I've discovered how to quickly eradicate Anthelia....
 

.... without tearing down your tank.

Okay, so we all do it, right? Start off with some super easy and moderately attractive Anthelia in our reef tanks. Then a year later after it has spread beyond our control we see how plain and boring it is, and while it still adds nice movement to our tanks it has the potential to take over our rock. And it is a bugger to get off. Its painstaking and stinky to pick it off with our fingers, and most of the time it comes right back. Tearing down the whole tank and scrubbing it off the rock is often not a wanted option.

Ok, so, how the heck do you control it? Take these easy steps and say BYE BYE to little unwanted colonies of Anthelia.

Step 1. Purchase a submersible Sonic Scrubber with extra attatchments.
http://www.sonicscrubbertvoffer.com/...ges/bigimg.gif

Step 2. Put in the nozzle that ends in a point. This will allow you to get into little nooks and crannies of rock.

Step 3. Run Sonic Scrubber over the colony of Anthelia for about 30 seconds, or until is closes up and instantly expells its zoozanthelle, causing it to bleach. This will also physically remove a lot of it without stinking up your fingers.

Step 4. Patience. Within a few days the colony will die off due to lack of zoozanthelle, leaving a spot for some newer and more attractive corals!


Ta da! I am slowly controlling the amount of anthelia in my tank down to a few un-obtrusive spots. I would reccommend brushing it off in bits at a time, as to not shock your tank with tons of Anthelia juices.

:P
-Diana

What the!!!!!!??? Do you have an Aiptasia you can try this on?

I sure do! I will try it on some little aptasia in my seahorse tank... although I fear each little tiny peice of shredded aptasia will spawn a new one? Granted I have a good supply of joe's juice on hand as well.... muwahaha!

Okay...that's cool....never thought of using ultrasonics

So, I'm guessing that's not your personal toothbrush, right?:lol: Raf, you might want to go buy a new toothbrush. And you thought Colgate came out with a new nasty flavour.:lol:

Thats what i fear about using this on Anthelia, each little piece that gets away will start growing somewhere else. I really want to try this though :biggrin:

From what I've seen so far, the sudden shock causes it to expell its zooxanthelle, so even the peices that may float away (most of it shrinks into nothing) are bleached and therefore have a minimal chance of survival.

Haha, Anthony, I dont think even an elephant would want to use this as a tooth brush... that sonic scrubbing action is pretty powerful! :D

Hmmmm, I wonder if it would work on unwanted, maddly spreading, Zenia. Or would each little bit of Zenia attach to a separate rock and grow....

were do you e one of those sonics scrubbers? I saw it on TV ......... but do local shops sell them?

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

Raf got it at Linens and Things for $17 plus the extra attatchements. Its also a fantastic tool for scrubbing algae off of rock. We just rinse it under fresh water after use.

:D
-Diana

I was thinking of my shower stall.

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

That would work too! :D

it can be used underwater?

yes, fully submersible to, well at least to a depth of a large tank. Has an o-ring built into the th battery housing.

I use it for servicing. At first i thought the sonic vibrations would freak the fish out but surprisingly they just look at it.

And Anthony, this is not my toothbrush anymore :D

Very cool, look out aiptasia here I come toothbrush in hand! :lol:

Just tried this today on some Anthelia, i'll check back in in a few days and let wou know how it worked for me. How has it been working for you Diana? any more patches or regrowth in the same spot?

anyone try this, or think it would work on hydroids?

I tried it on a few hydriods too. So well see if i made a mistake and they spread like mad everywhere or i got them all and this is the greatest invention ever.

So to resurrect an old thread, does anyone know if the Sonic Scrubber is currently available in any stores in the Vancouver/Richmond area, I will be there in a few days and would like to get one.

I bought mine at linen's and things in richmond on bridgeport road near Ikea & Home Depot.

Cheers,
Vic

Thanks

Would this work on GSP? Or would that be a no-no?
Worried about toxicity.

Anyone know where you can get one of these in Calgary. Linens and things is gone now i think.

Thanks Keith

You can order them online as well, we have actually 3 sets of the now (different speeds) for aquarium servicing. They work GREAT on fake coral inserts (not that any of you would have that!).

I have tried them a tiny bit on GSP, only where it was about to touch something. But they sure do slime when you do it, so only recommended small portions plus the addition of carbon to the tank. :) Same goes for the Anthelia, but I've nuked quite a bit at one time with no ill effect.

:D
Cheers
-Diana