Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!
- Thread starter TWallace
- Start date
I just got my gallon bottle of Tech-M and ready to do battle...
what test kit are you using to measure your Mg?
elabar
New member
Didn't work for me. After a gallon of tech m my algae is still kickin. I have tried this method more than once and it just keeps getting worse. I have tried the hydrogen peroxide dips and no change. I feel as if I have lost the battle and feel like I'm just wasting my money trying to fix it. Any other ideas out there. I have a 75 gallon, all my parameters check out good. I have done the tests my self and taken into my lfs and they tell me the same thing. the water coming out of my Ro/Di has 0 tds.
DopeCantWin
Active member
I hate posting this, because it is just personal experience. Once you get the Mag in there, you need a Foxface or Sailfin if you have a larger tank to it. These fish are already known Bryopsis eaters, the Mag just makes it nice and soft for them. YMMV.
Crush Coral
New member
I have been fighting this stuff for a couple years. Now I just spray H2O2 on all exposed surfaces while the tank is 3/4 empty and wait about 10 mins to refill. Top 3/4 tank has little HA now and I find that just harvesting the lower 1/4 of the tank is not a huge effort. It is not all gone but it is no longer such an eye sore that I hate my tank.
brad65ford
New member
I think the goal would be to find a fish to eat the stuff. Our new Hippo is nipping on the stuff, hope he gets a liking to it. Fingers crossed.
Did you keep the lights off or anything? Mine has been at 1800 for about 3 days no and no change. :furious:
S2minute
New member
ok so...
ok so...
I've been having the same prob as well but, it came about as a result of feeding cultured Phyto to the system directly. At any rate, getting Mg up to 1800 on a 410 Gal net system is ALOT of Tech M. So I'm there going on day 3 and I'm seeing some results already. Now I have to tell you I also used aggressive husbandry all the way. I had ALOT and it was getting worse EACH DAY. SO, on the way to 1800, I removed each rock and scrubbed in fresh water. I syphoned all patches I found during a water change each week before the addition of the Tech M. I changed the filter sock every 2 days and still do. After that, I used the floating magnets.....a TOOTHBRUSH to get into all the heard to reach spots and a powerhead to blow out the rock everywhere. It's working but, it's only going on day 3 at 1800. HOWEVER, I have noticed something else. While Alk reads 9.6 at the 1800 Mg level......my skimmer has shut down. Ever since the additions, the more I added the less it foamed. Now, it's not foaming AT ALL. It just jets water as if it were Fresh Water. Has anyone had this happen?
ok so...
I've been having the same prob as well but, it came about as a result of feeding cultured Phyto to the system directly. At any rate, getting Mg up to 1800 on a 410 Gal net system is ALOT of Tech M. So I'm there going on day 3 and I'm seeing some results already. Now I have to tell you I also used aggressive husbandry all the way. I had ALOT and it was getting worse EACH DAY. SO, on the way to 1800, I removed each rock and scrubbed in fresh water. I syphoned all patches I found during a water change each week before the addition of the Tech M. I changed the filter sock every 2 days and still do. After that, I used the floating magnets.....a TOOTHBRUSH to get into all the heard to reach spots and a powerhead to blow out the rock everywhere. It's working but, it's only going on day 3 at 1800. HOWEVER, I have noticed something else. While Alk reads 9.6 at the 1800 Mg level......my skimmer has shut down. Ever since the additions, the more I added the less it foamed. Now, it's not foaming AT ALL. It just jets water as if it were Fresh Water. Has anyone had this happen?
speedo2wet
Sharks!!!!
Update on my Bryopsis out break: It was aweful to look at and I used my home made mag to increase the mag level. I don't have a test kit, I know right. Yet at this time I have all my coral I care about moved out of the tank and only the rock and fish are left so an increase should not matter or really I don't care at this point, So I did not worry about testing. In my new reef I am setting up I will test before dosing so that is taken care of. I took out half the rock that is covered the most and placed it outside in the sun, I will either bleach or what ever is needed to clean those rocks off good. I did add two Bryopsis eating nudibranches (sp). After a week of the high mag (I did dose a half a gallon of the Randy two part) and the new additions (including a chocolate chip starfish) the byopsis thinned out, turned a very light green and now I have to say the nudibranches (sp) have eaten just about all of it. I've read that the lights out and nutrients levels have no effect. Once the Bryopsis becomes asexual it just grows and reproduces on it's own. Yes my skimmer has shut down too.. I just unplugged it at this point, and the corals that are in there are super colorful. I think I do have a post somewhere in here about the start of my battle but if not I can repost it if you need to. But A toothbrush was used and I did pull each rock out and scrub them the first time, It grew back. Now it looks all gone, gonna keep monitoring buy finally found some animal to eat it.
speedo2wet
Sharks!!!!
Lettuce Sea Slug
Lettuce Sea Slug
Lettuce Sea Slug
S2minute
New member
Cool 
...you bought them where? ..as long as they stay out of the pumps should be fine. I started doing water changes again to help return the Mg to normal levels. I have 2 rocks that i`ll touch up with a brush first though. Glad to hear your problem is solved! keep posting with updates .
...you bought them where? ..as long as they stay out of the pumps should be fine. I started doing water changes again to help return the Mg to normal levels. I have 2 rocks that i`ll touch up with a brush first though. Glad to hear your problem is solved! keep posting with updates .
speedo2wet
Sharks!!!!
I ended up buying them from live aquaria or any online company that carried them. Although they were tiny when I got them (also I turned off all other pumps in the display) they are big now and seem happy. The last one (sea hare) I had was huge. I think I have a video too. Ill look tonight. Now question. When changing tanks- do I reuse sand, get new or reuse and wash old sand?
jfeva0049
Member
ok thanks guys, i am battling the dreaded B. ok so since the mag was already at 1650 or so even before adding any tech m, how much higher should i take it with the tech m?? from what i understand its not the mag in the tech m but some other by product. with that being said im not sure how to get enough of the by product without raising my tank mag to a unsafe zone. any thoughts????
DopeCantWin
Active member
If you don't have many snails, or can move them to a safe location, the rest of your livestock should tolerate higher levels without a problem. Do I have that correct or are there some other inverts to worry about?
I suffered from 2 types of Bryopsis from the very start of setting my 34 gallon tank up as it came in on the live rock I bought. I spend loads buying more and more Tech M, and that didn't do a thing. As I hadn't stocked my tank yet, I tried a whole tank dose, by adding a gallon of 35% Hydrogen Peroxide. The Bryopsis suffered a bit, but it didn't wipe it out. So I tried a stronger dose then, and added TWO GALLONS of 35% Hydrogen Peroxide, effectively bringing my entire tank's water to a Hydrogen Peroxide strength of over 2%. That wiped it out, and wiped everything else out including coralline, a snail, bacteria. I cleaned and disinfected all my tools and equipment as well, and figured I was finally rid of it.
I also was adamant about trying to prevent any algae from going into my tank, by dipping any frags in 2% H2O2 for a few minutes, cutting the frags off the rocks they came in on, etc. That didn't work, and before long I still had Bubble Algae/Valonia and Hair Algae of both Derbasia and Cladophora types. That Hair Algae practically seemed carnivorous, and it practically ate a few frags of corals such as Zoas and GSP. And then I thought I saw a tuft of Bryopsis growing from a rock, and freaked out. I can't imagine where that could have come back from even, perhaps a piece of rubble which had been dry for several months but still had spores on it or roots in it? That's the only place I could think of.
So I went on a rampage against it, threw out several frags where I spotted it, dipped a few other frags in H202, and cut off and threw away sections of live rock which had any growing on it. That seemed to work, until I spotted some more growing from inside a rock where I couldn't reach it.
I took that rock out, dipped it in full strength 35% H202 for a few minutes, let the rock soak in the water I removed from the DT with a water change for a few minutes, and then stuck it back in the tank. I did see it bubbling, and saw some of my corals such as my Xenia close up, but I'd seen them do that before when I dipped them as frags so wasn't too worried. I was late already for an event, so I had to run then. And when I looked at my tank the next morning - tank crash...
Half my corals, my shrimp, my snails, my mini-brittle stars, dead, dead dead. Everything was closed up, sliming, looked hellish. I'd just finished collecting all the corals I wanted, so this was gut wrenching. I lost all my birdsnest, most of my mushrooms, my montis, etc, etc. I broke off and threw out what was definitely gone, and nearly threw out some of my others which looked really bad such as my Palythoas. It was on a holiday and I didn't happen to have any saltwater prepared nor could I buy any as my LFS was closed. I tested and found ammonia present, and added ammo-lock, and live bacteria cultures as soon as I was able to. And I mixed several buckets of new water and eventually did a 90% water change. Frustrating that this crash was caused 100% by my own doing, when I was trying to be adamant about getting rid of algae. And ironically then, as a result of that, I had an algal explosion, including more Bryopsis. I have to conclude that a whole tank treatment of H202 can't be administered at a high enough dose to kill Bryopsis but not the rest of the tank.
I tried to find a Sea Hare or Lettuce Slugs but couldn't, and a friend recommended Turbo Snails. I knew Turbo Snails weren't going to work, but I got one anyway. And to my astonishment, within 3 days it had eaten all my Bryopsis, and it never came back!... I know that flies in the face of what everyone else says, but my one Turbo Snail quickly mowed through and eliminated Bryopsis from my tank.
Half of my corals eventually recovered, some only in sections, and my Hammer Coral seemed to have been fine throughout and grown considerably through that episode if anything. I did suffer from Red Slime Algae for a while, but within a few months my tank seemed to have fully stabilized and was looking back to normal and good again, if a little more lightly stocked.
Conclusion: Be very careful when dipping rock in H202. I didn't consider my rock to be porous really, but I still should have let it soak in saltwater for at least 24 hours before putting it back in, instead of a few minutes no matter how much of a hurry I was to be someplace. I'm not sure even if it was H202 released into the water that caused everything to crash, things in the rock that were killed by the H202 that released ammonia or toxins into the water (unlikely), or my Palys being irritated by H202 and releasing their poison into the water?
I also was adamant about trying to prevent any algae from going into my tank, by dipping any frags in 2% H2O2 for a few minutes, cutting the frags off the rocks they came in on, etc. That didn't work, and before long I still had Bubble Algae/Valonia and Hair Algae of both Derbasia and Cladophora types. That Hair Algae practically seemed carnivorous, and it practically ate a few frags of corals such as Zoas and GSP. And then I thought I saw a tuft of Bryopsis growing from a rock, and freaked out. I can't imagine where that could have come back from even, perhaps a piece of rubble which had been dry for several months but still had spores on it or roots in it? That's the only place I could think of.
So I went on a rampage against it, threw out several frags where I spotted it, dipped a few other frags in H202, and cut off and threw away sections of live rock which had any growing on it. That seemed to work, until I spotted some more growing from inside a rock where I couldn't reach it.
I took that rock out, dipped it in full strength 35% H202 for a few minutes, let the rock soak in the water I removed from the DT with a water change for a few minutes, and then stuck it back in the tank. I did see it bubbling, and saw some of my corals such as my Xenia close up, but I'd seen them do that before when I dipped them as frags so wasn't too worried. I was late already for an event, so I had to run then. And when I looked at my tank the next morning - tank crash...
Half my corals, my shrimp, my snails, my mini-brittle stars, dead, dead dead. Everything was closed up, sliming, looked hellish. I'd just finished collecting all the corals I wanted, so this was gut wrenching. I lost all my birdsnest, most of my mushrooms, my montis, etc, etc. I broke off and threw out what was definitely gone, and nearly threw out some of my others which looked really bad such as my Palythoas. It was on a holiday and I didn't happen to have any saltwater prepared nor could I buy any as my LFS was closed. I tested and found ammonia present, and added ammo-lock, and live bacteria cultures as soon as I was able to. And I mixed several buckets of new water and eventually did a 90% water change. Frustrating that this crash was caused 100% by my own doing, when I was trying to be adamant about getting rid of algae. And ironically then, as a result of that, I had an algal explosion, including more Bryopsis. I have to conclude that a whole tank treatment of H202 can't be administered at a high enough dose to kill Bryopsis but not the rest of the tank.
I tried to find a Sea Hare or Lettuce Slugs but couldn't, and a friend recommended Turbo Snails. I knew Turbo Snails weren't going to work, but I got one anyway. And to my astonishment, within 3 days it had eaten all my Bryopsis, and it never came back!... I know that flies in the face of what everyone else says, but my one Turbo Snail quickly mowed through and eliminated Bryopsis from my tank.
Half of my corals eventually recovered, some only in sections, and my Hammer Coral seemed to have been fine throughout and grown considerably through that episode if anything. I did suffer from Red Slime Algae for a while, but within a few months my tank seemed to have fully stabilized and was looking back to normal and good again, if a little more lightly stocked.
Conclusion: Be very careful when dipping rock in H202. I didn't consider my rock to be porous really, but I still should have let it soak in saltwater for at least 24 hours before putting it back in, instead of a few minutes no matter how much of a hurry I was to be someplace. I'm not sure even if it was H202 released into the water that caused everything to crash, things in the rock that were killed by the H202 that released ammonia or toxins into the water (unlikely), or my Palys being irritated by H202 and releasing their poison into the water?
H202 does not leave a residue or chemical, breaks down to Hydrogen and Oxygen, so it likely caused a significant die off in the rock causing an ammonia spike that led to the crash
35% is quite strong and may have killed your invertebrates, etc. that compounded the problem, adding to the ammonia load
35% is quite strong and may have killed your invertebrates, etc. that compounded the problem, adding to the ammonia load
