GSP removal?

[pecan2phat]

Is there a way to erradicate star polyps from a rock without epoxing or removing the rock?
I have a couple of small colonies of SPS on the rock and the rock is a bit large.
This stuff is so freakin durable that I had the rock for probably 5 yrs without signs of the star polyps until I took all my angels out of the tank about 8 months ago. It's like aptasia that festers in crevices until it has a chance to proliferate without any predators. I've never introduced any star polyps in this SPS tank because I know that it will encroach SPS and kill it and also spread like crazy.
Whan I kept a few angels in the tank, I never saw asterina, aiptasia or star polyps but now all 3 are present. I will not put any type of angel back into this tank because I only came to realize what polyp extension is, after I removed all the angels.
Any good ideas?

 

[D1J8Z]

razor it off.

 

[spacenyc]

lye

i ve used the lye method, works great and kills everything it touches but dilutes immediatly, lots of info on the web or pm me, only use pure lye mine is robics available for $10 only at lowes

 

[pecan2phat]

Not the sheet like common GSP so a razor will not work.

Lye :scratchch
I imagine that you need to take the rock out of water and pour or dab the lye on areas affected and rinse with water?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I've used kalkwasser in a very thick dry paste to create a "DMZ" with star polyps before. After a few applications they start to not grow in that direction. The easiest way to remove it though is really to just take it out and scrub the rock with a brillo or hard plastic mesh pad. You have a to create enough tissue trauma to kill it though so scrub hard!

 

[spacenyc]

use a i use a syringe

i use a syringe with a big nozzle or if rock is close by the top i pour a little bit on area, lots of info on web, no need to take rock out and lye dispates immediatly. leave a harmless white dust which i powerhead away after a minute. done it many times and nothing has been harmed except bristleworms which seem to have little tolerance. very cheap but rember lye is real dangerous stuff when mixed with water to humans so be super careful and heats up very quickly so use gloves

 

[SevTT]

Is there a way to erradicate star polyps from a rock without epoxing or removing the rock?
I have a couple of small colonies of SPS on the rock and the rock is a bit large.

Some types of GSP can be pulled off of rock pretty easily; cut through the mat and tear off strips, possibly using pliers or forceps, until you've eradicated most of it. After that -- GSP is a hardy little SOB of a coral, so I'd recommend repeated applications of kalkwasser paste over the areas that are affected. (Turn off the pumps, apply paste with a syringe, let sit for about 10-15 minutes.)

You could also put a big aggressive anemone, or possibly something like Galaxia, pretty much on top of it for a while, or use similarly aggressive (but relatively slow-growing) corals to corral it. Of course, the 'sting it to death' method takes a while.

 

[pecan2phat]

Thanks for all the suggestion guys, I'll try either the kalk of robics lye method.

 

[SevTT]

i use a syringe with a big nozzle or if rock is close by the top i pour a little bit on area, lots of info on web, no need to take rock out and lye dispates immediatly. leave a harmless white dust which i powerhead away after a minute. done it many times and nothing has been harmed except bristleworms which seem to have little tolerance. very cheap but rember lye is real dangerous stuff when mixed with water to humans so be super careful and heats up very quickly so use gloves

I'd recommend using kalk instead of lye inside the tank; it's too easy to really shoot your pH up using lye. It can also potentially cause a drop in your Ca (due to the boosting of carbonate alkalinity; the hydroxide ions from the lye combine with carbon dioxide in the water, at reef-tank pHs, to form Carbonate. This could drive down the Ca through abiotic precipitation. Again, it basically matters how much you're using and what the volume of the tank is.)

If using lye, mix it in a heat-safe nonmetallic vessel (preferably something like a pyrex measuring cup,) adding the water to the cup first and then slowly stirring in the lye. Feel the glass with your hand as you're doing this; if it gets too hot, or starts boiling, stop adding anything until it cools down.

The -best- way would probably be as others mention; remove the rock, scrub off the GSP, hit it with lye, let it sit for a bit, and then rinse it off in fresh SW.

 

[18oreefer]

or you could just put my hippo tang in there. he seems to enjoy them soo much that i have none left.

 

[pecan2phat]

Does this look like GSP, it does not have the mat like ordinary GSP:

 

[cali_reef]

I dunno, but it looks more like an type of encrusting Pavona, not GSP.

 

[pecan2phat]

I dunno, but it looks more like an type of encrusting Pavona, not GSP.

Now that you mention Pavona, I think you are correct. Same way to kill it with kalk or Lye?
This is on the Marshall Island rocks we got from the guy in Bklyn back in '04-'05 and I've never had Pavona in my tank :banghead:

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Hey Warren,

I had so much pavona growing at one point i used to just tuen the rock over and it would die from no light. It does pack a powerful sting

 

[pecan2phat]

Andy,
This stuff just barely touched a 3"x4" acro and RTN'd the base of the coral within a day or two. It sends out pretty long feelers that also touch anything within 1/2" and RTN's that too including some yuma that were on the rock.

 

[cali_reef]

It will be hard to kill it if you can't remove the rock and no epoxy. I am not so sure about the kalk nor lye, I think both have to screw your water parameters up a little.

How many patches and how big of area do you have this stuff?

 

[Cibo]

+1 Pavona

 

[ed51802]

pavona why would u kill it trade sell or give it away its an sps

 

[pecan2phat]

Because it's an encrusting species that is taking over a piece of large live rock that has colonies of acros. It's touched and killed one already. In my scenerio, it's a weed.

 

[Master Shake]

you can just peel them off