HELP! PLEASE! My Mg is up past 1800 with Kent Tech-M and my bryosis lives on

[muppet]

My Magnesium has been ridiculously high for 3 months and I've confirmed that with multiple tests, but my systemic bryopsis infection, with fragments floating everywhere and my plumbing, powerheads, and pumps getting clogged on a daily basis, lives on.

What am I doing wrong? Have I got a bryopsis look-alike here that thrives in a Tech-M saturated environment? The filaments have become shorter and "scruffier" looking and are much more brittle. Just a little flow is enough to break bits off and send them careening around the tank, which is why my tank looks like a windstorm at a tumbleweed convention right now.

What am I doing wrong? I'm doing weekly 25% water changes and keeping the Mg as constant as I can by dosing and testing the change water. The bits that are breaking off actually seem to be taking root and growing where they land. None of it is growing as long or full as it was pre-Tech-M but it's still growing ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Help? Please?! I'm at my wit's end and I'm getting ready to break down and part out the livestock and tank. I'd hate to do that because my two year old really loves the "fishies".

 

[Kabuto]

About the only think I know to really clean byropsis is peroxide H2O2. Best is to do a 50/50 dip of the rock for a couple of minutes, rinse with sw and put back in. It should disappear in a few days.

 

[disc1]

About the only think I know to really clean byropsis is peroxide H2O2. Best is to do a 50/50 dip of the rock for a couple of minutes, rinse with sw and put back in. It should disappear in a few days.

Never heard that one. Will that kill off the bacteria in the rock and cause a cycle?

The best way to control algae, is to eliminate the nutrients that it feeds on. Those nutrients could be coming from the rock, the sand, overfeeding, underskimming, or any other of a number of issues.

Running a refugium full of algae or an ATS will give the algae a better place to grow. The algae there will outcompete the algae in the tank, and you can remove nutrients by simply harvesting the algae.

 

[Kabuto]

Supposedly it won't kill all the bacteria and the bacteria inside the rock survives. I haven't seen in definitive tests from experts but no one has a cycle after doing it. Almost all coral will be fine. Some may be ****ed for a little while but recover fine. The only thing I have seen definitive that it kills is Zenia. You can also spot apply it. Some use a spray bottle and spray just on the area needing it. BTW kills worms also.

If you have a nutrient problem it won't stop it from coming back so you do need to fix that but it can help since byropsis is so hard to kill.

 

[kcinnick]

This has worked for many people.

Your sump needs to be bryopsis free, so if its not, black it out until it is.

Second, you need to black out your main tank for a few days, up to a week. Some suggest wrapping it with a blanket or tape black garbage bags to the side, but I don't think that is needed, I have seen success with just turning the lights out.

While your display is blacked out get chaeto going in your sump. It needs to start out algea free, bryopsis will out compete the chaeto if it is present.

After 3-4 days your bryopsis will start to die and you'll get a pea green skimmate for a few days, this combined with the cheato taking off should curb your bryopsis problem and you will be able to get your lights back on.

 

[muppet]

I've got a huge ball of chaeto that grows like a weed, but I'll give that a try, thanks!

 

[muppet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u3qOwkc8Ek

Here's a video of the stuff taking over my tank. Is this even bryopsis?

 

[Kabuto]

Hard to tell on the video. You could have GHA and byropsis together.

I would attack two ways. From your other thread you said you were short on money so you need to prioritize.

To get rid of algae that bad I would scrub and dip in 50/50 peroxide for ~2min. If you want, just try the powerhead first. The algae will turn white and start to disintegrate in a day. You need to run some filtration like a power filter to take the dying out of the water. It will return if you don't fix the problem.

Look into getting a GFO reactor. This will lower phosphates in your system. You might want to also look into carbon dosing if the macro algae can't keep up.

 

[philosophile]

Have you tried increasing water change frequency and volume? I had a pretty tough battle with the stuff... The only thing thay worked was doubling the frequency of my WCs and every other time I did twice the volume... After I did that for about a month, I scrubbed each rock out of my tank, rinsed with SW, and replaced. It never grew back.

 

[finntyla]

Looks like the dreaded hair algae to me,not bryopsis.
There is loads of good info on the web about ridding yourself of this but i would go with philosophile about water changes and scrubbing each rock with a toothbrush.
There are various critters that will munch on this stuff when it has been cut back,i had a foxface that kept mine at bay.Some urchins also mow well but none will tackle the long stuff.

P04 reactor will help.
I know ,as do many ,what a PIA this stuff is but if you persavere (sp) you will beat it

good luck

 

[finntyla]

Looks like the dreaded hair algae to me,not bryopsis.
There is loads of good info on the web about ridding yourself of this but i would go with philosophile about water changes and scrubbing each rock with a toothbrush.
There are various critters that will munch on this stuff when it has been cut back,i had a foxface that kept mine at bay.Some urchins also mow well but none will tackle the long stuff.

P04 reactor will help.
I know ,as do many ,what a PIA this stuff is but if you persavere (sp) you will beat it

good luck

 

[jeffreylesser]

You can tell the difference between Hair Algae and Bryopsis by the shape. if you get close to bryopsis, it has a feather shape to it, I don't believe GHA does. GHA also feels like snot when you pull it out, bryopsis not so much. I have never had an issue with GHA, but I have read enough threads touting the claims of AlgaeFix Marine that I have noted it in my log if I ever come across it. Maybe someone who has used this product before can chime in.

I have had bryopsis before, and I have a very small dime sized patch starting up again in my tank right now. I used Kent Tech-M before and it was a miracle worker with Bryopsis. I have a feeling you have GHA, but it is hard to tell from the pictures.

Here is a link to a bryopsis thread. Some of it is very old and the links no longer work, but you can find pictures in there.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167632