lenver Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 So yesterday I started seeing this hair algae stuff in my rocks and today I'm identifying it as bryopsis, seem to be moving fast, so I'm looking for a solution, the more natural the better, like adding either a fish or other creature that will eat it. Seems they came on the back of some snails I got. Any ideas will be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crendon2003 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Lettuce nudi branch and self removal some big water changed and cutting back a little on feeds. A little more invasive would be slowly increasing your mag with tech m can't remember what ingredient in it but the byropsis are killed by it. And only tech m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 How big is this tank? Is the bryopsis on the rock or is it isolated somewhere? Foxface are the only fish, or really only animal, I've seen eat it regularly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 it's a 150, after researching that's what I was thinking of getting, I have no fish in there and I actually do like how it looks, going to Fish Gallery if they have one I'll probably get it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 They don't have any right now unless they got a shipment since yesterday afternoon. Probably less than 10 saltwater fish in the whole store right now. RCA may have one, but I'm sure that either aqua dome or aquatek has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Cool, thanks. Taking the family to Homeslice so will probably head to aquadome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 have you tested for phosphates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Yes, brand new tank,finished cycling about 3 weeks ago, changed 90% of water about two weeks ago, it has a gfo reactor now, and also got some emerald crabs and they're eating it, so we're good, it looks like it's getting under control. Did a 10% water change, and the GFO and Carbon reactor are online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esacjack Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 so what were the results of your phosphate test? It doesnt sound like bryopsis. Emerald crabs generally don't care for it. Aggressive fresh carbon, minimizing light, and allowing the tank to progress through its initial algae phase, are key in freeing yourself of bryopsis. However, it sounds more like hair algae, turbo snails are known to eat it, and I generally have great luck with them. Is there a possibility of a picture? Are you certain it isnt diatoms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) http://marineplantbook.com/marinebookenteromorpha.htm If it came in with the snails, then it is a macro algae that everyone will eat. It is a major ingrediant in Nori. The inside glass on both narrow sides of 55G lagoon tank is a hybrid turf algae scrubber. I will send some pictures, you decide. Patrick Edited July 17, 2013 by subsea 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Adding pic of the algae, it has this feathery look, and it has about 5-6 strands coming out of each base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Sounds like it's bryopsis to me by that description. Hard to tell by the picture since it's moving. It's a pretty distinct algae group so I don't think it's likely you're wrong in identifying it. I'll be interested to see if it goes away. I've heard of a random emerald crab or turbo eating it but never to the point of getting rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I'll take better pics when I get home, what I can tell you it's very easy to scrub it out from the rock, before the GFO it spread very rapidly seems like it's in check right now, the reason I got the emerald crabs was because I talk to reefcleaners and they told me that emeralds eat some types of bryopsis, and they did eat it, I only have two emeralds right now but I'm thinking on getting a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 First things first. identify what you are dealing with! Here is s agreat site for identification. http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=60 If it is Bryopsis you can deal w/ it, but it takes some work. I can not speak to the Foxface eating it, but it was my understanding there was no livestock that consumed it readily. I had a brakout in my 28 G more than a year ago, and I can say it is easily identifiable. Very feathery. I dealt with it w/ a mulitple attack. I physically removed it by what ever means possible. If you can remove the rock to work on it do it. Scrape the root w/ a knife and hit it w/ Peroxide. If not just keep manually removing it, but do not let the pulled pieces loose in the tank. Also get your Trates and Phates down to help starve them. Introduce competing bacteria like SmartStart to consume their food source. And Use Kent Tech M to raise and hold Mg to 1800 ppm for as long as it takes. Took me three months eradicate it from the tank. Here is pic of some Bryopsis. . Good luck . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Also, hydrogen peroxide can get rid of it in a hurry. If you can remove the rock soak or spray in 3% H2O2. It may take 2 dips, but this method is probably the easiest way of getting rid of it. There's a huge thread on nano reef about it. The tech-m method in that size tank will cost several hundred dollars so it's not really a viable option IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) I really don't know it might be might not be bryopsis, all the pics I see it looks like the branch itself is very rigid, on the one I have it looks more like what you would expect in hair algae, and is easily removable if you just use your fingers in the base. Will try and get a better pic this afternoon, what I can say is that the snails don't even try to eat it and the emeralds when they do get to them looks like they eat most of it all the way to the base. Edited July 17, 2013 by lenver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Also, hydrogen peroxide can get rid of it in a hurry. If you can remove the rock soak or spray in 3% H2O2. It may take 2 dips, but this method is probably the easiest way of getting rid of it. There's a huge thread on nano reef about it. The tech-m method in that size tank will cost several hundred dollars so it's not really a viable option IMO. Big Al's sells Tech M by the gallon @ ~$35 and the reef calculator says it would take about 124 oz. to bring 150 gal from 1350 to 1800ppm should it really doesn't costs $$$ hunfrdreds, as one 128 oz / 1 gal should about do it.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Also, hydrogen peroxide can get rid of it in a hurry. If you can remove the rock soak or spray in 3% H2O2. It may take 2 dips, but this method is probably the easiest way of getting rid of it. There's a huge thread on nano reef about it. The tech-m method in that size tank will cost several hundred dollars so it's not really a viable option IMO. Big Al's sells Tech M by the gallon @ ~$35 and the reef calculator says it would take about 124 oz. to bring 150 gal from 1350 to 1800ppm should it really doesn't costs $$$ hunfrdreds, as one 128 oz / 1 gal should about do it.. I agree but that's assuming you aren't going to do a water change for 3 months. I had a really bad outbreak in my 28. I had to get Mg up to 2100ppm for more than 3 months. Took about 4 gallons of tech-M with routine water changes. Bryopsis then came back a few months after I stopped. The problem with a ton of dying algae is that it's not removing whatever nutrients are in the tank and is releasing what it has stored back into the tank. Sort of a double whammy for water quality in a small tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Also, hydrogen peroxide can get rid of it in a hurry. If you can remove the rock soak or spray in 3% H2O2. It may take 2 dips, but this method is probably the easiest way of getting rid of it. There's a huge thread on nano reef about it. The tech-m method in that size tank will cost several hundred dollars so it's not really a viable option IMO. Big Al's sells Tech M by the gallon @ ~$35 and the reef calculator says it would take about 124 oz. to bring 150 gal from 1350 to 1800ppm should it really doesn't costs $$$ hunfrdreds, as one 128 oz / 1 gal should about do it.. I agree but that's assuming you aren't going to do a water change for 3 months. I had a really bad outbreak in my 28. I had to get Mg up to 2100ppm for more than 3 months. Took about 4 gallons of tech-M with routine water changes. Bryopsis then came back a few months after I stopped. The problem with a ton of dying algae is that it's not removing whatever nutrients are in the tank and is releasing what it has stored back into the tank. Sort of a double whammy for water quality in a small tank. Wow that's a lot of Tech M for a 28. Just running the numbers thru my head looks like 4 gals would treat about 400+ gals at that ratio. For a 28 g that means ~ 16 total gal water changes in 3 months or 25 + gals per week. I stayed w/ the 10% per week water changes, added a Lil Fishy reactor w/ GAC and GFO and went thru 2 - 16 oz bottles of Tech M. in that same period of time. The Bryopsis never returned (knock on wood) with all the other factors previously mentioned. I did finally just trash on small rock that i could never cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Nitrates were getting extremely high due to die off which prompted the water changes. I don't think it was 100% per week but it was a lot. Don't want to completely hijack the thread but in the end the actual cause was a massive nutrient problem from unusable rock. I don't think there was any way to win without cooking the rock completely. Especially in a large tank, small water changes are much less of a problem since you'd be reducing a much smaller amount of Mg per change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) More pics and a video https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=549288841800944¬if_t=video_processed Edited July 17, 2013 by lenver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 My eyes may not be what they used too, but that looks like hair algae to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenver Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Adding 3 more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Oh Yea Now I see it. Bryopsis for sure! So those rocks look bare. I know it's a pain but think about removing them for a peroxide cleaning. Just be sure to rinse in saltwater not fresh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Agreed. The feathery look is pretty hard to remove from my memory. I've never seen it with quite that growth pattern, but there are supposedly something like 100 subspecies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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