Need help Killing orange cap in place

Biglurr54 · Jan 5, 2020

I have this massive orange cap in prime SPS territory. My rack has high end frags that need to find their final resting place. I have given a bunch of the cap away. Now I want to kill/bleach out the remaining cap and attach my frags to it. It is a perfect plate foundation for some frags to mount on.

I have thought about putting plumbers putty over it to choke it out or kalk paste but I worry the kalk past will knock out the frags around it.

Any ideas on how to bleach it out so I can use it as a shelf?

bobby.w.hodges · Jan 5, 2020

You can scrub it with a tooth brush

Biglurr54 · Jan 5, 2020

I have gouged it out with a butter knife and it come right back. I'll try the tooth brush but I think more drastic measures are needed. It grows like a weed.

KrisReef · Jan 5, 2020

Aptasia laser might kill it. I think after it dies the skeleton might become more brittle and the SPS shelves may crumble?

Biglurr54 · Jan 5, 2020

KrisReef said:
Aptasia laser might kill it. I think after it dies the skeleton might become more brittle and the SPS shelves may crumble?

It's pretty thiklck. It should hold. Plumbers putty would reinforce it. And hopefully kill it.

SeaDweller · Jan 5, 2020

Try kalk paste.

TopShelfAquatics · Jan 6, 2020

I like aiptasia X, its basically Kalk paste and works really well. Let it sit for about 20-30 min with the pumps off.
I like doing a water change after

Bryce M. · Jan 6, 2020

+1 to aiptasia X, but +1 to be careful about the stability, ends look brittle

Jake_the_reefer · Jan 6, 2020

Monti eating nudibranch

(not really)

Bryce M. · Jan 6, 2020

Jake_the_reefer said:
Monti eating nudibranch (not really)

I mean it would kill the orange cap........

Stevel · Jan 6, 2020

sad you want to kill a nice piece of monti : (

Bryce M. · Jan 6, 2020

Stevel said:
sad you want to kill a nice piece of monti : (

it is but I get where he's coming from

Biglurr54 · Jan 6, 2020

I feel bad killing it too but its invasive at this point. Anyone shed a tear when they scrape coraline off their glass or pull hair algae off their rocks? Why is this different? The top swirling plate I am going to give to a lfs because its too pretty to kill or throw away but the rest is out of control and taking over a large area of prime real estate. I still have a ton of the cap in the tank in other areas. I worry that the kalk paste might swing my parameters. I guess i will have to try a small area. and maybe do a little area at a time. Anyone have any tips on how to apply kalk paste?

TheShrimpNibbler · Jan 6, 2020

Why does it need to be dead to mount frags on it? Couldn’t you just put the frags on the live Monti?

uhupong · Jan 6, 2020

Watch for ALK spike if you go with any kalk paste or aptasia-x

Rick5 · Jan 6, 2020

Biglurr54 said:
Anyone shed a tear when they scrape coraline off their glass or pull hair algae off their rocks?

Yes. Algae sucks.

SeaDweller · Jan 6, 2020

Biglurr54 said:
I feel bad killing it too but its invasive at this point. Anyone shed a tear when they scrape coraline off their glass or pull hair algae off their rocks? Why is this different? The top swirling plate I am going to give to a lfs because its too pretty to kill or throw away but the rest is out of control and taking over a large area of prime real estate. I still have a ton of the cap in the tank in other areas. I worry that the kalk paste might swing my parameters. I guess i will have to try a small area. and maybe do a little area at a time. Anyone have any tips on how to apply kalk paste?

just make a slurry of it, not too runny and not too thick; think of like watered down toothpaste. Turn your flow off. It's not going to spike anything. Just do like half at a time and then kill the other half.

Biglurr54 · Jan 6, 2020

SeaDweller said:
just make a slurry of it, not too runny and not too thick; think of like watered down toothpaste. Turn your flow off. It's not going to spike anything. Just do like half at a time and then kill the other half.

Seems simple enough. I'll give it a try. Tank is 220 g total water volume so I doubt it will swing things too much.

minus9 · Jan 6, 2020

I don't think you'll have an alk spike from the the paste, but more likely from removing the cap (if it's big enough?). But, I think you'll be okay.
I would take a chisel to the cap and remove as much as possible and cover what's left with epoxy or super glue. In my 22g, my cap grew like crazy, so much so, that it grew on the glass and the rocks all around it. Major PITA.
I would actually get an alk spike from fragging it, especially when I forgot to stop dosing 2 part for a day or two afterwards.