Smart or not? GHA in sump

RaymondsWorlddd

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My rocks that I’ve had in a tank for about 6 months were covered in GHA. I also didn’t like the shape of the aquascape. I purchased new dry rock to replace the GHA covered rock in the display tank.

Is it a good or bad idea to move the GHA covered rock into the sump without a light for filtration? I figured extra rock helps with filtration but I also don’t know if the GHA would cause issues as it dies away in darkness? Also, is it not worth it with detritus hiding throughout the sump now? Should I have some snails and hermits down there to keep it clean? Or a brittle starfish? Is it bad that they won’t have light?

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Doctorgori

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If you can pull em out why not just drizzel em with drug store peroxide and put em back… works wonders

…I don’t recommend using light or lack thereof to address what is actually a overfeeding or water quality issue at its core,,,, It’s sorta a head in the sand move: algae’s gone but the root cause is still around…

mind the shrimp, peroxide the rock, put it back and watch it fizzle

…find the real reason for the algae and address that..maybe you just need more snails, or maybe don’t clean your glass so often…
what are you phosphate, nitrate levels?

If you do insist on removing the rock: out of all the cuc, an urchin is most likely to take that rock down to its bare surface…. And no, light is not require
 
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RaymondsWorlddd

RaymondsWorlddd

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If you can pull em out why not just drizzel em with drug store peroxide and put em back… works wonders

…I don’t recommend using light or lack thereof to address what is actually a overfeeding or water quality issue at its core,,,, It’s sorta a head in the sand move: algae’s gone but the root cause is still around…

mind the shrimp, peroxide the rock, put it back and watch it fizzle
I was trying to save whatever beneficial (if any lol) bacteria had already grown in the rocks. I didn’t just want to throw away 6 months of “live rock.”

This was definitely an over feeding/water quality issue. I did become lazy and am now paying the price.
 

Doctorgori

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I have some experience and cred here dealing with algae (even if I say so myself) LOL
…peroxide is also a head in the sand thing, but for instant gratification, it is ideal : and if for no other reason than watching that nasty stuff turn into O2 bubbles before your eyes…
..
IME peroxide shouldn’t affect anything adversely other than shrimp…I’ve squirted the 3% stuff directly on zoas with hair algae…no real adverse symptoms really, but like everything there is almost certainly a coral that won’t like it…
Lots of threads on peroxide application and dosing…Don’t read mine (I used the 30% and zapped a lot of corals argh)

OR
Just do nothing, watch your feeding, up your CUC game (urchins are a must IMO) and my guess is it will fade away with time…
could take months but reefing is a long game and you sound like your tank is in the 1st quarter, 1st possession with 12. minutes to go
 
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RaymondsWorlddd

RaymondsWorlddd

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I have some experience and cred here dealing with algae (even if I say so myself) LOL
…peroxide is also a head in the sand thing, but for instant gratification, it is ideal : and if for no other reason than watching that nasty stuff turn into O2 bubbles before your eyes…
..
IME peroxide shouldn’t affect anything adversely other than shrimp…I’ve squirted the 3% stuff directly on zoas with hair algae…no real adverse symptoms really, but like everything there is almost certainly a coral that won’t like it…
Lots of threads on peroxide application and dosing…Don’t read mine (I used the 30% and zapped a lot of corals argh)

OR
Just do nothing, watch your feeding, up your CUC game (urchins are a must IMO) and my guess is it will fade away with time…
could take months but reefing is a long game and you sound like your tank is in the 1st quarter, 1st possession with 12. minutes to go
Haha, yes. Very new tank still with this one. So if I watch my nutrients to prevent this from happening again, will the algae down in the sumo die off and not cause any issues? It’s okay to have snails, crabs, and starfish in the sump with no light?

Edit: Sorry, I just saw your edited post. Thank you!
 
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DJF

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I see 2 dangers with keeping the gha covered rocks in your sump without addressing 1) the return pump becomes a sprayer for gha spores across the entire tank. 2) without light the gha is probably going to start to die which will release nutrients into the tank. This could be good or bad depending on where you’re at before and where it takes you. It could turn into a viscous cycle.
 

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