Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

[chewie]

Very indeed!

jdieck,

could it be the texture of the material used, instead of chemical leaching?

I recently used a different source of eggcrate in my prop tank(3 weeks ago) and it is algae free for now. the cheap HD brand got covered in less than 2 weeks.

The difference in material on the new one i'm using is it's smoother, thicker and it's black. I figured the black helped reduce available light but maybe it's the texture.

I'll have to look for a white piece to try out.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10242918#post10242918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chewie
Very indeed!

jdieck,

could it be the texture of the material used, instead of chemical leaching?

I recently used a different source of eggcrate in my prop tank(3 weeks ago) and it is algae free for now. the cheap HD brand got covered in less than 2 weeks.

The difference in material on the new one i'm using is it's smoother, thicker and it's black. I figured the black helped reduce available light but maybe it's the texture.

I'll have to look for a white piece to try out.

It can certainly have an effect, more porous or rugged material usually gets popuated faster. I usually swipe any PVC I'll put inside the tank with acetone to give it a matte finsish and coralline grows and attach to it a lot faster.
I also noticed two different manufacturer son the styrene purchase at my near HD. One was really white, good smooth moulding with no flashing of the plastic with good crate thickness uniformity. Other was not s bright, plastic had lots of flash from the moulding and some of the square sides was thicker in some areas with very poor quality control. I tried both and eventually both developed the algae, I only tried one of Acrylic. Expensive enough, I could only find it by mail order by the case of 10 and at $200.00 a case.

 

[raddogz]

I actually purchased mine from HD. I am curious as to is just chemical leaching or is the absorption of undeseriables and then leaching it back into the water much like when live rock will leach back phosphates into the water.

Sorry Twallace for hijacking the thread a bit but I'm curious as how this all started to go out of control for me.

 

[fishnfst]

I know at the HD's here in norcal they have stopped carrying the eggcrate.. There were two different batches that they were selling.. One was slightly heavier and more nylon feeling. When you cut it with wirecutters it wuold just cut through cleanly very tough feeling. These ones were us made.. They were about $14.. The other ones they carried were about half the weight and much more brittle.. THe thickness differs in comparison to the other by up to 20 percent in spots.. It is noticeably lighter and tends to shatter or crack when trying to cut it.

I'm going to have to look for this acrylic one you speak of for my new frag tank...

 

[raddogz]

That's exactly the one I was using the one that it would shatter easily. It seemed like it was good thing while I was cutting or snapping rectangular shapes, but not so nice when it was shattering as I was affixing it to the pvc.

Is there any links for the acrylic or the black eggcrates?

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10244109#post10244109 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by raddogz
I actually purchased mine from HD. I am curious as to is just chemical leaching or is the absorption of undeseriables and then leaching it back into the water much like when live rock will leach back phosphates into the water.

Sorry Twallace for hijacking the thread a bit but I'm curious as how this all started to go out of control for me.

No it does not absorb but rather leaches some of the chemicals from the Styrene.
This is were I got the acrylic ones
http://www.lightingdiffusers.com/St...intPage=1&sub_dept_id=5&sort=pn&sku=EA-050-24

 

[fishnfst]

I think I might have to make my racks out of acrylic and just drill a ton of holes in it

 

[fishnfst]

Here is another place that came up with just a quick google search.. They are about 10 bucks cheaper but I'm not sure what shipping is like..

 

[jdieck]

A link will be helpful

 

[salty joe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10242824#post10242824 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
By removing the eggcrate you have removed a source of chemical leaching into your tank that feed algae.
I ran a series of comparisons running my frag tank with styrene plastic made eggcrate (The 1/4" thick one most commonly found in hardware stores) versus acrylic made eggcrate (the one 1/2" US made) and there is noticeable difference in the algae promotion. With styrene bryopsis and hair algae develops in just a couple of weeks while with acrylic it basically is non existant.

Was this difference in algea growth system wide, or only on the eggcrate?

 

[jdieck]

Only growing on the eggcrate, the rest of the system did not have any hair nor Bryopsis algae

 

[wilsonh]

The Kent product seems to be doing the job, just wondered if there is anyone who has tried the Kent product and it has NOT worked?

 

[SaltyDr]

I cycled my tank 8 weeks ago and within the first week had bryopsis everywhere. Everything looked like a Chia Pet. It still grows, just slower and is brown and kind of slimey. It still is very aggressive, though. I just started dosing the Tech M so hopeful I'll have success. This stuff (bryopsis) sucks. Sorry, had to get this off of my chest.

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10253030#post10253030 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyDr
I cycled my tank 8 weeks ago and within the first week had bryopsis everywhere. Everything looked like a Chia Pet. It still grows, just slower and is brown and kind of slimey. It still is very aggressive, though. I just started dosing the Tech M so hopeful I'll have success. This stuff (bryopsis) sucks. Sorry, had to get this off of my chest.

Are you sure it's Bryopsis? IME is usually has to be introduced on a frag or something and doesn't very often just spring up from live rock. From your description it sounds like it might be Derbesia with some other type of algae growing on it...

 

[SaltyDr]

I am 99% sure it is bryopsis. I believe it came in on some live rock I got from the Florida Keys. It was definitey "fern"-like and looks like all of the pictures. It also spreads like wildfire from the smallest bits. I'll clean the glass and within 2 days it's starting up ALL over the glass. Hopefully this magnesium trick will work.

 

[Peter Eichler]

Jeesh, even on the glass? While Bryopsis can survive in very low nutrient conditions I'd say with your newer tank it's getting plenty of food. Goodluck with the Mg treatment and let us know how it works out.

 

[raddogz]

I get mine on the glass too. It seems to have slowed down, but I also have been doing more agressive skimming - skimming very very wet.

 

[SaltyDr]

I skim wet and have both GFO and Seachem Phosgard (aluminum) in the sump along with activated carbon. Fuge is running with Chaeto and Bryopsis is even in there. This stuff is a plague. The only nutrients in the whole system came with the liverock. I had diatoms for like a day and a bit of true hair algae (now gone) and this nightmare. The snails are doing an OK job in spots, but anywhere they don't get to in a few days gets covered. I had some Halimeda growing and this gets covered too. Cleaning it off of the glass with the magfloat just chops it up and spreads it around even more. VERY frustrating, especially with a new tank and it seems like I did everything "right". If I can't eventually get this under control I might have to nuke everything and start over, which I will do only as a last resort. Although it grows fast, it has been coming in a mushy brown and I think that must be a sign that it is finally struggling.

 

[raddogz]

I cleaned off the glass this weekend with a plastic putty knife. The stuff came right off, and I siphoned up the loose "stuff". The loose stuff is certainly brown and a tad mushyish. I bought a stiff stainless steel bristle brush and have been scrubbing off the smaller rocks of bubbly algae and bryopsis. Rinse the smaller rocks well, and putting them back.

 

[cichlid nutz]

Bump....Thank everyone involved for this thread. Hope it got the "Month" award cause it seems well worth the info. Am ordering my Tech M as soon as I finish this and will put my results up asap.