Killing corraline on acrylic

BradB · Jan 18, 2017

I have a 270 mostly SPS acrylic reef. Corraline is very hard to remove and grows very fast, and over the years grows faster than I can remove it. One solution is to tear down the tank, carry it outside, and scrub everything down with muriatic acid. This is a lot of work, but the tank is good as new.

I thought I had a better idea, cover one side with opaque acrylic, and without light or flow, the corraline would eventually die. It hasn't yet.

I wonder if I can put anything between the 2 pieces of acrylic (baking soda, kalkwasser, etc) that would speed the process without hurting the tank. Any ideas?

Triggreef · Jan 18, 2017

I'm confused by your post if the tank is running or not... If it is running, a few urchins will do a JOB on coraline.

NanaReefer · Jan 19, 2017

Urchins will scratch acrylic. Speaking from experience I dosed H2O2 for two weeks at 6ml a week and low and behold it killed off ALL Coralline from the glass & overflow [emoji2]

BradB · Jan 19, 2017

Tank is running, I have a few fish that might eat urchins, but have tried tons of urchins in the past. Seems like shoveling snow with a spoon - urchins make a dent, but it is nothing compared to what grows. And they do scratch acrylic.

BradB · Jan 19, 2017

I don't know if there is a dose of hydrogen peroxide that will even dent corraline without killing coral or fish. Not an experiment I want to try.

dragon99 · Jan 19, 2017

Vinegar might help between the 2 pieces of acrylic. You'd have to be careful how much you are adding on a daily basis though. It would likely be a slow process doing small spots each day.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 19, 2017

I'd use urchins (they stripped my rocks over time) or scraping. lol

BradB · Jan 20, 2017

Any luck with anything other than the huge longspines? They are real buildozers, and I can't see adding the dozen or so it would take.

NanaReefer · Jan 20, 2017

Pencil Urchins.

AdamNC · Jan 21, 2017

If you don't mind Asterina Starfish, I have quite a few that keep my coralline away. People talk bad about them eating corals but I've had no issues in almost 3 years.