Loosing the Bryopsis Battle
- Thread starter Johnic
- Start date
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
what Mg test kit did you use and what kind of skimmer do you have? Are you running at SG 1.026 and how do you measure SG? What herbivores in your aquarium? What do you feed?
Did you start with DRY ROCK?
Johnic
Premium Member
My Mag Levels are at 1900 and its been at that level for 2 weeks now. A lot died off but the remaining is not going away. My hard corals are bleaching out and my zoos are closed and the tank in general looks horrible now..alot of stuff is closed up and suffering.
Salt is 1.026, measured with sg scope...
I have some snails and crabs but they too have died from the mag levels.
I slowed down feeding to every 3 days and i feed very little.
To top it off I also have a bad Flat worm problem.....:headwally::headwally:
Salt is 1.026, measured with sg scope...
I have some snails and crabs but they too have died from the mag levels.
I slowed down feeding to every 3 days and i feed very little.
To top it off I also have a bad Flat worm problem.....:headwally::headwally:
brandon429
Well-known member
we have sustained tank cures using peroxide too, in tanks where tech m didn't work, have you done that? Conversely, there are tech m threads where peroxide didnt work long term but provided an initial kill. at least we know how to apply both methods in a predictable way, without collateral loss. whatever works...
ghostman
Active member
Sounds like lots is going wrong with your tank 
sorry about that. When in doubt, lots of water changes definitely will help a tank. I battled bryopsis for a long time, but the Kent Tech M did the trick for me. It never bothered my inverts or corals. You might want to look at other areas for coral bleaching. How long has the tank been up, and how long have you had the radions?
sorry about that. When in doubt, lots of water changes definitely will help a tank. I battled bryopsis for a long time, but the Kent Tech M did the trick for me. It never bothered my inverts or corals. You might want to look at other areas for coral bleaching. How long has the tank been up, and how long have you had the radions?
Johnic
Premium Member
I never had a bleaching problem prior to the Tech M and I had the tank up and running for 17 months with no issues...as soon as the bryopsis came in the problems started..
Radions I had for 17 months also
What really sucks is that I want to start a custom 75 and I'm now afraid this same problem will occur with new tank.
Radions I had for 17 months also
What really sucks is that I want to start a custom 75 and I'm now afraid this same problem will occur with new tank.
ghostman
Active member
Ive never seen a fish that eats bryopsis. Things that may help combat bryopsis. I tried all of them at some point. I hope it helps.
1. Tech M at high levels
2. Increase skimming
3. Increase GFO use
4. Manual removal
5. Sea hare
6. Cleaning filter pads/socks often
7. Blow detritus from rocks and sand
8. Peroxide
9. Water changes with 0 TDS water
10. Good levels of Alk and calcium to promote calcareous algae
1. Tech M at high levels
2. Increase skimming
3. Increase GFO use
4. Manual removal
5. Sea hare
6. Cleaning filter pads/socks often
7. Blow detritus from rocks and sand
8. Peroxide
9. Water changes with 0 TDS water
10. Good levels of Alk and calcium to promote calcareous algae
navyfishguy
New member
what are doing using for filtration? sounds like there is alot going wrong in the tank. what are your params? but to start i would do a 50% water change and a 20% every week for month.
Reef Frog
New member
Bryopsis makes GHA look like a day at the beach. I think a dedicated multi-pronged approach is called for. It worked for me on a terrible infestation brought in on frag plugs before I knew how bad a pest it is. I have been 99% free of it for 18 months once I got serious. A tuft here & there occasionally appears but is plucked easily. It's a lot of work but worthwhile. It will ways be there but can be supipressed. I approached it with 2 stages in mind: REMOVAL & NUTRIENTS.
First the removal stage. Rip out all you can. Lift the smaller rocks, hold upside down & pulling the stuff is easy. Scrub areas you can with a stiff brush & I used kalk paste too. Then blew off detritus in a tub & back in the DT. Try turning some rocks over in the sand or toward the shade if you can. I also treated open areas & areas where it had been growing with diluted Hydrogen Peroxide as per the many RC threads on the topic. I also carefully peroxided the skeletal parts on some corals like the stalls on candy canes, dipped zoas & replaced frag plugs. I did many water changes trying to get every bit of detritus I could & not worrying about losing sand. I think low detritus levels are key for long term success. This took almost all day but the tank looked great.
NUTRIENTS. Then I did a 4 day black out while I hooked up a GFO reactor running ROWA & tested the reactor & tank water often, ready to change out the media when needed. I feel the black out plus new water gave me some time for the GFO reacor to start working. I fed a lot less & regularly blew the rocks to get detritus suspended & the MP40 did a good job keeping it there until the filter pads could remove it. I cleaned them several times daily. It's amazing how much stuff attaches to your rocks. I even ran a canister filter for a few weeks w additional filter media & carbon to further strip the water (turn off GFO WHILE DETRIUS IS SUSPENDED). I used powerful flashlights at night to gauge suspended detritus. I find tuned my skimmer & ran it on the wet side.
This was obsessive, I have to admit. But my idea was to use " shock & awe" by combining every method that made sense to me into one unified approach where each step would compliment the next. First you remove every trace you can, & then keep it down by controlling the nutrients. You need to be running a near LNS or ULNS system IME. I did slack off once on GFO replacement w aging bulbs & the bryopsis started to come back unt I got on the ball again. It's a shame that some exit the hobby bc of Bryopsis but it can be controlled. BTW I have a 65g, no fuge, moderate stocking, 6 T5, and all corals, fish & inverts easily survived my aggressive program, but some LPS & NPS like dendros protested for several days.
First the removal stage. Rip out all you can. Lift the smaller rocks, hold upside down & pulling the stuff is easy. Scrub areas you can with a stiff brush & I used kalk paste too. Then blew off detritus in a tub & back in the DT. Try turning some rocks over in the sand or toward the shade if you can. I also treated open areas & areas where it had been growing with diluted Hydrogen Peroxide as per the many RC threads on the topic. I also carefully peroxided the skeletal parts on some corals like the stalls on candy canes, dipped zoas & replaced frag plugs. I did many water changes trying to get every bit of detritus I could & not worrying about losing sand. I think low detritus levels are key for long term success. This took almost all day but the tank looked great.
NUTRIENTS. Then I did a 4 day black out while I hooked up a GFO reactor running ROWA & tested the reactor & tank water often, ready to change out the media when needed. I feel the black out plus new water gave me some time for the GFO reacor to start working. I fed a lot less & regularly blew the rocks to get detritus suspended & the MP40 did a good job keeping it there until the filter pads could remove it. I cleaned them several times daily. It's amazing how much stuff attaches to your rocks. I even ran a canister filter for a few weeks w additional filter media & carbon to further strip the water (turn off GFO WHILE DETRIUS IS SUSPENDED). I used powerful flashlights at night to gauge suspended detritus. I find tuned my skimmer & ran it on the wet side.
This was obsessive, I have to admit. But my idea was to use " shock & awe" by combining every method that made sense to me into one unified approach where each step would compliment the next. First you remove every trace you can, & then keep it down by controlling the nutrients. You need to be running a near LNS or ULNS system IME. I did slack off once on GFO replacement w aging bulbs & the bryopsis started to come back unt I got on the ball again. It's a shame that some exit the hobby bc of Bryopsis but it can be controlled. BTW I have a 65g, no fuge, moderate stocking, 6 T5, and all corals, fish & inverts easily survived my aggressive program, but some LPS & NPS like dendros protested for several days.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Hungry herbivorous fishes will take Bryopsis
Only certain species of Sea Hares (Aplysia, Dolabella etc.) consume "green hair" (hobbyist term) type algae such as Bryopsis
Did OP mention a skimmer?
None of these suggested methods will work long term without some kind of nutrient export happening.
Only certain species of Sea Hares (Aplysia, Dolabella etc.) consume "green hair" (hobbyist term) type algae such as Bryopsis
Did OP mention a skimmer?
None of these suggested methods will work long term without some kind of nutrient export happening.
HWDylan
New member
As a bryopsis survivor myself let me share with you what I did...
Had a BIG porblem right after the tank finished cycling. Bryopsis covered everything in a matter of days and looked horrible. I tried the Tech M thing with no results and then I tried increasing salinty with no results. I even went lights out for a week with no visible change.
As a last ditch effort I gave the system everything I had. There were no livestock besides snails in my system so it might be more difficult for you.
-I kept the Mg high ~1900ppm
-I dosed H2O2 (1ml per 10gal) making sure to turn powerheads off and apply it straight to the bryopsis colonies.
-Skimming very wet. (watch your salinity because you are exporting a lot of salt water.)
-I was VERY aggressive about manual removal. I scrubbed it all off with a tooth brush. I did this in the tank (I know pople advise agasint that) because I didnt want to take down my aquascape. I kept a clean filter sock on the system to pull out any bryopsis chunks.
-I stopped feeding the tank to decrease the nutrients in the system.
-I also used AlgaeFix but I am usure if that had any effect.
Once it was all gone I noticed a serious decrease in the regrowth rate (probably the H2O2 and the Tech M). Also, any time I saw a sprig shoot back up I was on it immediately with a tooth brush. I did all of this for like a week or 2 and now I have a completely bryopsis free system (been like that for about 2 mo) I have a foxface in there now fresh out of QT that constantly grazes on the rocks, I dont know if he would eat Bryopsis but I have heard stories about them eating it and I know I have no seen any regrowth at all.
You can beat it. Don't give up yet.
Had a BIG porblem right after the tank finished cycling. Bryopsis covered everything in a matter of days and looked horrible. I tried the Tech M thing with no results and then I tried increasing salinty with no results. I even went lights out for a week with no visible change.
As a last ditch effort I gave the system everything I had. There were no livestock besides snails in my system so it might be more difficult for you.
-I kept the Mg high ~1900ppm
-I dosed H2O2 (1ml per 10gal) making sure to turn powerheads off and apply it straight to the bryopsis colonies.
-Skimming very wet. (watch your salinity because you are exporting a lot of salt water.)
-I was VERY aggressive about manual removal. I scrubbed it all off with a tooth brush. I did this in the tank (I know pople advise agasint that) because I didnt want to take down my aquascape. I kept a clean filter sock on the system to pull out any bryopsis chunks.
-I stopped feeding the tank to decrease the nutrients in the system.
-I also used AlgaeFix but I am usure if that had any effect.
Once it was all gone I noticed a serious decrease in the regrowth rate (probably the H2O2 and the Tech M). Also, any time I saw a sprig shoot back up I was on it immediately with a tooth brush. I did all of this for like a week or 2 and now I have a completely bryopsis free system (been like that for about 2 mo) I have a foxface in there now fresh out of QT that constantly grazes on the rocks, I dont know if he would eat Bryopsis but I have heard stories about them eating it and I know I have no seen any regrowth at all.
You can beat it. Don't give up yet.
buffalo123
New member
I use epsom salts and magnesium chloride and that worked. Likely the same ingredients as some magnesium suppliments. Give it at least a month to get rid of it all. If your reef being taken over might take longer. Keep in mind dying algae increase nutrients into the water so you have to do water changes. After water change get magnesium back up again. You will get rid of it.
buffalo123
New member
Come on now. Many have got rid of it without a turf scrubber. Just say, it is a possible solution.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Total nonsense
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
And mentioned above, you should siphon/remove/skim out the decaying bryopsis as much as you can.
What herbivorous fish(es) would you recommend for a 30 gallon (I think that's what OP has)?
What herbivorous fish(es) would you recommend for a 30 gallon (I think that's what OP has)?
