So I decided to use a drill and brushes to scrub every piece of rock in my tank. Here's what I used and the precautions I took. First please note I used several pieces of PPE for this, I did research and determined the anthelia doesn't contain any toxins that could be dangerous to myself but if you do this understand. It is a messy, dirty job, there can be other things in your reef that could be dangerous if accidently ingested. Do your own research. I am writing this and documenting it to show how I either destroyed the anthelia infestation in my tank or failed to win, possibly making a bad situation worse. Consider your working space with the drill a hot zone, FULL PPE REQUIRED. The final inspection was completed inside under a bright light to ensure all pieces have been identified. RODI water is used for rinsing to help maintain the bio organisms living within the rock. Gloves were worn at all times due to bristle worms and other creatures living the in the rocks.
I bought a multipack of drill end poly brushes, N95 masks, splash proof goggles, heavy dishwashing gloves and an assortment of poly brushes/metal toothbrushes. I also had a nice assortment of tweezers, kalkwasser and deep dish tubs. I used 2 tubs one as an initial holding section where I removed and cleanup crew, and mushrooms I could save. The rocks were combed over thoroughly before being removed to the OUTSIDE (this is important). I had a second cleaning tub outside, next to that tub was a bucked of RODI water. The tub was placed just above waist high on a 55gallon drum. I made sure my N95 mask (a true n95 not that fabric BS we all used during covid) was sealed tightly around my face. I had my gloves on already due to bristle worms and splash googles. I wore a jacket or ratty clothes I didn't mind getting dirty. Really I can't stress enough how dirty this is, your gloves and anything you put in front of the brush will be splattered and covered in stinky brown mucus and anthelia parts. The smell is horrific, if you have neighbors close they will know. PPE to protect myself from cuts and abrasions from the drill brushes seemed really important. I used thick dishwashing gloves, thin surgical gloves aren't going to cut it.
I took my drill and spinning it away from me I used that to annihialate all the anthelia on the rock. It would explode with brown mucus and make the most horrendous smell you have every smelled. Seriosly DO NOT DO THIS INSIDE! The parts fly everywhere and the smell is absolutely the worst thing. I systematically worked the drill around the rock paying close attention to the crevices and cracks. Reversing the direction of the drill helped peel the anthelia off. I would then rinse all the brown slime off in the RODI water before hitting with the drill again. Followed by another RODI rinse. I would then go section by section peeling anything left with tweezers. For pieces stuck to deeply into the rocks I would smear Kalkwasser paste over the section. I would then pass the rock on to my GF who would do the same thing. The anthelia pieces would turn white after being hit the brush and were distinctive against the color of the rocks. (A side note I found a ton of bristle worms and starfish doing this, it killed all of them).
After passing the secondary search in a clean tub the rock was held out of the tank in a holding bucket of the correct temperature and salinity water. I broke my tank into 3rds and once I got to bare sandbed I was able to go through and remove any anthelia attached to shells and the sandbed/glass. Turning off the flow helps keep these things from blowing around the tank. I then waited 2 days testing for any ammonia spikes. It seems the biofilter stayed intact in the rocks and I never saw a jump in any Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate. I spend 2 weeks working on the rocks and tank. I have now completely removed all the anthelia inside the display of the tank. A search of sump and overflow produced no anthelia living in there. I will be testing the water again today and following with a 30% water change in a few days.
Currently we have missed exactly one head of anthelia that somehow evaded the drill, brushes and 2 sets of eyes. I am certain there are more. It is likely we have missed other pieces. But my goal here was to reduce the population to a manageable level. From here as long as we don't get a huge boom in growth my anticipation is I can control the population with manual removal and kalkwasser paster. I hope this is helpful. I will update with pictures and continue to update as time goes on. Thank you
