sen5241b June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 Got colonial hydroids (CHs) and my plan is to bring tank level down to 2 inches and blow torch the suckers off the rock. I estimate it will take no more than a minute to kill them off -the ones that I can see anyway. The trouble is the glass is very close to where the biggest bunch of CHs are. Is there something I can put between the glass and the blow torch to prevent heat transfer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 piece of wood, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schudini June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 I'm not implying that you haven't, but have you researched this technique? Whenever I read about it in the past, the recommendation was to remove the affected rock if possible and place in a different container with tank water to ensure that the decaying hydroids did not release anything nasty into the display tank (toxins, or things that would effect fish or corals, or just dump organic waste that would cause parameter spikes). Also wear safety glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 8, 2012 Author Share June 8, 2012 (edited) I'm not implying that you haven't, but have you researched this technique? Whenever I read about it in the past, the recommendation was to remove the affected rock if possible and place in a different container with tank water to ensure that the decaying hydroids did not release anything nasty into the display tank (toxins, or things that would effect fish or corals, or just dump organic waste that would cause parameter spikes). Also wear safety glasses. All good info. I don't have that many CHs so I do not think there is a enough to cause a problem with toxins. A piece of wood sounds good -a dry piece I would think. Edited June 8, 2012 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 8, 2012 Author Share June 8, 2012 I once tried a blow torch on a lot of red turf algae and it caused a massive cycle (in a test tank) but I torched a lot of RTA. Even so I intend to minimize the amount of actual rock that will be torched. There is a risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 I recommend strongly against this. There was a guy from NCPARS who wound up in the hospital because he tried to remove palys from his tank improperly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almon June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 A blow torch in your tank? There's probably a better way....You probably should not pour boiling water over it either. You might try simply drying out the rock in the sun for few days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 A blow torch in your tank? There's probably a better way....You probably should not pour boiling water over it either. You might try simply drying out the rock in the sun for few days... +1 Remember, hyroids still have stinging cells that deliver toxin. Burning them off may vaporize these toxins to where you or others nearby may breath them. Steve Outlaw, a member here, wound up in the hospital when he tried to boil nuisance palys off of some rock and breathed in the vapor containing palytoxin. And others here (me included) have suffered from palytoxin exposure as well. Some of these toxins can kill. If you have enough biomass to where you're considering this technique. Just take the rock out and let it dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 FWIW, I tried torching some and it didn't work. I just tried using a lighter though, I did not use a propane torch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 why don't you simply scrub them off with a brush? or put something on top of them to smother them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 piling on...does not sound wise... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 Super glue! If you can drain the tank enough to torch you can drain it enough to cover them in super glue...just sayin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 8, 2012 Author Share June 8, 2012 Anyone who has done their research on these things has said that kalk, boiling water basted right on them and Aptasia killing solutions do not work. I tried these things. Superglue-ing them has limited success. One person said they came back stronger after superglue. The only way to truly eliminate them is to do a complete tank breakdown, boil, bake or dry out the rock; new sand, etc., and I am not willing to do all that. Tank breakdowns due to pest infestations risk killing your corals and you might as well build a whole new tank --costly and very, very time consuming. Transferring livestock to the new tank could then re-introduce the pest! I have a BC29 and my plan is to torch approximately 9 square inches of rock. The risks are heat damage to nearby corals, splitting rock (seen it happen), airborne poisonous toxins, a nasty cycle and heat damage to tank itself. If there were much more CHs then I have I would not do try this but the total biomass of them is rather small. Honestly I do not expect this to be a complete cure for the infestation but it should help a lot. I will hold my breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef June 8, 2012 Share June 8, 2012 sounds like a plaan....just have enough water premade to do 2 changes if necessary... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnetic1 June 9, 2012 Share June 9, 2012 Dunno about colonial hydroids, but I used to love blowtorching majanos w/ mapp gas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 9, 2012 Author Share June 9, 2012 Dunno about colonial hydroids, but I used to love blowtorching majanos w/ mapp gas "mapp gas"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 9, 2012 Share June 9, 2012 "mapp gas"? Comes in a yellow cylinder. Burns hotter than propane. Good for sweating copper plumbing joints. Available at hardware stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 9, 2012 Share June 9, 2012 Burning them seems to have worked for some guys in this thread: http://www.michiganreefers.com/forums/reef-discussion/108166-how-get-rid-hydroids.html Just take precautions, ok? Eye protection, ventilation, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 9, 2012 Author Share June 9, 2012 (edited) Again excellent info. Glad someone mentioned eye protection. Saw this comment from the other post: "Use Tech M magnesium and maintain at around 1450 to 1500 and they will go away. That's the only brand that works." Could this really work? We've seen mag kill algae but this might be a better way. Also, the pencil torch sounds more precise than what I was planning to use. Edited June 9, 2012 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami June 9, 2012 Share June 9, 2012 I saw the magnesium thing, too. It's the first I've ever seen this in the context of anything other than bryopsis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy June 10, 2012 Share June 10, 2012 You can go to a welding supply shop and by fire resistant material. I use it in my shop on some welding chores Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b June 13, 2012 Author Share June 13, 2012 (edited) Ok so yesterday I drained the tank down to about 1 inch and blow torch the colonial hydroids (CHs) and in fact many were killed off but there were some problems. Everything appears to be fine 24 hours later. Using a larger blow torch was a problem. (I used the one below). This was too big and bulky. Next time I will try a pencil blow torch with an angled nozzle -this is important. When you put the torch in the tank, plan exactly how you will move the flame into and around the tank. You don't want to brush the flame over a coral, clam or Zoas risking killing the critter or yourself. Use strong light so you can really see what your are doing. Although I pin-pointed each spot where the CHs were in the tank, when I drained it they retracted and it was hard to recall each and every spot so some escaped the flame. Some retracted into holes in the rock and after the water was put back in and the CHs came back out I could see that I had only singed their heads off. If you torch CHs, take great care to insulate your livestock from the heat! Put some insulating material between the livestock and the flame. I'm going to check ammonia later and do another torching in a few days to kill the rest. Edited June 13, 2012 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind June 13, 2012 Share June 13, 2012 This seems like a lot of work and risk to me. I have always just kalk pasted them under water. If you do drain the tank then use super glue to cover them up, no fear of heat and torching of corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad June 13, 2012 Share June 13, 2012 I'm torn on this one. my practical side agrees with CH. My impulsive and vindictive side, frustrated by the buggers, says Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 June 13, 2012 Share June 13, 2012 I think a brulee torch would be easier to use. Besides being much smaller, you just point and click to burn and release when you are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now