Safest way to change all rock and sand? Vermatid/bristle worm infestation...

[Ryan9212]

I have a massive amount of vermatids and bristle worms to the point where I need to change the rocks and sand. There are so many vermatids, I usually cut up my hands without gloves. I also have a ton of flatworms- the ones that don't causes issues but are just unsightly and plan to take care of these last using many dips and might have to treat the tank after I get the amount of flatworms down as much as possible. I was removing a rock at a time letting it dry out to kill everything off then putting them back in but I can't keep up....

That being said- I have a very successful reef tank lol. Softies, LPS, SPS, anemones, spawning clownish, breeding nassarius snails and a very high fish load (feeding less is not really an option). Everything is very healthy and happy.

Unfortunately, I let the vermatids/bristle worms get out of control, breaking the vermatids off is not an option because there are just way too many. I'm afraid to touch anything because of all of the bristle worms- I do have a few arrow crabs but I would need a lot more. I understand bristle worms help clean up the waste but I have nassarius snails multiplying and I have hundreds of them. With such a high fish load I think I need to eliminate/minimize the bristle worms because there is just a lot of fish waste in general.

I pretty much automated the system which has allowed these issues to get out of hand. I monitor all the parameters- Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphates and Nitrates. Aside from Ca, Alk, and Mg, I only add amino acids and trace elements. I have vodka being auto dosed which keeps my nitrates and phosphates down really low- sometimes too low. I recently added a lot more flow and a filter sock.

That being said my plan was to get new sand, new rock and cycle it in another container- I can seed it with a little sand from my current tank and maybe a piece of rock after I make sure there are no pests in it. Once, it cycles I am going to "feed it" like I would my main tank to build up the bacteria. Then clean out the main tank and replace everything.

I will manually remove the vermatids and bristle worms from the corals and the rocks with corals attached. Going forward- if I add any corals which I don't have much room, I will make sure they are dipped and manually remove anything else.

My other option is bringing back the bioballs (nitrates won't be an issue with my current dosing system) so when I swap out the rock/sand with the new cycled "heavily fed" sand/rock there is minimal chance of an ammonia spike. I don't think this will happen if I monitor the parameters of the cycling rock while I am adding food to it and don't see any ammonia spikes.

I am also open to any other advice you guys might have. My tank is doing great- it's just a mess and I don't want this to backfire. Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[Garf]

I have a massive amount of vermatids and bristle worms to the point where I need to change the rocks and sand. There are so many vermatids, I usually cut up my hands without gloves. I also have a ton of flatworms- the ones that don't causes issues but are just unsightly and plan to take care of these last using many dips and might have to treat the tank after I get the amount of flatworms down as much as possible. I was removing a rock at a time letting it dry out to kill everything off then putting them back in but I can't keep up....

That being said- I have a very successful reef tank lol. Softies, LPS, SPS, anemones, spawning clownish, breeding nassarius snails and a very high fish load (feeding less is not really an option). Everything is very healthy and happy.

Unfortunately, I let the vermatids/bristle worms get out of control, breaking the vermatids off is not an option because there are just way too many. I'm afraid to touch anything because of all of the bristle worms- I do have a few arrow crabs but I would need a lot more. I understand bristle worms help clean up the waste but I have nassarius snails multiplying and I have hundreds of them. With such a high fish load I think I need to eliminate/minimize the bristle worms because there is just a lot of fish waste in general.

I pretty much automated the system which has allowed these issues to get out of hand. I monitor all the parameters- Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphates and Nitrates. Aside from Ca, Alk, and Mg, I only add amino acids and trace elements. I have vodka being auto dosed which keeps my nitrates and phosphates down really low- sometimes too low. I recently added a lot more flow and a filter sock.

That being said my plan was to get new sand, new rock and cycle it in another container- I can seed it with a little sand from my current tank and maybe a piece of rock after I make sure there are no pests in it. Once, it cycles I am going to "feed it" like I would my main tank to build up the bacteria. Then clean out the main tank and replace everything.

I will manually remove the vermatids and bristle worms from the corals and the rocks with corals attached. Going forward- if I add any corals which I don't have much room, I will make sure they are dipped and manually remove anything else.

My other option is bringing back the bioballs (nitrates won't be an issue with my current dosing system) so when I swap out the rock/sand with the new cycled "heavily fed" sand/rock there is minimal chance of an ammonia spike. I don't think this will happen if I monitor the parameters of the cycling rock while I am adding food to it and don't see any ammonia spikes.

I am also open to any other advice you guys might have. My tank is doing great- it's just a mess and I don't want this to backfire. Thanks everyone for the help!

Pic would be fantastic

 

[Ryan9212]

Not sure if this helps? Can't see too much unless I zoom in and bristle worms aren't very visible unless I feed/lights are off (there are actually hundreds of them). The lighting looks off in the pic and the glass needs to be scraped again

 

[Garf]

I think you worry too much. Looks good

 

[BeMoto]

You should listen to Reef Beef pod cast...There on YouTube.

Everything over time becomes a pest.

 

[reefinatl]

Everything looks pretty big and healthy. I'd let it be instead of making it an issue. You've pretty succeeded as far as this hobby goes, either step up to a bigger size or just cruise.

Bristles are great anyways. Vermitid snails suck but everybody deals with them.

 

[Ryan9212]

Thanks everyone! I think I was over thinking it too and you're right- eventually everything becomes a pest. I did break off a lot of the vermatids already and will continue to do this. Going forward I am going to keep some kind of mechanical filtration to keep as many particulates out of the water as possible. I am going to continuously stir the sand up and add a goby to help with keeping the sand clean in areas I can't get- to at least lower the food source of the bristle worms.

Interesting thing I noted: after the lights turn off I can usually see tiny baby bristle worms swimming around and they are attracted to light so I am going to add a very dim just near the over flow to try to get as many as I can into the filter sock.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

 

[Dkmoo]

Its all those bristle worms and vermatids thats keeping your water params stable leading to successful tank. They are in no way pests

 

[Fish_Sticks]

Come to the dark side
Opening your arms to vermitids and bristle worms is the first step to becoming one of the lads
Nice tank

 

[Kershaw]

A wrasse or a yellow candy hog fish would reduce your flat worm and bristle worm problem.

 

[reefinatl]

A wrasse or a yellow candy hog fish would reduce your flat worm and bristle worm problem.

Looks like has a H. Chrysus already.

Could toss in 1 or 2 bubble bees to try and help the vermatid issue. My experience is they generally sort their population level out over time.

 

[reefinatl]

Thanks everyone! I think I was over thinking it too and you're right- eventually everything becomes a pest. I did break off a lot of the vermatids already and will continue to do this. Going forward I am going to keep some kind of mechanical filtration to keep as many particulates out of the water as possible. I am going to continuously stir the sand up and add a goby to help with keeping the sand clean in areas I can't get- to at least lower the food source of the bristle worms.

Interesting thing I noted: after the lights turn off I can usually see tiny baby bristle worms swimming around and they are attracted to light so I am going to add a very dim just near the over flow to try to get as many as I can into the filter sock.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

Those things you see swimming are probably not baby bristle worms, it's way creepier than that, epitokes. Reefs are freaky places when the lights go out.

Glad you decided to let it ride. Don't worry it's a reef tank a real problem will rear its head soon enough, boredom won't last long.

 

[Joe Tony]

In the ocean, like the rest of nature, every creature exists as a part of a delicate balance, doing its part to maintain the beautiful ecosystems that they are in. Bristleworms are fantastic scavengers, can fit big chunks of food in their mouth, fit into the tiniest spots, and otherwise guarantee a responsible reef keeper will never overfeed their tank. Embrace them. They're not pests. They don't hurt corals or fish or any other creatures you want to keep and only overpopulate insofar as there's too much food in the tank. My 30 gallon nano has tons of bristleworms as well, and the tank's water is crystal clear, the inhabitants are all happy, and I never have to worry about an ammonia spike. You can wear gloves, if the bristles are a problem, and feed the tank less often if population is an issue, but I wouldn't worry about the worms.

 

[JCM]

Its all those bristle worms and vermatids thats keeping your water params stable leading to successful tank. They are in no way pests

Completely agree. All those "pests" are helping your tank not hurting it.