Bayer insecticide as a coral dip
- Thread starter watchguy123
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OP
OP
Wow, Whisperer. It was your original thread about Bayer that led me to dip every piece that entered my tank. Indeed, your experiment led I believe countless reefers to utilize Bayer as a preventative dip. Nice to see you here on r2r
happyreef
Community Member
I was wondering when dipping many frags at a time in 1-2 gallons how many ml or ounces would be to treat?
These are the steps I take before adding a frag. I picked this up from another forum from two reefers in particular, Whisperer and Flamron.
The first step is to start with a close visual inspection of your frag.
Here is the frag in the bag:
Darth Maul Porites
Wild Colony
Frag on original plug (possibly crawling with all kinds of pests (AEFW, red bugs, black bugs, nudi's of all kinds, etc)
Got to get the frag off the plug (I always do this or if I cannot remove the frag from plug I then cover the plug with zap gel)
Yes, some of the frag remains on old plug but less likely to bring in eggs by removing old plug
Frag sitting in 4ounces of either frag water or your tank water (with plug removed!!)
I then get out my "Bayer Advanced complete insect killer for Soil and Turf Concentrate" and a 10 ml syringe (This stuff is extremely hazardous, do not touch it with your skin, use in a well ventilated room and do not spill it.)
Then add 10 ml's of Bayer to the 4 ounces of water in the cup (make sure you use the exact same bottle as I have photographed, there are different versions of Bayer with different ingredients in similar looking containers). Regarding dosage, I use 10 mls of Bayer, but some people use as little as 1.25 mls of this Bayer to 4 ounces of frag or tank water.
This is what the cup looks like with the Bayer
This is a great write up and glad you finally joined R2R! I use Bayer with almost everything. I did lose a green monticap once though. It would seem they are less resilliant to the Bayer. So now I aonly add just enough to cloud the water slightly. Works great! Thanks :dance:
ritter6788
Coral Fraud Private Eye
Having just dipped my acros for aefw, I will say to always use the full 20ml/cup dose. I tried less and you can still see the aefw moving on the container. Once up to the full dose they lose grip, curl up and die.
I thought the weaker Bayer was working since I found dead pods, stars and other life but less dose will kill other critters but not aefw in my experience.
I won't dip at less than 20ml/cup eve again.
I dipped every acro in my tank and had zero losses from the Bayer.
I thought the weaker Bayer was working since I found dead pods, stars and other life but less dose will kill other critters but not aefw in my experience.
I won't dip at less than 20ml/cup eve again.
I dipped every acro in my tank and had zero losses from the Bayer.
it's interesting to read the various dosing regimes from folks on here. most seem to follow the 1ml of bayer to 12ml of saltwater solution (the original poster and ritter* more recently) with good results.
i've been using a 1ml of bayer to about 250ml of saltwater solution (about 20x less saturated) for 10-15 minutes (depending on species of acropora) very successfully for about a year. this works out to an easy measurement of 1tbsp to 1 gallon since i am normally dipping many frags or colonies at once and the gallon measurement is easier to work with and be able to aerate and agitate without making a fuss.
i adjusted my dosing instruction based on detailed input and feedback from mike henley of the smithsonian national zoological park invertebrate exhibit where he's been using various treatment options for years in treatment and quarantine of acropora.
you can read more about his experience and information on dosing in his slide show he did for our local forum here: Reef Aquarium Pests - Propagation and Breeding - WAMAS Forums as it's a public forum where posted.
it's great to see that the larger therapeutic range really does extend quite far with minimal losses and continued success. it's odd though as i have found that some more sensitive species do not fare as well at more saturated solutions than what i currently use so have been able to bring down the time exposed to eight minutes with multiple dips to ensure no loss. one thing that some folks are forgetting to post up is how long they are leaving their coral in the solution which is equally important so please be sure to post that up as well.
i've been using a 1ml of bayer to about 250ml of saltwater solution (about 20x less saturated) for 10-15 minutes (depending on species of acropora) very successfully for about a year. this works out to an easy measurement of 1tbsp to 1 gallon since i am normally dipping many frags or colonies at once and the gallon measurement is easier to work with and be able to aerate and agitate without making a fuss.
i adjusted my dosing instruction based on detailed input and feedback from mike henley of the smithsonian national zoological park invertebrate exhibit where he's been using various treatment options for years in treatment and quarantine of acropora.
you can read more about his experience and information on dosing in his slide show he did for our local forum here: Reef Aquarium Pests - Propagation and Breeding - WAMAS Forums as it's a public forum where posted.
it's great to see that the larger therapeutic range really does extend quite far with minimal losses and continued success. it's odd though as i have found that some more sensitive species do not fare as well at more saturated solutions than what i currently use so have been able to bring down the time exposed to eight minutes with multiple dips to ensure no loss. one thing that some folks are forgetting to post up is how long they are leaving their coral in the solution which is equally important so please be sure to post that up as well.
GlassMunky
2500 Club Member
A friend of mine recently turned me onto this Bauer dip for SPS. So forgive me if this already came up, I haven't read all 180 posts.
But what is everyone doing with the dip after your done with it?
Is everyone just dumping this stuff down the drains and into their local waterways???
It seems pretty irresponsible of all of us to just dump a bunch of insecticides into the water.... :-/
But what is everyone doing with the dip after your done with it?
Is everyone just dumping this stuff down the drains and into their local waterways???
It seems pretty irresponsible of all of us to just dump a bunch of insecticides into the water.... :-/
A friend of mine recently turned me onto this Bauer dip for SPS. So forgive me if this already came up, I haven't read all 180 posts.
But what is everyone doing with the dip after your done with it?
Is everyone just dumping this stuff down the drains and into their local waterways???
It seems pretty irresponsible of all of us to just dump a bunch of insecticides into the water.... :-/
I agree. I personally save it and use it on my house and ornamentals
Jackie
A friend of mine recently turned me onto this Bauer dip for SPS. So forgive me if this already came up, I haven't read all 180 posts.
But what is everyone doing with the dip after your done with it?
Is everyone just dumping this stuff down the drains and into their local waterways???
It seems pretty irresponsible of all of us to just dump a bunch of insecticides into the water.... :-/
I worry about that too... but at least around our area (because of our proximity to the great lakes), drainage and waste water is treated before discharge. But it would be helpful to know if it could easily be deactivated or rendered less toxic by say treating with some bleach before putting it down the sink...
I found a few bits of info that show it does degrade with sunlight and microbial activity:
From Bayer:
Behaviour in water
Though imidacloprid is not intended to be applied directly in water, it nevertheless may enter water bodies due to spray drift or in extreme situations by runoff from treated fields after rainfall. It has been shown that no unacceptable harmful effects would occur under these circumstances as the substance will undergo complete elimination from water by photolytic reactions and by microbial activity. Though the substance is stable in sterile water in the dark, it decomposes readily under the influence of light. Biotic processes under the influence of microbes present in natural water and its sediments present another mechanism for the elimination of imidacloprid.
From Wikipedia:
Independent studies show that the photodegradation half-life time of most neonicotinoids is around 34 days when exposed to sunlight. However, it might take up to 1,386 days (3.8 years) for these compounds to degrade in the absence of sunlight and micro-organism activity. Some researchers are concerned that neonicotinoids applied agriculturally might accumulate in aquifers.[45]
heathd.hd
2500 Club Member
Okay so seems like some great info here. I'm doing a new build and I am going to buy a few pieces of really great coralline covered rock from the lfs. So who thinks dipping the rock is the best idea? 5 gallon bucket power head and 15 min dip is my thoughts. Keep my new tank from pests? Is that enough?
Then rinse and rinse again.
Fishguy597
Community Member
I wouldn't do it. You will kill pods and amphoids. Why might I ask do you want to do this? I hope your tank has no fish or anything in there.
GlassMunky
2500 Club Member
I would think that this would be very risky...
I would be afraid that no matter how much you rinsed the rock off, that the Bauer May still be in there when you stick it back in the tank. But maybe I'm paranoid
Sorry I couldn't reply back. My dad was brought to the hospital (he's 79) and needed me.
If you KNOW that you have bad stuff in your rock, I would dip. If not, don't. If you do be sure to rinse and rinse and rinse. I use several containers. The dip container then several clean water ones. 15 minutes in one container then move it to the next blowing it off each time, repeat. Use lots of GAC! You can do RO fresh water dips to get rid of excess bristle worms and such. Pods can be replenished if needed.
If you KNOW that you have bad stuff in your rock, I would dip. If not, don't. If you do be sure to rinse and rinse and rinse. I use several containers. The dip container then several clean water ones. 15 minutes in one container then move it to the next blowing it off each time, repeat. Use lots of GAC! You can do RO fresh water dips to get rid of excess bristle worms and such. Pods can be replenished if needed.
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Eric B
Well-Known Member
I would not dip the rock in Bayer and if you want it pest free the only way is to "boil" it. You can search reef central for the thread on how to do it. It basically uses bleach and then muratic acid and it will basically make the rock fully dead and everything on it! I did it to all of mine and it came out great and no pest! Just make sure and read the full thread over on reef central before you proceed if you choose to go this route.
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