How I killed GSP

[peterhos]

Happy Easter All

My tank has cycled, is not looking too brown nor green, so I decided to go bare bottom and cover the bottom with GSP. I bought 2 nice pieces from the LFS, and 2 weeks later they are dead. My zoa frags are looking good, a candy cane is fine so far, and an old piece of plating montipora is coming back to life. DKH is 8.8 and steady, salinity 35 ppt, so did new lights kill the GSP, or did my 3 dwarf angel nip them to pieces.? Is anyone else out there a GSP killer like me? I would like some GSP, but ….

PS I have gone back to a very shallow sand bed now.

 

[Subsea]

It’s hard to kill GSP. I would give you some except for the Atlantic Ocean.

 

[peterhos]

It’s hard to kill GSP. I would give you some except for the Atlantic Ocean.

Lovely tank you have there. I think the dwarf angels were picking at it.

 

[peterhos]

What is that covering the weir box?

 

[martin.a]

Forgive me asking, but are you sure it's dead? My GSP completly retracted after exactly two weeks and stayed like that for 4 days.

 

[peterhos]

Forgive me asking, but are you sure it's dead? My GSP completly retracted after exactly two weeks and stayed like that for 4 days.

Maybe not dead, but it has been closed up for a couple of weeks now. Not looking hopeful.

 

[martin.a]

I am not an expert (a total novice in fact), but I would be hopeful as long as mat keeps it's purple colour and is not covered in algae. I would also take them out and smell them. Maybe check if you can see any green tissue inside when you have them out?

 

[peterhos]

I am not an expert (a total novice in fact), but I would be hopeful as long as mat keeps it's purple colour and is not covered in algae. I would also take them out and smell them. Maybe check if you can see any green tissue inside when you have them out?

Oddly, there is little algae in the tank, but these 2 GSP are looking brown. I may clean them with a toothbrush?!

 

[martin.a]

Well, I don't think it's a good sign if they are covered with some loose brown 'stuff'. I would not brush them, they are either dead or unhappy, brushing probably can't make it better. Maybe show us a picture?

 

[peterhos]

Well, I don't think it's a good sign if they are covered with some loose brown 'stuff'. I would not brush them, they are either dead or unhappy, brushing probably can't make it better. Maybe show us a picture?

You re right. I will gently ‘wash’
them.

 

[Uncle99]

What is that covering the weir box?

Looks like palythoa polyps to me.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Can't help with the loss of GSP. sometimes it happens. i have had it close for weeks. Then other times I have throw it in a old tub with rock and water when I am breaking down a tank, sits outside over night for a couple days and walk by and see it extended. stuff is weird.

I have thought about doing a GSP on a bare bottom too. Like grass. Probably the only way I would go with no sand. And you can still do a pretty good amount of flow to keep it all clean. I would worry about CUC not being very effective in detritus removal so flow would have to be wide spread.

I don't worry about CUC because my puffer takes care of them.

 

[MC Blowfish]

You could take a turkey baster and blast away the brown stuff on your gsp. I've had to do it when my jawfish spit sand on my gsp.

 

[Subsea]

What is that covering the weir box?

More GSP. color spectrum of lighting at that point has less blue.

Since that picture, I removed 50% of GSP from back glass and seeded with Red Sea Silver Xenia. Excuse film algae on front glass; I am behind on glass cleaning; it’s Spring planting season in the garden.

 

[martin.a]

Hi Peter, any update on your GSP?