Help with Byropsis

[Odysi]

Hey guys so im have a episode of byropisis in my tank. Is Kent M the only mag supplement that will work for this? I have been dosing esv 2 part and mag and would like to keep that. Would a 3 day lights out work on this stuff with maybe a dose of peroxide or is raising the mag lvl a better option?

 

[TravelinLight]

I have been using Kent M for 2 weeks now. No effect to my byropsis. Good luck

 

[Odysi]

Damn that sucks... I'm gonna try lights out for 3 days and see how that goes.

 

[BIGD0G]

Kent M wiped mine out very quickly.

 

[kenny01]

Kent has worked for me in the past as we'll.

 

[Reef Frog]

Kent is the only magnesium supplement that works for this - it is said that it's not the Mg but an impurity or unlisted ingredient that does the job, which quite frankly I find scary. It has to be kept at abnormally high levels of about 1600 ppm. Lights out by itself won't work (but can be used in conjunction with other methods).

Start by tearing it out by hand. Do a big water change & siphon out detrius & any scraps of algae. Run mechanical filtration like filter socks for a while, changing them out frequently.

(Read up on peroxide before use)
Hydrogen peroxide 3% solution works fast & well. Be careful as improper use can kill things but it does no long term harm. You can do a full tank treatment but the best way is to treat each rock individually & scrub it with a stiff plastic brush. The results will be dramatic but it will return unless you lower the nutrients - phosphates specifically- and never let them go back up. For me keeping PO4 under .02 ppm or so is sufficient.

IME the best way to do this is to install a GFO reactor and change the media regularly. If your levels are very high this could mean changing it out every week or even sooner in the begining. Testing with a Hanna meter is helpful. This will starve out most new growth once PO4 levels drop, and any remaining strands will turn a lighter color and eventually disappear. Keep plucking any new growth until it is starved out.

During this time running carbon, doing a 3 day lights out period, feeding less and keepking the tank clean of detrius (especially the rocks) will help. While running the GFO you may have to do one more round of removal and some spot treatments but this method will work and give permanent results if you stay on top of it. Personally I'd stay away from Tech M for Bryopsis removal - although there are plenty of testimonials that it works, do you really want to pour gallons of an expensive liquid into your tank, that no one knows how it works, constantly for a long time, maybe even the entire time you own your tank? Best of luck on whatever you decide!

 

[Odysi]

Yea I had my gfo off online for a while with a broken rector, but it's up and running now. I did test PO4 since I figured that was my main source which came in high at .14. I'm gonna try lights out along with manual and peroxide first before I do Kent m. I have cheato in my fuge aswell to help lower po4.

 

[fitnessitalia]

Kent M
believe it or not (Not recommended) I pulled clumps out hoping spores didn't overwhelm my tank and within a few days my inverts/tangs ate the rest- coupled with Tech M over 1600 and gone

 

[Odysi]

What test kit will show 1600? Cause my salifert only goes upto 1500.

 

[Dapg8gt]

What test kit will show 1600? Cause my salifert only goes upto 1500.

Your Salifert will go to whatever you want it to =).. All you do is after you reach 1500 ppm refill the small syringe to 1ml and continue adding drops until you get your normal reaction/color change. Take that final reading and use it like it's your total, if it's 300ppm then add 300ppm to the 1500ppm from the first syringe.

Its basically an infinite measurement as your just counting drops till the reaction, just keep track of the final measurement and add 1500ppm.

I'm battling some stubborn briopsis right now that a month and a half @ 2000ppm has only made it look a little battered, once I stopped dosing the tech M it's back with a vengeance but I'm not keen on putting more tech M online. I have lower than normal nutrients and feel it has little to do with nutrient levels when this algae comes into play. I'm choosing aggressive manual removal with a hope and a prayer that my foxface from my frag tank will go into the system Un noticed by my meaner fish to get what I can't since he devours it with a passion.

 

[Odysi]

Thanks Dap! I'm not in a huge rush to put Tech m in I think this will be my last resort. Hopefully the 3 day will help and I will manually remove the rest and see how it goes. GFO has been back online for few days now and I opted not to use the h2o2. Should I also be running carbon at this time?

 

[fishgate]

Algaefix Marine got rid of all my Bryopsis.

 

[Reef Frog]

Contrary to popular belief, GFO doesn't kill anything. It's not an algaecide. It simply soaks up PO4 before algae can utilize it and grow. Sure after a while some algae will go grey & slowly fade away, so I guess i can say it can kill albeit slowly. That's why eradication first is the best way to go. I mention this bc when people say "it didn't work" I often wonder what the actual problem was. Because no plants can grow without nutrients but if deprived long enough, although they can hang on for a while but won't actively grow.

The reasons are many IMO. Changing it late, improper flow inside the reactor, poor distribution of output water in the tank, not enough media, overwhelming inputs, impatience etc. I helped someone with big B. Once I saw his system in operation in person, the problem was obvious. He thought GFO was to be changed every 4 weeks. And 4 weeks sometimes became 5, 6... But my test showed significant amounts when tested at 3 weeks. The reactor was also mounted not level, and the water was channeling.

So my point is I think some who experience a major algae problem of this type for the first time misunderstand the role of GFO and may make mistakes while implementing it.

 

[Odysi]

I know gfo is not a direct solution. My thought was lights out period would maybe kill some off, then manual removal of whatever I can without pulling my rock apart along with new media in the reactor to help reduce my po4 which is the cause of all this. I don't feed heavy but I don't rinse the frozen food I feed the tank.

 

[JDavis3517]

I've tried the Tech-M treatment going on three weeks an still no signs of bryopsis dying off. However I did dip a rock in hydrogen peroxide that was covered in bryopsis. I placed the rock in my sump and over the next few weeks the bryopsis was gone. Reef Frog what's the proper amount to dose hydrogen peroxide safely so I don't kill everything in my tank. Iwant to treat the entire tank. Thanks.

 

[Dapg8gt]

I get what you saying but in a tank with coral briopsis will for a fact outlast most coral when just trying to starve it out with "no nutrients". It's been thoroughly documented by Reefers that its not the best course of action with this specific type of algae. I personally value my sps health to much to attempt to starve anything out nutrient wise. I'll stick to what the coral likes and adapt to other measures for the algae albeit annoying =).

Anybody who isn't familiar with what gfo is or does should Def look into it before applying it into the system. That alone has caused many a crash also.

Contrary to popular belief, GFO doesn't kill anything. It's not an algaecide. It simply soaks up PO4 before algae can utilize it and grow. Sure after a while some algae will go grey & slowly fade away, so I guess i can say it can kill albeit slowly. That's why eradication first is the best way to go. I mention this bc when people say "it didn't work" I often wonder what the actual problem was. Because no plants can grow without nutrients but if deprived long enough, although they can hang on for a while but won't actively grow.

The reasons are many IMO. Changing it late, improper flow inside the reactor, poor distribution of output water in the tank, not enough media, overwhelming inputs, impatience etc. I helped someone with big B. Once I saw his system in operation in person, the problem was obvious. He thought GFO was to be changed every 4 weeks. And 4 weeks sometimes became 5, 6... But my test showed significant amounts when tested at 3 weeks. The reactor was also mounted not level, and the water was channeling.

So my point is I think some who experience a major algae problem of this type for the first time misunderstand the role of GFO and may make mistakes while implementing it.

 

[thegrun]

I've had better luck elevating the magnesium to 1800 ppm. Hold it at 1800 for 3 weeks and you should see the algae start to die off. At that point quit supplementing the magnesium and just let it fall naturally with water changes and coral absorption.

 

[SGT_York]

Both need to be done in tandem. high nutrient magnesium is just a recepie for another problem.

Manual extraction, clean up crew, and holding off on magnesium until the nutrients are gone is the key. Too many think Tech M is a miracle cure as it solves the byropsis for a few weeks then surprise the nutrients dumped into the tank during the M treatment bring the byropsis back full force.

 

[Odysi]

So did I just kill my cheato off with dosing algaefix?

 

[fishgate]

So did I just kill my cheato off with dosing algaefix?

My cheato was fine with it. But again, I used a half dose and only put in 2 doses.