Bryopsis, the algae from *(BEEP)*

[Shawnts106]

Hey you guys got a question:

Ok, here are the details:
months back there was a 115gallon tank, doing very well, was an SPS dominated tank. Suddenly the algae from the bad place hit and covered pretty much everything, for months we tryed to battle with it, doing WC's like mad, scrubbing, skimming (kent nautilus (ummm huh, yep,not my choice), picking the algae off the rocks etc etc etc... and FINNALY Just SHUT the tank down!, took all the rock out, turned off the lights and let it run for about a month,

THEN:

Today I drained the tank, took Most of the sand out, Had a DSB before, YES I KNOW GASP!, now I have made about 1/2 inch - 1 inch max deep SSB in there, anyway, drained the tank, mixed up fresh Saltwater useing RODI water made the salinity about 1.025 I believe... filled it back up, running it again.

This tank is going to be Acro/SPS dominated.

Lighting will be a single 400watt XM20K MH SE
4 24inch VHOs

is there enough lighting?


Skimming is an issue at the moment, trying to decide on a skimmer, do you think a Coralife Super Skimmer 220model (rated up to 220gallons) is sufficent, remember its SSB LR and yes, there will be fish involved. Im thinking this is still slightly insufficent and a better skimmer might be usefull... what about ETSS?
any other not to bad priced Needlewheel/downdraft skimmers out there?
Correct me if Im wrong but the Coralife SS model 125gallon rating is of COURSE insufficient!?


My question is, do you think this will KILL the bryopsis being that the tank has been completly drained scrapped and "redone"... planning on skimming the MESS out of the water before the lights come on.. and when they do, there will be a strict PHOTO acclimation time.


I will let it become stable for a few weeks before any ACROS/SPS get introduced in there, only hardy, easy to keep species at first.OF COURSE!



Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[clkwrk]

Vodka helped me turn it white and almost killed it but I gave up with using vodka to help as I got tired of the cyano which came with the vodka which I haven't had until then . I could have been overdoing it on the vodka also so who knows. I have heard high ph can help .

Me I am back to manual removal , Phosban and waterchanges. In another tank which is where my 180 got it from is now byropsis free after a year of no waterchanges It burned itself off. At one time it over ran that tank and I just gave up.

 

[75reef]

I once battled Bryopsis. It won. I took the rock and put it out in the back yard for a while to let it dry out. I filled the tank with tap water and some bleach and let it run for a few days. Upon startup again, I bought some high quality marshal island rock and cooked it for 3 months. No bryopsis in the tank...yet. I believe I got mine from some Garf "grunge" I put in there when it was new. What a mistake that was. The "grunge" also introduced a few million aiptasias. We learn from our mistakes. Oh, the corals were all put up for adoption and are still doing well.

 

[NuclearReefs]

I put a UV sterilizer on my tank,, it went away.......

 

[vest0830]

any other ways to attack this stuff?

 

[jmcmahon66]

I beat bryopsis with a sea hare, the large fuzzy kind. While I tweaked my water quality to get better parameters, the sea hare ate bryopsis like cotton candy. After the algae was gone, I returned him to the fish store. It's like a sea hare rental program. The bryopsis has not returned in over a year. I think that is due to using Rowaphos on a consistant basis, and a larger Deltec skimmer.

 

[BRISK495]

I had it too......just have to be patient and prevent it from spreading. Eventually it went away. Great water quality and continual maintenance. Scrap it with a toothbrush then suck it right out with a syphon, then replace with new salt water. Do this for a month, 2 months, however long it takes.

 

[NuclearReefs]

Fox Face will eat this too BTW ... sea hares naver did well in my tank,, not enough food for them

 

[clkwrk]

Bummer I had one but didn't want to add it to my sps tank Oh well.

BTW I still had this crap bugging me even when I was 0 no3 and .00 po4 (colorimeter) and I was running phosban and had 2 skimmer.

I have read many place that this algea like the same conditions as sps.

 

[Shawnts106]

I put a UV sterilizer on my tank,, it went away.......

how long?

My question is, do you think this will KILL the bryopsis being that the tank has been completly drained scrapped and "redone"... planning on skimming the MESS out of the water before the lights come on.. and when they do, there will be a strict PHOTO acclimation time.

Skimming is an issue at the moment, trying to decide on a skimmer, do you think a Coralife Super Skimmer 220model (rated up to 220gallons) is sufficent, remember its SSB LR and yes, there will be fish involved. Im thinking this is still slightly insufficent and a better skimmer might be usefull... what about ETSS?

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8115984#post8115984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clkwrk

I have read many place that this algea like the same conditions as sps.

huh??

We are obviously reading from different sources!Ive always read and believed high flow and low nutrients were a deterrant to this algae. Your comment regarding pH, from my personal experience could definately support this assumption. I just didnt see it growing when I was keeping consistant levels of 8.3-8.4 pH. But when my levels lowered I began noticing more of it, coincedetally?Dunno but I like the idea!

-Justin




-Justin

 

[NuclearReefs]

clkwrk,, it was gone within a month.. actually a little less,, but a month if i was marking in on a calender. I bought one rated for twice the size of my tank... water seems clearer as well....

 

[Greg Hiller]

I also tore a tank down once due to bryopsis. Since that time I've learned a bit more. I've had it show up in tanks occasionally since that time, but as long as you are careful to control nutrient levels, and kill or remove any patches that get started you are usually okay. It's good not to have any bare surfaces for it to get started on.

 

[Shawnts106]

thanks for that help!

If I do see it come up, what do you guys think about mixing up a thick Kalkwasser mix and dirrectly putting it on the growth?

I think that would nuke it wouldnt it!

 

[NuclearReefs]

Most algeas suck oxygen outta the water as there normal natural habitat. This in turn lowers PH , Thats why at night your PH goes down.Photosynthesis stops when your lights are off and all the energy that was stored during the day starts working...

Keeping your PH a little high will burn it off over a prolonged period of time but you run the risk of crashing your alkalinity and " Locking it" .. its a method that will work if your constently watching those three keep things.. Calcium, Alkalinity and PH ...

 

[Greg Hiller]

I've also seen photos of people that started to use phosphate removers, the Bryopsis on the tips of their dead SPS branches faded away.

 

[clkwrk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8117652#post8117652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NuclearReefs
clkwrk,, it was gone within a month.. actually a little less,, but a month if i was marking in on a calender. I bought one rated for twice the size of my tank... water seems clearer as well....

I guess I will try that because when I was really trying to get it gone . I was 0 no3 .00 po4 on colorimeter and was running phosban ,ozone,carbon,2 skimmers, 3x6100,2x6200.

 

[nine9d]

I battled Bryopsis before and I thought I tried everything until...

The one thing that worked for me was a Sea Hare.

I would highly recommend trying one out. After he rids you of all your algae, you need to find him stuff to eat. Like Caulerpa, possibly Nori. Or, you can find someone to pass him on to that has more algae for him to eat. Share him with the people in your reef club. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[dvanacker]

This is the brown leafy algae that also covers rock surfaces right??

If so I bought a naso to take care of it. They love brown algae....with in a month my totally out of control bryopsis problem is nearly completly gone.

 

[King-Kong]

I beat bryopsis by being patient and waiting. Reduced feedings, manual removal, higher pH, lots of water changes. It faded and faded and became increasingly weak. Lettuce nudibranchs would eat the top leafy part off, but leave the stalk.

It finally stopped growing months ago, and would easily come off the rocks once i pulled it, but it was in spaces i could never reach. One day I got a doliatus/virgatus rabbitfish, and he ate what remained ( a long with teaching my purple tang to eat it).

No more left in the tank.