnt. i have also read that TMPCC is really just iodine. i will be using the levasole on all incoming corals. it is harsh, and i tried it yesterday with some frags i got from scuba steve to replace ones that i lost, and it killed 2 out of 6 corals.

[JeffCo]

Lugols has worked fine for me, I usually just add more than the recommended dosage. You still need to check for eggs though, that is what most people miss.

[fishypets]

If you use Lugols or TMPCC make sure you get the color of the water is orange and not yellow. I think I killed 99% of my AEFW using TMPCC.

[thedude]

TMPCC is an organic iodine complex. Almost the same as Lugol's but not quite.

My main problem with TMPCC is that it comes in such a small container. I've been talking with the Tropic Marin US guy and trying to get big containers of the stuff out on the market.

[hobogato]

have only lost a couple of frags since putting everything back - some are even starting to color back up :)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image026.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image010.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image013.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image014.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image016.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image017.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image018.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image019.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image020.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image022.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image023.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image024.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/Image025.jpg

[lhoy]

Congrats Ace on the saves!! Glad to see things are turning out well on this. Of course, it isn't for any selfish means that we are all glad your corals are doing well!! :D

[Texreefer]

MAN i'm glad to see that Ace Good job!

[apedroza]

WOW!!! Your coral are looking great again. Can't wait to see it back up to its usual brilliant self.

[fishypets]

Good job Ace, you are DA MAN!!

[stephencraig]

Congrats Ace! Great to see everything looking gorgeous as usual.

Stephen

[jrnannery]

I'm very excited for you. Magnificent job...what a trailblazer.

[SoLiD]

Yeah Ditto. I know your glad thats over. Hopefully for good.

[Jeff]

this thread should be stickied or a new forum created that covers nothing but treatments of problems and how to's as in dripping calk or making your own suppliments. congratulations ace on the recovery and thanks for the step by step process.

[klondike4001]

Congrats on saving everything.

[hobogato]

two weeks since putting everything back in - only a couple of losses since the last update.

full tank
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/front1_13.jpg
left end
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/leftfront1_31.jpg
middle
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/center1_31.jpg
right end
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/AEFW/right1_31.jpg

[BIGBIRD123]

As always, Ace, you show us the way..Great Job! Looks as though some stuf needs "trimming" already? :innocent

Steve

[Texreefer]

i really like the 5th one down from the top :P

[BIGBIRD123]

Ace, is the 7th one down the BB"toxic waste"?

Steve

[hobogato]

Ace, is the 7th one down the BB"toxic waste"?

Steve

no, it isnt pictured bc it is just now coloring back up and those were pic from a week ago.

[Bill S]

I was over there last night. It STILL would win Tank of the Year. I can't believe how well things did - but WOW it took Ace a LOT of work to get thru this. Don't know if I could have been up to it.

[SoLiD]

Ace, I'm really glad to hear and see that all is doing well. That's some sweet set up ya got there. BTW are gonna go to Todds house to get some of his frags or a frag pack. Does he realize that's SuperBowl Sunday? :blink ;) -SoLiD