Sincerely need help. Bryopsis could cause me to tear down this tank... :(

[cab395]

Hi everyone, thank you very much for taking the time to check out this thread. I'd like to start by saying how much I love my tank. Although it is considered a nano at only 38 gallons, I am so in love with it. It has become a big and exciting part of my life and I really would hate to tear it down after investing so much time, energy, and money into its wellbeing.

That being said, since this is my first marine aquarium, I am learning a lot of things the hard way. I don't usually complain about this, because I'm learning everyday, but this bryopsis is a different story. It snuck in an an Acan frag and I had no idea what it was when it was introduced. I found out later and was not happy. I tried Kent Tech M and rose my Magnesium up to 1800. It stayed that way for four weeks in which I definitely saw a slowed growth, but it kept growing. Although it looked like it was going to work, at about two weeks in I noticed it seemed to only be slowing the growth, not stopping it. I gave it two weeks more just in case. Today I did my first water change in four weeks, which was hard to do since I'm so used to doing them every week. I tried manual removal with Kent Tech M for a month and it wasn't stopping the onslaught. Nitrate and Phosphate are both at 0ppm.

Removing rock and scrubbing is out of the question because every piece that has bryopsis has a lot of coral on the rock. Does the H2O2 thing work? How would I go about doing that in the tank? Can anyone help at all? Thanks all!

 

[cab395]

Been reading some threads online about this issue. Should I continue to add Kent Tech M until I start to see it die? How high can my Mag level actually go before I should start to get concerned?

 

[slief]

Tech M works but I don't think you went high enough up on the Mg levels. I took mine up to between 2000-2200 and then let it come down on it's own. I raised my Mg levels upwards of 100-200 points per day. I started out strong and slowed it down a bit towards the end. It took me 10 or so days to reach that target. It took care of the bryopsis issue and I had a lot of it too. I also added a foxface at the time who also helped. That said, it doesn't disappear overnight in fact it took a few months for it to completely disappear but after a week of elevated levels, it started turning white and dying off. I haven't seen a sign of that stuff in a couple years now. I didn't loose any corals either but some of my leathers were probably unhappy for a short while.

That said, you tank is small enough that a complete live rock swap wouldn't be all that painful. You could then pick off any of the bryopsis on the corals and follow up with a good Tech M dosing to eradicate any that may have been on your coral.

 

[GroktheCube]

What matters with the Tech M is the change in Mg levels, not absolute Mg levels, since it's something in the Tech M rather than the magnesium itself that does the job.

Dosing the tank with H2O2 does nothing for Bryopsis, IMHO.

Turning all the flow off and applying H2O2 directly with a syringe MIGHT help a little if you can't remove the rock.

FWIW, most coral can tolerate being exposed to air for much longer than the few minutes needed to peroxide the bryopsis to death.

Since you have a smaller tank, you could use two 33g Brutes, drain the tank into them, hit the Bryopsis patches with some H2O2 real quick, and then use a biggish pump to refill. I had to drain my 120 recently to re-level it (crappy shim compressed), and none of the corals were any worse for wear. They had all shed their extra mucous and opened back up again after less than half an hour back under water, after a good 5-15 minutes exposed to air.

Either way, I'd make sure to keep an eye on nutrient levels after the Bryopsis dies off. Very frequently, using selective chemical means to eliminate one type of pest algae leads to another type popping up to take its place if nutrient levels aren't dealt with.

 

[cab395]

Hi guys... Still need help... Desperate help.

I was out of the country for a week. Before I left, I rose my MG levels to 2200 in hopes that when I returned the bryopsis would be gone. Some of it (just barely any) turned white, but the growth has continued while I was gone. One of my prized scolymia flipped over while I was gone too and my tank-sitter didn't see it until it was too late. It's mostly dead with very little left of its beautiful tissue.

Between my scolymia dying and my unending, losing battle with bryopsis, I fear that a tank teardown is imminent unless I can get the bryopsis out of this tank. It's so sad too because my corals all are doing terrifically.

Should I just keep adding Kent Tech M until I see the bryopsis start to die, even though I am already at 2200 ppm MG and have seen very little change?

What else should I do? Keep adding the MG supplement? Try something else? The rocks effected cannot be removed from the tank. PLEASE HELP!!! (I'm desperate ... )

 

[Relativity]

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/fauna-marin-ultra-algea-x.html

 

[slief]

Hi guys... Still need help... Desperate help.

I was out of the country for a week. Before I left, I rose my MG levels to 2200 in hopes that when I returned the bryopsis would be gone. Some of it (just barely any) turned white, but the growth has continued while I was gone. One of my prized scolymia flipped over while I was gone too and my tank-sitter didn't see it until it was too late. It's mostly dead with very little left of its beautiful tissue.

Between my scolymia dying and my unending, losing battle with bryopsis, I fear that a tank teardown is imminent unless I can get the bryopsis out of this tank. It's so sad too because my corals all are doing terrifically.

Should I just keep adding Kent Tech M until I see the bryopsis start to die, even though I am already at 2200 ppm MG and have seen very little change?

What else should I do? Keep adding the MG supplement? Try something else? The rocks effected cannot be removed from the tank. PLEASE HELP!!! (I'm desperate ... )

Give it a week or two at 2200. It should start changing color and dying off. 2200ish for a couple weeks was the magic number for me.

 

[wcarterh]

Food (phosphates) and light. Need to lover your phosphates and reduce lighting/blackout. You starve it, it can't grow.

What are your full tank parameters?

 

[el aguila]

I had one of those problem algae outbreaks. It seemed that the Tech M would make a decent dent, but over time the byropsis would never totally disappear.

I have a theory that whatever is in the Tech M that kills algae precipitates out over time. Even though you are maintaining the Mg high the byropsis dies out till the mystical substance in Tech M weakens and then holds on and rapidly comes back when you lower the Mg.

Another friend mentioned this to me when I was venting my frustrations like you. So I started over again with Tech M. When the byropsis impact seemed to wain, I did a large water change and then ran the Mg back up again. Had to do this twice in a row to get the algae under control.

I never did totally rid the tank of byropsis. However I bought a Quoyi Parrotfish. They are by far the best herbivore fish that I've ever seen. Far better than any tang. Anyway I really don't mind a steady food supply for him; he keeps it well mowed.

 

[ddwatson]

Another option is a Sea Hare. They will rid the tank in about a week of any hair algae. Then your normal algae eaters like blennies since your tank is not big enough for tangs can keep it manageable. Caution this animal only eats algae so before you get one you need to work out an arrangement with you LFS to take them back and rehome them or they will die and if they die they can be toxic to your tank. My LFS keeps them for just these issues and continually rehomes them.

 

[wcarterh]

Or if they are sucked into a powerhead....Seen that post FAR too many times!

 

[benjc]

I see two options; either you manage it or you eliminate it. If you want to manage it, a combination of manual removal plus a fish-based approach (small foxface that could be sold/traded/given away when it gets larger) would be a good way...raising the Mg would help in this. Or, since it is only a 38 gallon tank, buy a 40-breeder during the next Petco $1 sale, get it cycled with new rock, then move all your livestock/corals into it, then remove the sand and rock from the old tank, give it a good cleaning, and move your new rock and old livestock/corals back.

FWIW - I have bryopsis, bubble algae, and turf algae in my tank, but they aren't noticeable unless you look closesly since some hungry tangs and a foxface keep it chewed down.

 

[ghostman]

I won the battle with bryopsis by using the above methods. Tech M above 2200 did work, as did a sea hare. Sea hares do have a tendency to commit suicide via powerhead, but if you can put foam over the powerhead a for a while, it helps. Only one type of sea hare worked for me. It was the mottled brown, fuzzy looking species. It stayed on the rocks. The smooth ones went for the glass. Keep going. You will win. Sorry to hear about your Scoly. I just had my Harlequin Tusk flip over mine as he was looking for a meal.

 

[doctorwhoreefer]

Nobody knows what TechM does exactly along with other magnesium sources. I tried it, killed several things. Just use a light solution of peroxide and tank water to dip things in after manually pulling off bryopsis. (yes, manually, fingers/tweezers; dip to rinse off spores)
Yes, it will take time.

 

[bogg]

Tech m worked for my bryopsis problem
Main thing is patience it will get worse as the bryopsis absorbs the mag then it will turn yellow and die off it took me over a month

 

[philosophile]

I'm not clear why you can't take rocks out and scrub. I've had rather large pieces of aquascape that I've pulled out, covered with coral, that I would scrub. I would place the rock in a Rubbermaid container filled with water that I just pulled out of my tank for my water change, so coral would be less stressed from the scrub. Scrub it under water with a toothbrush, and you could then spot treat things with peroxide or anything else that you want to try.

Of course you should also make sure you cut back on feeding and have appropriate filtration for your bio load, cut back on photo period, etc.

 

[jda]

Before people used Tech M, we pulled as much out by hand and used lots of Mexican Turbo Snails and urchins to eat it. This required patience, too, since both had to eat all of the "easy" algae first. Once it is gone, you need to move the excess snails and urchins off to other homes.

I had a few Magnificent Foxface that would destroy it, but they are way too big for a tank that size.

 

[dkeller_nc]

I'm not clear why you can't take rocks out and scrub.

Unfortunately bryopsis seems to "root" itself in rocks. In my system, I can take a rock out that's infested with it and scrub it clean, treat it with 30% H2O2, rinse it, put it back in the tank, and the bryopsis will re-sprout from the exact same location on the rock within 3-4 days.

It's a really tough nut to crack - Tech M seems to be the only control measure that will actually kill the whole plant, "roots" and all...

 

[GroktheCube]

Tech M does the trick. I use B-ionic salt, and I spent two weeks doing 25% WCs twice a week using Tech M instead of MgSO4. Two weeks was enough to kill it all off, but I ended up having Derbesia come in to take its place. Now I kinda wish I didn't kill it off, because my herbivores at least nibbled at it a little. With the Derbesia, I'm stuck pulling it out by hand. Its also far more irritating to corals than the Bryopsis was.

 

[3FordFamily]

Tech M is working on my dinoflagellates... on a side note