Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

PhreeBYrd said:
Also IME, replacing old, weak lamps with new lamps causes algae growth to explode immediately, regardless of the actual lamp color. ...

....

As for bryopsis, my experience tells me that it couldn't care less about light color -- only intensity, and the more the better.
Click to expand...

Interesting discussion. The previous owner was using a 2 bulb PC setup...the bulbs were probably at least a year old. After acquiring the setup, I replaced the PC's with an Aquactinics TX5 setup with bulbs that were ~2-3 months old. This is the same time the Bryopsis explosion started...so this leads credence to PhreeBYrd's position on new(er) lighting causing explosive/immediate nuisance algae growth (provided the spores or whatever algae uses to propagate and the nutrients) are there.

An update on my current situation -- the Bryopsis continues to turn white/brown and disintegrate before my eyes...not as fast as it was the other day, but it's definitely thinning out...I'm still upping the Mg and will do another I do my partial water change tomorrow and retest how high it is. So...it seems the increased Mg method (using TechM) is working.
 
Just an update:

I have been dosing my tank with Tech M for 3 days now and it does seem to be killing off the byprosis. It is not completely gone but it appears to be breaking down (loosing color, frail in appearance). So far there does not seem to be any serious negative side affects on any of my corals. No bleaching or anything like that. I dont have any SPS in my tank but do have softies and LPS.
 
TCMfish, 1 mL of Tech-M will raise 1 gallon of seawater by 18.3ppm, so on a 250, use 250 mL per 18.3mL you want to raise.



Kaiser, good to hear it's working!:bounce1: Keep an eye on your LPS, especially euphyllia. I have 5 different varieties of euphyllia, and they are all fine but one, which is an orange frogspawn, and it's been closed up for the past month and a half. I did a big water change last night (15-20%) so hopefully that will ease off on it a bit.
 
Well the tank I am taking care of is a ~250 gallon tank. It is at school and I wanted to help them with this algae issue. So they ordered Tech-M and I tested (Red Sea kit) and started dosing. The level has not even hit 1500 ppm yet and 99% of the algae is gone!!! :) I can't believe it. I don't know if buying the bigger jug vs. a small bottle had anything to do with it, but this stuff is dying! It was to the point where it was taking over a staghorn SPS and was just smothering every inch of rock that wasn't covered and now its gone. If anyone has seen a 250 gallon tank that is a lot of rock/algae. It is an 8 foot tank.
 
Great news! Just don't let up, leave the stuff in there.


Also do what you can to keep nutrients low. I am dosing Vitamin C and glucose as carbon sources to fight back nitrate/phosphate levels. Both levels are undetectable in my tank, but algae growth continues unless I keep dosing the carbon. The hair algae is receding now and the bryopsis is having a very hard time growing.
 
Well i just read this entire thread, and will be trying the Tech M soon. At some point 20 pages ago, I read that eggcrate is causing excessive algae growth....

That saddens me. I have a lot of eggrate in my system, covering pump intakes, underneath the sandbed to 'protect' the glass, in the refugium to coral the chaeto...

1) Is this going to be a long-term problem for me, or do you think the eggcrate will eventually have it's nutrients leached from it.
2)Should I try to rip out the eggcrate? It's under 2 inches of sand.......would be a major hassle.

Will report back on the Tech M findings as soon as it gets in. Can't wait!

Thank you for this thread!
 
I found that bryopsis growth on eggcrate (directly on it) was explosive, many many times faster than growth on rocks. I don't know if it was phosphate or not.

I removed the eggcrate rack, but I have read that you can soak the stuff in vinegar or dilute muriatic acid (CAREFUL!) to remove the phosphate. Not sure how much truth there is in that, as I don't know the chemistry behind it. I'm sure someone here does though.


Personally in your case, I might remove the stuff that's exposed to light where bryo can grow, but wouldn't worry about the stuff under the sand. I'd acid-nuke the stuff I could.

I don't think eggcrate is long-term problematic. I think there's a finite amount of phosphate in it. I've seen way too many algae-free frag tanks full of eggcrate.
 
exactly my thoughts - eggcrate is nearly ubiquitous in the hobby, and I doubt people are going out and buying the high-dollar acrylic eggcrate. I went to HD like everbody else, and bought the eggcrate.

Redfish - what i've learned and read here, Bryopsis doesn't even need that much light to survive! But agree that under 2 inches of sand it probably doesn't exist.

Still, I worry about the thought of my eggcrate slowly leeching phosphate into the system.
 
I got ubiquitous once. After I sobered up I swore I'd never do it again:wildone:



Don't fret the one in your sandbed. Not much water flow, and even at that, I think there is a finite amount of phosphorus in them that can cause problems. Just take care of the stuff you can get out and acid-nuke.
 
I have gotten my mag up to 1540 using tech M and I am prety sure that the bryopsis is receding.....I have not plucked any for a few days now and it is definitely not covering the rock it s on near as much...my questions are... how high should I take the mag and how long to leave it at the level and how much to maintain that said level...going on the fact that I calculate about 200 gallons of twv, I have been dosing 200 ml per day of tech m...surely at some point I will not have to keep using that much....once I get it to whatever level is recommended will it just stay there for awhile?
 
There really isn't a prescription to beat all forms of bryopsis.

I would feel comfortable raising the magnesium as high as 1800 or 1900, but do it daily in 50-100ppm increments, and keep an eye on your corals and echinoderms.

Once the bryopsis dies, you'll have to determine for yourself when to do the water change, but give it time. Make sure the bryopsis is totally gone before doing anything that would remove the Tech M.
 
For those using Tech M to raise their magnesium... if you have a larger volume of water in your system, you might want to look into Magnesium Chloride as a substitute. I went through gallons of Tech M before I ordered a five gallon bucket of Mag Chloride from Bulk Reef Supply. I use the formula of 7 cups Mag Chloride to one cup Epsom Salts in a gallon of RO/DI. It makes a great solution which can safely boost MG 50-100 ppm daily. After you reach your desired level, it just takes a little experimentation to determine your tank's desired daily dose requirements... Much cheaper than Tech-M.

LL
 
Lightsluvr said:
For those using Tech M to raise their magnesium... if you have a larger volume of water in your system, you might want to look into Magnesium Chloride as a substitute. I went through gallons of Tech M before I ordered a five gallon bucket of Mag Chloride from Bulk Reef Supply. I use the formula of 7 cups Mag Chloride to one cup Epsom Salts in a gallon of RO/DI. It makes a great solution which can safely boost MG 50-100 ppm daily. After you reach your desired level, it just takes a little experimentation to determine your tank's desired daily dose requirements... Much cheaper than Tech-M.

LL
Click to expand...

That would be a good theory if the magnesium was the active bryo killer, but it is decidedly not.

I did exactly what you suggested since I already had both the sulfate and chloride.... did nothing whatsoever to the bryopsis.


I used Tech M and it killed it off (almost totally).


There is a mysterious impurity in the Tech M that is killing bryopsis. Magnesium just happens to be a hitch-hiker in this case, and a good way to measure how much of this mysterious impurity we are putting in our tank (ie, adding 200ppm or so of magnesium seems to equate to enough of the impurity to kill the bryopsis).



Tech M is not a clear liquid--- it looks like wet skimmate. Mag sulfate and chloride (the two ingredients of Tech M) mix together perfectly clear, so there's something else in Tech M obviously.

Thanks for the suggestion--- if the goal is only to add magnesium, it's a perfect and low cost solution.
 
ok pro's, is the following Bryopsis?

IMG_3103.jpg


IMG_3104.jpg
 
Not that I can see. Tech M probably won't do you much good with those algae varieties, but fortunately they can be defeated in other ways.

In the first pic, I see several varieties of Caulerpa. Not quite as terrible as bryopsis, but can be hard to totally eradicate (tangs and rabbitfish will generally eat it up with gusto, but not bryopsis).


Second pic just looks like normal hair algae to me, again, which tangs and rabbitfish may eat.

Here is a pic from a google search of bryopsis. Notice the feathery branches (which don't always appear until the plant has grown an inch or two long).

4bryopsis-vi.jpg



Another good site: http://www.horta.uac.pt/Species/Algae/Bryopsis_plumosa/Bryopsis_plumosa.htm
 
Azazael. I disagree. I see some bryopsis IMO inbetween those red polyps in the top leftish part of the pic. The second pic is too blurry, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.
 
tcmfish said:
Azazael. I disagree. I see some bryopsis IMO inbetween those red polyps in the top leftish part of the pic. The second pic is too blurry, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.
Click to expand...


I think I see what you are talking about. I looks to me like a patch of GHA but I'm certainly willing to admit it could be bryo.


Azazael, if you see any branching, feathery tips on them, assume it's bryo and get out the Tech M, lol.
 
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