Cleaning dead coral

[Nola77]

I have a 57 gal that has some dead coral on the overflow and back glass. Any tips?

 

[Auquanut]

Pictures?

 

[Nola77]

Pictures?

That overall is the best one I have on hand.

 

[Auquanut]

Wow! Wasn't expecting that much skeletal structure. The glass shouldn't be too bad. I'd use a razor. The kind you use to scrape a sticker off of the windshield. Being a very hard, smooth surface, the worst of it should chip off. Then you can use vinegar or a citric acid solution to get rid of the rest. The overflow might be a little harder. Being a softer, more porous surface, it's liable to take more work. Not sure exactly what I'd do to tackle that. Hopefully someone else has a good idea.

 

[AlexG]

Acid will be your easiest solution. Try to remove all that you can with some cutters to limit what the acid has to dissolve. High strength vinegar sprayed on might help loosen the dead corals off the glass or soak some paper towels in vinegar and place them on the dead corals. Process might take some time but will work. Another option would be to fill the tanks and add a couple gallons of vinegar and let it soak a few days. This might need to be repeated a few times but its a low hazard method.

 

[gentlefish]

Acid will be your easiest solution. Try to remove all that you can with some cutters to limit what the acid has to dissolve. High strength vinegar sprayed on might help loosen the dead corals off the glass or soak some paper towels in vinegar and place them on the dead corals. Process might take some time but will work. Another option would be to fill the tanks and add a couple gallons of vinegar and let it soak a few days. This might need to be repeated a few times but its a low hazard method.

+1 vinegar and patience

 

[Nola77]

+1 vinegar and patience

Plenty of patience i have. Still have to build the stand a find a sump and make it look good enough to put it in the living room.