Fluconazole - Bryopsis Killer

Just ordered 1800 mg for my 90 gallon. Can't wait to kill this crap!! So, how many of you turned off you skimmers during treatment? I don't mind but wouldn't nutrients creep up pretty high once all the algae is dying off and releasing it back into the tank? I am also dosing nopox. Should I stop the nopox until the 14 days is up then resume?
Thanks

I ran my skimmer with the cup off for the first week. Not sure about the nopox. Others have kept their skimmers running and it still killed the Bryopsis.
 
took cup off for 1 week, water change at or just over two weeks depending on your results that far.

carbon dosing(nopox) is fine as far as I know, but pull any carbon and gfo, and replace with new media after the 2 weeks or so.

Side note: I had lesser results than most and while I cant confirm I believe that while I pulled GFO and carbon, the mechanical pad I use in the sump before the return section happens to be a phosphate pad(didnt even think about it) so Im not sure if that would work the same way as GFO in stripping some of the medication. MY algae turned light brown and the upper 1/3 of the hair disolved but left the rest at the 2 week mark.

It is cheap enough where I may try it again remembering to remove all Phosphate reduction media, including the pads next time.
 
Thanks for the reply's.

I have read that a few people dosed under what is said to be the recommended dose and still killed it. One only dose like 1/4 the amount. My thought was to start with half the dose. Then on day 7 dose the other half. I'm just thinking that it could loose it's strength over time and that would help keep it going. Thoughts?
 
yes, the trickle flow into Elliotts frag tanks shows it may not take full dose, you can definitely try it and worst case you have to dose again heavier to get results.
 
Did anyone who is or was using vibrant continue during treatment? I have cyano and started a peroxide treatment so will wait to treat gha separate. Vibrant wiped out bubble, and turf and some gha but it came back with cyano
 
Did anyone who is or was using vibrant continue during treatment? I have cyano and started a peroxide treatment so will wait to treat gha separate. Vibrant wiped out bubble, and turf and some gha but it came back with cyano

Stop using Vibrant, it caused a huge cyano outbreak for me. I've read that others had similar issues.
 
took cup off for 1 week, water change at or just over two weeks depending on your results that far.

carbon dosing(nopox) is fine as far as I know, but pull any carbon and gfo, and replace with new media after the 2 weeks or so.

Side note: I had lesser results than most and while I cant confirm I believe that while I pulled GFO and carbon, the mechanical pad I use in the sump before the return section happens to be a phosphate pad(didnt even think about it) so Im not sure if that would work the same way as GFO in stripping some of the medication. MY algae turned light brown and the upper 1/3 of the hair disolved but left the rest at the 2 week mark.

It is cheap enough where I may try it again remembering to remove all Phosphate reduction media, including the pads next time.

My hair algae took 2 doses to eliminate. My Bryopsis only needed one dose.
 
If you run purigen be sure to remove it. I ran multiple doses and had no luck. remembered I had purigen running through the basket. removed all purigen and re-dosed tank. die off was near immediate.
 
Was there any ill effects on refugium macro algae like calerpa or chaeto?

The reason that it doesn't affect macro algaes is that the biological processes are different vs Bryopsis and hair algae, so the fluconazole does not kill the macro algaes.
 
Sorry I forgot I could not post link to competing site but this is The biggest news for reef hobbyist in years. It's a true miracle and I'm living breathing proof that it worked in my tank!
 
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I just finished this treatment and it worked great.. I went through gallons of Kent magnesium which helped a bit, raising my mag to over 1500. Some still remained, but the flucanozole seemed to finish it off
 
I finally did a wc tonight after fluconazole in tank for 21 days. Not a trace of Bryopsis or gha in tank. No cyano either. Now if someone can come up with another miracle cure, this time for those clear glass aiptasia!
 
I finally did a wc tonight after fluconazole in tank for 21 days. Not a trace of Bryopsis or gha in tank. No cyano either. Now if someone can come up with another miracle cure, this time for those clear glass aiptasia!

Lasers. Plus, they are so much fun to play with.
 
Hi everyone,

I've been following this thread closely. I've been battling GHA in my 54 gallon corner bowfront tank for months.

My tank is not drilled, so I'm running a Fluval 406 Canister Filter, along with an Aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer and CPR HOB Refugium with a deep sand bed, rubble rock, and Chaetomorpha.

I'm running 2 bags of ChemiPure Blue in the top tray of my canister filter, one bag of Purigen and one bag of PhosGuard in my second tray of my canister filter.

I've been dosing 4ml of NOPOX daily for the past 4 weeks, along with 5ml of VIBRANT 2x/week. My Nitrates have finally dropped from 25ppm down to 5ppm, and my Phosphates have dropped from 1ppm down to 0.25ppm.

I'm at my wits end with this GHA as I do a weekly water change of 15 gallons and spend 30+ minutes each week pulling GHA off my rocks, but I haven't made a dent!

After reading this thread, I'm ready to pull the trigger on the Fluconazole treatment.

Based on what I've read on this thread, I need to remove the Purigen from my canister filter, and stop dosing VIBRANT.

Should I also remove the ChemiPure Blue bags since it has carbon in it?

Is there anything else I need to do, or consider since I am not running a sump?

Sounds like I can continue to run my skimmer to oxygenate the water, and keep my collection cup in?

No water changes for 14 days?

Then how much (%) of a water change should we do?
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Please read the information below before you began!!!
Remove Purigen, Phosgard, carbon and Chemipure!!!
You can continue to run Vibrant at the same time.
Take the cup off your skimmer for the first five days.
This is a single dose only treatment that stays in your tank for 14 days for Bryopsis and 21 days to kill all green Hair Algae.
Make at least a 25% water change after 14 days of all your algae is gone. I went an extra week with the same water to make sure all the roots were gone because my tank was showing no problems.
You would know all these answers if you had read the information on the treatment below.
Bryopsis Cure FAQ's Sheet

****This treatment seems to work best in well lit areas of the tank. Some people are noticing quicker results by adding light to the shaded areas of their tank.*****

Q: Will Fluconazole kill Bryopsis?
A: YES. As of 2/2/17 Fluconazole is completely killing all Bryopsis. There have been no reports of it NOT working.

Q: How does Fluconazole work?
A: Fluconazole blocks the enzymatic pathway for the production of ergosterol. Ergosterol is essential for maintaining the cell wall integrity of plants. Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells.

Q: Will Fluconazole kill anything else in my system?
A: So far Fluconazole has not killed anything other than bryopsis and GHA. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING else is unaffected.

Q: Where do I get Fluconazole?
A: There are many sources online. The most popular/best choice is to purchase the medication in 200MG CAPSULE.

Q: How much Fluconazole do I use?
A: The suggested dose is one SINGLE dose in the amount of 20mg per gallon of water. There are reefers who are experimenting with using 10mg per gallon right now, but none with completing the 1st "round".

Q: Do I do a WC before treatment?
A: Yes. It would be a good idea as the treatment is for 14 days and expect an increase in NO3.

Q: How do I prepare the the medication?
A: I have noticed with the capsules it is very tough opening them without crushing the capsule. This is what I did. Use a razor blade and cut off the rounded end of the large outer half of the capsule. Then you can very easily pour the contents out into a glass of RODI water or tank water. The amount of water doesnt matter, but make it enough to be able to mix the med up. The med isnt very soluble, but mix it up best you can. Preferably dose at night when fish are asleep. Then pour the entire dose into the DT, or sump. Some have put it into their sump socks. I dosed directly into the DT.

Q: How long is the treatment?
A: 14 days.Maybe up to 21 days if you still have GHA present in the tank.

Q: Do I remove my carbon?
A: Yes.

Q: Do I remove my skimmer cup?
A: Its suggested for at least the first few days if not the entire treatment remove your cup. If you pull your cup you may continue to run the skimmer, or turn the skimmer down as to not allow the skim to enter the cup. You do not want to remove the med.

Q: Do I take my ATS offline?
A: Yes. Completely sanitize it, and reintroduce it after all the bryopsis is 100% gone.

Q: Do I take my bio reactor offline?
A: No.

Q: Do I take my GFO offline?
A: No GFO will not remove the meds.It will also help to remove the po4 from dying algae.

Q: Do I continue to dose H2O2?
A: Yes. It will not interact with this med.

Q: Do I continue to dose Vibrant?
A: Yes. This SHOULD not interact this med. It may help to dose Vibrant as it will assist in NO3 export.

Q: Do I continue to dose colors, alk, calcium, and magnesium?
A: Yes.

Q: Should I change my lighting?
A: No.

Q: If I take my carbon reactor, or any other equipment off line/out of the tank, do I just put them back into the system after treatment?
A: No. Do not reintroduce the algae. It would be best to sterilize any equipment and throw away old media for reactors.

Q: Is it ok to take out my chaeto, or other algae's then put back after treatment?
A: No. this may reintroduce the algae. Leave the macros in the tank.

Q: Do I take my carbon reactor offline?
A: Yes.

Q:Should I stop using Purigen during treatment?
A:Yes.

Q: Do I take my UV Sterilizer offline?
A: Yes.

Q: Do I do a WC during treatment?
A: No. Unless it cannot be avoided and a WC needs to be done to save life.

Q: Will Fluconazole kill my chaetomorpha or other beneficial maco's?
A: The treatment has not harmed any macro algae.

Q: Will Fluconazole kill the parasitic algae known to burrow through LPS corals?
A: This is currently being researched.

Q: What other nuisance algae's will be killed by Fluconazole?
A: Fluconazole kills the green algae Derbesia also known as GHA. It seems that GHA takes longer to kill than the bryopsis but it still dies. Bubble algae is unknown due to most reefers treating their tanks have been using Vibrant. Vibrant kills bubble algae very well.

Q: When do I do a WC?
A: At the end of the full 14 day treatment. After treatment has completed you will go back to your normal running system. Do a WC as your NO3/PO4 levels may be high from a lot of dead algae. Carbon goes back online to remove the medication. Skimmer cups back on.

-Stevo




This treatment has been a huge success.For so many years we have had to deal with this terrible algae. Well now we can finally say that beating Bryopsis is a reality. No more tearing down your tanks. No more endless hours of pulling and picking at this mess. Fluconazole has made the eradication of Bryopsis from our tanks quick,easy and painless.Please let everyone you know in the reefing community about this treatment. The more people who know,the better.

Testing by @twilliard will be ongoing to determine a minimum effective dosing plan in the near future.
 
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