Calcium Carbonate

[Brew12]

Just to give an update.... the last dose will be on the evening on the 27th. I'm trying to make a point of snapping them all off so I can more easily tell if this will work. I can tell that many of them are dead, but can't say for sure that they all are.
I figure I will need to observe the tank for a few weeks to see if I spot any new ones growing in before I can call it one way or another.

 

[Brew12]

I was doing some work today in the sump and stirred up a bunch of "stuff". It became very obvious that many of the Vermitids are still alive and doing fine because they started throwing out their tiny nets. I know I have 4 doses to go yet, but I have no expectations of success at this point.

 

[GWHouston]

[emoji22]

 

[Brew12]

[emoji22]

I'm pretty bummed about it. I had high hopes. I guess this is why I was testing it instead of saying I was treating my tank. Test: Unsatisfactory.

I'm going to take a few weeks to let my system stabilize and then I think I'll give another go at it. Next time I am going to try and stir up the sump each night to try and trigger them to send out their mucus nets and then hit the system with the CaCO3.

 

[GWHouston]

I hope I can avoid ever having these

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I'm pretty bummed about it. I had high hopes. I guess this is why I was testing it instead of saying I was treating my tank. Test: Unsatisfactory.

I'm going to take a few weeks to let my system stabilize and then I think I'll give another go at it. Next time I am going to try and stir up the sump each night to try and trigger them to send out their mucus nets and then hit the system with the CaCO3.

I hope you find what works. I remember that they were pain in the neck. I am afraid that I will get them again sometime in the future.

 

[Brew12]

I hope you find what works. I remember that they were pain in the neck. I am afraid that I will get them again sometime in the future.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I don't mind continuing to do some testing as long as the biggest problem I get is cyano. I can deal with that easily enough.

 

[Brew12]

As promised, I haven't given up on this. There is anecdotal evidence that higher magnesium levels can inhibit vermitied snail reproduction or cause them harm. I didn't track my magnesium very well because it had been so high for so long. My mag levels were very low when I did this trial. I'm in the process of raising magnesium to 1500ppm and will run this trial again. I hope to start soon. Hopefully I will find out if using CaCO3 with a higher magnesium level will help eradicate vermitids.

 

[beaslbob]

I don't know exactly how CaCO3 and MgCO3 can work as flocculant since they are very insoluble in alkaline water. Calcium based flocculant agents are typically CaO or CaOH. They dissolves in water easily and ionize. Both phosphate and nitrate can bind with calcium to produce calcium phosphate and calcium nitrate, but I don't know how that occurs in our reef tank. KZ products are full of mysteries, aren't they? I wonder what it has in addition to CaCO3...
Someone said it took a while for the Coral Snow to work. I have never used Coral Snow. My vermitid snails were the big ones. I used either cut them with toenail cutters or plug them up with two part epoxy.

I've used calcium nitrate to dose nitrates in the past. Is calcium nitrate not dissolvable in saltwater?

 

[Brew12]

I've used calcium nitrate to dose nitrates in the past. Is calcium nitrate not dissolvable in saltwater?

Calcium nitrate is soluble in water.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

We are not discussing nitrate dosing here, though, Beelzebub.

 

[beaslbob]

We are not discussing nitrate dosing here, though, Beelzebub.

Understand.

But you mentioned calcium carbonate and the calcium could bond with nitrate and phosphate. Just curious.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

I don't think calcium bonds with nitrate or phosphate under normal reef tank conditions, though.