how to get rid of vermin??

[thepirate]

I'm looking at buying a large second hand tank (5x2x2) and sump setup.

the tank has a lot of coral sand 3-4" and a lot of what was described a tuffa rock and volcanic rock.

on the rock and within the sand is a lot of brown mushroom type groth.
the seller was honest and said that they were described as vermin and that they can overtake the tank. does anyone know what these might be, and are they imposssible to clear?

thats about all is on the rock apart from one or two pieces with a couple of interesting growths.

i intned on striping down the tank and sarting again with live rock.

i have a couple of questions.


if i kept the sand and a couple of pieces of this rock would these brown mushrooms overwhelm my tank again?

are they present in every marine tank and is there anyway of controlling them?

cheers lads and lasses

mark

 

[clowninround]

they are mushrooms? Those do tend to spread all over your tank...but, if this person uses crushed coral then you could replace it with sand (which should eliminate them growing on the substrate I should think, if anyone knows different please chime in) and isolate those rocks from the main rockwork and you may be able to contain it a bit. Do keep in mind though, mushrooms can detach themselves and reattach themselves on othe rocks. If you keep an eye out for that and remove any mushrooms that have "sailed away" before they reattach all the way you might do well.

 

[thepirate]

thanks for the reply.

i suppose that if i wanted to clear them completely i would have to get rid of all the rock and sand. it just seams a shame!

does anyone know of any fish that like to eat the mushrooms?

what does everyone think of this tuffa rock or volcanic rock? is it any good?

cheers

Mark
(all the way from sunny Britain)

 

[Fluff]

Are you sure they weren't apstasia? They are little anemones that look kinda like a polyp or shroom.

If they are apstasia, they can over take your tank. Though I've never had to fight them, alot of the members swear by a product called Joes Juice.

Any way you can post a picture of the "vermin" in question?

 

[clowninround]

Also, the crushed coral is ok for sand but it tends to trap food and wastes which builds up nitrates unless it's cleaned regularly. I had crushed coral with my first tank, it wasn't too bad but it was a pain to clean and when I switched to sand I couldn't believe the difference. This would be the best time to decide what kind of substrate ahead of time, each has it's pros and cons.

 

[thepirate]

unfortunetly i have not brought the tank in question yet so i can only describe them.

they are shaped like a flat mushroom on a stalk of about 1/2 - 1" long. there were not too many to spoil the tank but the seller had said that they covered the tank at one point.

if i get the tank i could start from scratch as it is only tuffa rock and volcanic rock and as far as i am aware this is not very desirable.

however it owould be a shame to get rid of the crushed coral base as this is about 4 inches deep.

could i kill all the life out of it by thoughly cleaning it and drying it out, or would the spores survive?

or, is there a fish that eats it? that would be the ideal remedy.

thankyou

Mark

 

[thepirate]

sorry missed the bit about the crushed coral.

i have heard many virtues about sand over coral, in particular the fact that it can hold a bigger bacteria colany because of the increase surface area. so that will probalby be the route that i will take.

i've heard of people using playsand from local stores, hopefully this would not work out too expensive but i would be really worried about introducing chemicals or the wrong type of sand.

does anyone in the UK have any experience of playsand availbe from B&Q or Early learning centre?

cheers

Mark

 

[thepirate]

what are the cons with sand as apposed to crushed coral then?

mark

 

[clowninround]

Well i use a Deep sand bed, it works well for me, however there is a risk of pockets of gas developing in sand. But if you have lots of critters in there such as pods, worms, ect ect that stir the sand it shouldn't be a problem. This only occurs in DSB's and from what I hear it kind of a rare occurance. I have two sand sifting stars in my tank that do a really good job of keeping the sand on the up and up. Keep in mind, a DSB is like 3 or more inches of sand.