White coralike mass under polyps rock

[dclegern]

I've had this tank for 2 years, and through the trials and tribulations...... I feel like a beginner at least once a month.

One last issue if you can help!
That white, veinlike, mass (looks sci-fy)that grows behind my skimmer has attached to my rock with polyps. seems to be growing rapidly.
What is that stuff? is it a good thing?
making the Polyps stay closed down!!!

the white thorny stuff next to the sponge pic.!!!!

any help on this one??
file:///C:/Users/Owner/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png

[Mr Cob]

White.... are you talking about a sponge perhaps? Can you give more detail or post a pic? Try google images too, you might be able to find something that looks similar and then we can ID it for you.

[Big_Pun]

just worms, not bad i forget what kind of type, tube worm i guess

[Mr Cob]

Oh yea, those are just like little feather dusters. Filter feeders. Great for your tank.

[dclegern]

No, I know the white tube guys you're talking about. those are cool!

this looks like a briar patch in the making, thorny/making a mesh under the rock, now working it's way upover my polyps.

I've seen it behind the skimmer and filters, but now its on my stuff!!!

[justahobby]

Man that's a sweet blue sponge!

The white veiny things are also sponges.

[justahobby]

http://www.3reef.com/forums/live-rock/what-my-rock-36046.html

here's a guy with the same question

[Kristy]

Hey, sorry to tell you but that thorny briar patch stuff is going to take over your whole tank and cause lots of trouble, so the only remedy is to give that rock with that really beautiful blue sponge on it to me for safekeeping. I will sacrifice the safety of my tank to store it for you.

(Are you buying this, by the way? No? Oh, all right...)

+1 on different type of sponge and harmless.

[Mr Cob]

Ok...so in the pic you have two thinkgs that are white:

1) Sponge
2) Small Feather Dusters

Both are safe and good for the tank.

[ACE]

I agree with Mr. Cob. Nothing bad for you. But Kristy may be right about that blue sponge.... :)

[dclegern]

Thanks again to all ya'll for being fair and cool about my rather juvenile questions.

I just posted again about the pro's and con's of a refugium, and if it's necessary............. any good ways to bypass etc.....

[dclegern]

hey ace, i took the the rock w/ the mass up to the local fish dude...(cool guy, salties only)... and he said it was a type of fungus. Turned over other peices of rock in my tank, and there was big developments going on w/ this stuff.
S*&t is the word as I scrubed on the effected pieces in a seperate tub for an hour or so.

[corruption]

I honestly wouldn't have bothered (and when it inevitably comes back, wouldn't bother either) -- as everyone else said above, everything there is innocuous, safe, and likely beneficial for your tank... I see nothing in the picture linked above that would imply to me that there was a fungus at play here.

-Justin