billyboy2

Just want to ask some of the other members out there if they have a tried and tested solution to riding LR of an xenia colony. When i first started out I thought that the little frag of xenia would be a good addition to my tank. little did i realize that it will expand and invade other areas and so rapidly. basically i want it all gone because its become a serious problem. i'd like to add some diversity to my reef but xenia is fillin up. Help!

harpua2002

I recently bought a 4 year old tank from someone and the live rock was covered in xenia. Since I had to move everything anyway and already had the live rock out of the tank, I just scraped off as much as I could before adding the rock back into the tank. I spent a couple hours doing it and still didn't manage to get it all, but most of it is gone. It comes off in a mat, so it's not too difficult to remove. My only concern for you trying that is what it might do to your water parameters. I'm really not sure to be honest.

billyboy2

oh i see.... i had a small piece of Live rock that had some starting and thats what i did, i scraped it. almost got every spec of it off too but it was a nice smooth piece. the one i still have to deal with is not so easy, very jagged and filled with holes. i did notice that when i put the scraped piece back into my tank my fish seemed quite interested in it and soon vacated the area. fortunatly i placed it close to my skimmer input so most of the should have been dealt with immediatly. I have a pict to show what im dealing with...very tall and thick...quick to spread now that i'm using t5 lights and not the crummy CFL's i had before.

Attached Images

tank.JPG (42.3 KB, 29 views)

harpua2002

Wow, you have a really nice looking tank.

I'd just scrape it off the best you can and follow up with a water change and some carbon. Angry corals can release some nasties into your water. LOL

billyboy2

Thanks, I try to do my best to keep it looking good. I think your right, but i will also have my water mix ready so i can drain a small portion and use the old water to scrape the rock in and rinse...i know there are lots of little criters living in the live rock so hopefully it will stay live rock when i'm done

ATP

I've never scraped it before. I thught that that would make a mess and I hate the smell when corals release the slime toxin thing.

What I always do is pull them off of the rock. Start by pulling th base that's stuck to the rock until parts of it let go. Once part of it let's go, hold the part and just pull it. It's kinda hard to explain, but the way I do it will not even take 15 min. plus, the xenia would still be intact and undamaged so I would be able to give it to a new owner.

ATP,