Comments for this article (6)

• Marc M says:

  11.26.2010 at 7:56 pm

  Hey Mark,

  I know this may be off topic but I have been having an issue with an exploding mushroom population in my reef. I had changed my Metal Halide HQI bulbs from 10,000K to 14,000K bulbs and in about 5 months my mushroom poplulation exploded and almost every rock I have is covered in them. I tried to sell them and trade them in my LFS but they didn’t want them. How can I kill some off or get the colony under control?

  Thanks,
  Marc
• Mark Callahan says:

  11.26.2010 at 10:14 pm

  Hmmm…yes…mushrooms. A warning label coral.

  You can cut them off with a razor blade and epoxy over them, or you can remove the rock. Sounds like removing all the rocks won’t work in your case so give epoxy a try.
• Marc M says:

  11.27.2010 at 12:23 am

  Thanks Mark

  I also tried using a razor blade as well as kalk paste and smothered it to death. But even though since the tissue is still there they grow back!!! Arrrrgggghhhh!!!! LOL!

  Marc
• Mark Callahan says:

  11.27.2010 at 7:59 am

  Cut them off and epoxy over the base. That’s your last option besides just removing the rock.
• Steve says:

  11.29.2010 at 6:00 am

  Won’t old bulbs have a different intensity and colour to new?

  Also, don’t the lower K bulbs (yellower e.g. 6500K or 10000K) promote coral growth better than higher K (e.g. 14000K)? So it is not necessarily about what looks “right”.
• Mark Callahan says:

  11.29.2010 at 6:33 am

  Steve…the intensity and colour could be different and I’ve never test driven bulbs that were remarkably off from what the new ones look like. I recently replaced my 20K bulbs after 6 months and the new bulbs had a bit more blue in them, but not so much that I was saying, “Whoa! that makes a big difference!”

  The lower K bulbs do promote growth, but are more yellow in their appearance. Since they are more yellow, they make corals look brown which most people don’t like.

  What is “right” is a matter of personal taste. For me, I’m willing to give up some coral growth in exchange for having a tank that I actually want to look at, so I run a 20K bulb. I have friends who run the lower K’s during the day when they are away so that they get good coral growth but don’t have to look at their tanks when the bulbs are on. When they come home, their main lights (lower K) bulbs turn off and they get to enjoy a colorful tank under their actinics. And some people might be ok with a lower K bulb.

  You have to find the balance for your tastes and your desires – fast growth but no color? Just color?, etc

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