Besareso Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 I am in need of a couple of lettuce nudibranch before Bryopsis takes over my whole live rock. I can buy the nudibranch or borrow them and then give them back. I promise they will be well kept, alive and healthy as they eat all of my bryopsis algae. Once the algae is gone I will give them back. Or if you want to sell that is OK too. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 You might want to shoot a message to member "giveme_bryopsis" she has a few slugs and is always looking for bryopsis. Not sure about the selling/loaning of slug, but she's the only one I know who keeps them regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Foxface will usually eat it as well if your tank isn't too small. In most situations that I have seen it is essentially impossible to permanently get rid of if you can't keep your nutrients in control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I agree with Jestep. Bryopsis is one of the two macroalgae that are near impossible to entirely eradicate. IME you can either stock utility or toss out the sand and cook your rock in darkness for a few months. Cooking isn't guaranteed to work because spores may lay dormant in the rock. Stocking utility will keep the Bryopsis low, but won't completely eliminate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besareso Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 ****... I have never had bryopsis until now. It's starting to cover all of my rocks. What are the causes of this algae? My aquarium is a 29 gallon biocube and I have some $ chalices in there. I heard kent marine Mg is a good way to get rid of it. Also, wouldn't boiling my rocks kill all the beneficial bacteria? I'm not interested in farming bryopsis... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 By "cooking" I mean recuring. It's where you put your cured live rock in the dark until all of the nuisance algae has died. It normally takes 1-2 months. During that time you'll still skim and provide circulation, but you won't provide light. Without nutrients and light all of the algae will die, leaving you with clean live rock. Someone might choose to use this method if they have infestations of GHA, Bryopsis, Aiptasia, Clove Polyps, GSP, Zoa/Palys or Xenia, but want to keep their rocks. It doesn't work for Valonia sp. because the spore can lie dormant for several months. Some people use muric acid to kill everything on the rocks and return them to base rock. Acid bath will kill all spores and everything living in the rock. Afterwards you cure the rocks in freshwater for 2-4 weeks, changing the water completely every week, until there is no detectable ammonia. After that some people dry them in the sun, but I think it's unnecessary since the acid will kill everything. Both methods would work, but I think they're extreme for you. I would probably just stock active grazers and let them eat it up. They won't eradicate it, but they will keep it from getting out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 ****... I have never had bryopsis until now. It's starting to cover all of my rocks. What are the causes of this algae? My aquarium is a 29 gallon biocube and I have some $ chalices in there. I heard kent marine Mg is a good way to get rid of it. Also, wouldn't boiling my rocks kill all the beneficial bacteria? I'm not interested in farming bryopsis... It probably came in on a frag or part of the skeleton of a coral. It would only take a few viable cells for it to move from one tank to another. It's a very resilient algae. There's also numerous sub species, so the actual name bryopsis is ambiguous. Some varieties are less malignant than others and the palatability is different between types as well. Here's how the magnesium works, it's not any specific magnesium. Originally it was assumed that tech-m was the only type of Mg supplement that could treat it because people tried other brands and they had no effect on it. What the tech-m had that the other didn't is both MgCl and MgSO4, the 2 types of Mg supplements that are used for aquariums. Basically, neither are effective on their own but a combined Mg supplement can eliminate it when the tank is subjected to high levels for an extended period of time. BRS is by far the cheapest way I've seen to get these supplements, you can get both types of Mg in a pre portioned gallon size package. - http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/2-part-magnesium-mix-aquarium-supplement.html Personally, I no longer recommend this method because it can get expensive, and when the bryopsis dies, those nutrients are released back into the tank. Without a very aggressive water change schedule at the same time as treatment, it can make a huge mess in a small tank. It's not permanent in my experience either. Whether it be a few weeks or months, it usually comes back. The other chemical option which is cheap and works well is hydrogen peroxide. You can completely dip your rocks in a 50/50 diluted solution without killing most coral, or drain the tank and using a spray bottle, spray the bryopsis area directly with undiluted 3% H2O2. The amount of H2O2 being used isn't going to harm anything else so you can safely refill the tank without having to remove it. It often takes multiple attempts but there are people who have apparently been successful in permanently killing this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Agreed, if you can take the rock out, hydrogen peroxide is your friend. I've even seen it sold at Walgreens in a spray bottle form so even better. Just make sure you don't spray any SPS with the peroxide as they aren't big fans of it. Zoas and LPS I have found are generally more tolerant of it, even directly sprayed. For those tanks where you can't remove the rocks, Tech M will work, just remove as much as possible manually before doing so. I've tried the BRS mix with both forms of Mg supplement and it wasn't effective for me. Other's mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besareso Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thank you so much for the information guys. I might try the "cooking" method. Also, I will post some pictures of the algae in a couple of days. I cut it back but it grows very rapidly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 If you're talking about the 34g tank, then it would be faster and easier to use the peroxide. Most people don't like staring at an empty tank for two months. You won't be able to use it on your sand so you'll have to remove that manually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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