Tank Journal Archive

Sep 24, 2013
367
280
Palm Beach
Home Made Aiptasia Killing Solution That Works
Just sharing another experiment that worked well.

at the time, I had been using lime juice, boiling water and kalk juice, with little success. They would kill a individual here and other 10 would pop-up somewhere else in the tank.
A few minutes of research and I earned they release gametes, as soon as they fell threatened, which would explain the above.
Some more research and I came across "Aiptasia RX", a product that claimed to stick to the Aiptasia's mouth, prevent it from releasing gametes and kill it slowly. It worked like a charm.

A few months down the track and I bought another bottle, to my disappointment the product was totally different, very liquid and no longer sticky. It looked just like kalk in RO water.

That got me wondering if there was anything could I mix to Kalk, to make it sticky like the first batch of RS. Obvious option was paper glue. It is safe even for kids to eat, so I thought the risk of not being reef-safe was low and it was worth a try.

I've mixed a bit of kalk, a bit of paper glue in a plastic bottle and heated it for about 30secs in the microwave. Voilá!
It works just like the Aiptasia RX with the benefit that I can adjust its slickness to my liking.

I've been using this mix since 2014, without any visible side effects, in a tank with SPS and heaps of invertebrates.

Here is the recipe if someone else is willing to try. Needless to say I don't take responsibility if it ends up killing something in your tank.

To produce 15ml of Aiptasia killer solution:
2g of Kalkwasser
10ml of RO/DI water
6g of bostik clear glue

- Mix everything in a small plastic container.
- Take it to the microwave and heat for 10secs.
- Shake it well.
- Use a small syringe, without the needle, to apply right to the center of the Aiptasia.


You know the concentration is correct if it looks like toothpaste and it is sticky enough that won't dissolve when in contact with water and liquid enough, to not require too much pressure to apply.

ainventmarine.com_wp_content_uploads_2014_08_bostik_152x300.jpeg
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
 

gtrxu1

Member
Jun 25, 2012
363
196
I had that once with Aiptasia-X as well. One bottle I had was very liquid, the next bottle I got was totally different and has been really effective.

Really cool idea though with the paper glue, will give this a try for sure.
 

Rob

Member
Apr 26, 2012
743
424
Ok this is great.... I had been using AptasiaX with success for a couple of years until I ran out and made some kalk up. Looking back now my outbreak is a lot worse so did not realize the need for a sticky compound. Gotta give this a go thanks heaps for sharing...
 
Sep 24, 2013
367
280
Palm Beach
This weekend I got a bottle do Red Sea Aiptasia X, to compare with my DIY solution and it saw some interesting results.

The Red Sea product was stronger and I could see the Aiptasia melting faster than with my solution. However, it wasn't very sticky, actually almost no stickiness and the white particles would float everywhere, had I not turned off the flow.

AiptasiaX says composition says "Calcium chloride <10%" and "Sodium hydroxide <1%", so I guess Sodium Hydroxide is the responsible for the stronger melting capability.
As soon as time allows I will try a mix of glue withe the two components above...