Feather Duster Outbreak

[BillNye]

Hi all,
So I am starting to see these white with red/pink feather dusters all throughout my rock. They ran wild in my old sump, colonizing within my ceramic cylinders. I then upgraded sumps and put the cylinders in the 'refugium' section. You can see a photo of the sump here.

I've searched the question and everyone just says 'they're okay, they're great filters, yada yada". While they may be great filters, I think there is some type of underlying reason that I'd like to find or fix. Is there a way to stop this or slow it down? I've never had so many in my tank before (I've counted over 150 so far)..

I'm assuming my nutrients are a bit high so I've stopped with the reef roids and flake food and am using only pellet food and nori. I plan on slowly bringing those back once I figure out how to stop these things from growing.

Any guidance or advice?

 

[Scorpius]

They're filter feeders and a sign of a healthy tank. I have them and think they're cool as they bother no one.

 

[davocean]

I like them too, one of the many things I missed in my tank w/ keeping copperbands for a long time, so I guess that there is an option for you.

 

[Sapelo]

I've had the same outbreak of a mass of white and red ones. They literally get EVERYWHERE. Kind of amazing. At least for me, they ran their course over time. I think with any big bloom like that they end up out competing each other for food in the end.
Still, when they cover so much of the surface of a 300 gallon, it's kind of impressive.
I think in time they will go away and the only thing to do it wait them out. At least they are not harmful in the meantime!

 

[Ron Reefman]

I got a wrasse and he ate all mine. It took 18 months after the wrasse was removed for being a PITA, before the feather dusters started to come back where I could see them.