How to transition between a softie to LPS to SPS tank?

[Reef Pilot]

Well, for starters get rid of anything that resembles a mushroom. I made the mistake of letting a few "pretty" ones grow here and there. Now they are choking out my SPS,... and I can't get rid of them. And believe me, have tried everything... I will take a tank full of aiptasia, valonia, almost anything except these scourges.

[Animal-Chin]

Have you tried injecting the mouths with lemon juice? I watched apastia melt to nothing with lemon juice, maybe it'll kill mushrooms too?

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Animal-Chin

Have you tried injecting the mouths with lemon juice? I watched apastia melt to nothing with lemon juice, maybe it'll kill mushrooms too?

Aiptasia were easy to get rid of (Pearscales), but have not been able to kill (permanently) the mushrooms. Have injected them with various potions (incl lemon juice, Aiptasia X, you name it). Disappear for a while (couple weeks even), but eventually reappear again out of their holes.

Problem now is they are all over, and impossible to even get at 90% of them.

If there are only a few here and there, can be removed by taking out the live rock and chipping out that piece of it. Only thing that worked for me. But now it is too late.

Only solution might be some predator, but have not found one.

[whatcaneyedo]

Sort of off topic, but its a common misconception that softies don't produce skeletons. They do in fact create little rice grain looking bits of skeleton within their tissue called sclerites that help to give them structure. So a soft coral dominated system still requires calcium carbonate, how much is relative to the size and species of the colonies.

That being said I too tried to get rid of all of the aggressive/invasive softies like mushrooms, anthelia, kenya tree, green star polyps etc when I transitioned to SPS and LPS dominated. In most cases I sold off the rocks that were colonized and replaced them with new rocks. I am okay with zoanthids and certain leathery coral like Sarcophyton that don't drop clones every other day.

[Reefer Rob]

Aaarrrrg, ricordea, aggressive little beasties. The only way to get rid of them is to carve them off the rocks. Once they get under your Acropora it's almost impossible.

Also, every tank I start I say no encrusting Monties this time *sigh* If you haven't done it already try to avoid them. They slowly creep across the tank killing everything in their path.

[SanguinesDream]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Also, every tank I start I say no encrusting Monties this time *sigh* If you haven't done it already try to avoid them. They slowly creep across the tank killing everything in their path.

But, but, but they're so puurrty! I hear ya, though. I have a green w/purple tipped monti bulldozing through one acro atm so much so that I broke my tank apart last weekend to isolate that rock.

[SanguinesDream]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Well, for starters get rid of anything that resembles a mushroom. I made the mistake of letting a few "pretty" ones grow here and there. Now they are choking out my SPS,... and I can't get rid of them. And believe me, have tried everything... I will take a tank full of aiptasia, valonia, almost anything except these scourges.

It's funny that you say that because I have a beautiful, true blue mushroom right at the base of one of my acros and no matter how I irritate it (squirt a turkey baster, poke sharp items at it, try and cut it off), it will not move.