Bryopsis? Please tell me it isn't.

Spyderturbo007 · 06/23/2013, 12:04 PM

I'm hoping this isn't what I think it is.....

All pictures are thumbnails and can be expanded.

TimeConsumer · 06/23/2013, 01:47 PM

The first picture looks like byropsis, the second picture looks almost like feather caulerpa. Does it have runners?

If it is byropsis, it's not hard to fix. Use Kent Tech M (don't know why, but that's the brand that works) to raise your magnesium to 1600ppm until the byropsis melts away and dies. Problem solved. You can also pull out the rocks and squirt them with some hydrogen peroxide on the algae and let it bubble for a minute or two. Then put the rock back in the tank.

cloak · 06/23/2013, 02:45 PM

Check this out.

http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.ph...d=54&Itemid=60

Spyderturbo007 · 06/23/2013, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimeConsumer

The first picture looks like byropsis, the second picture looks almost like feather caulerpa. Does it have runners?

If it is byropsis, it's not hard to fix. Use Kent Tech M (don't know why, but that's the brand that works) to raise your magnesium to 1600ppm until the byropsis melts away and dies. Problem solved. You can also pull out the rocks and squirt them with some hydrogen peroxide on the algae and let it bubble for a minute or two. Then put the rock back in the tank.

I'm not sure what you mean by a runner?

Tickle · 06/23/2013, 05:46 PM

1st one does look like the big B. I had it once from some pumps I bought and never cleaned very well before I added them. I wound up tearing that tank down. Get it while its in its infancy. I tried tech M with no avail. Then I tried hydrogen peroxide and it seemed to work but I couldn't get a grasp. Good luck.

Lateralus · 06/23/2013, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderturbo007

I'm not sure what you mean by a runner?

Runners are the root system that caulerpa produces. The stalk will spread along the rock and the roots then anchor down into the rock.

wii64brawl · 06/23/2013, 06:09 PM

If you want to get something cool to combat it, get some lettuce slugs. They love them some bryopsis.

Spyderturbo007 · 06/24/2013, 07:37 AM

I think I got some better pictures. Hopefully these help with the identification. I'm trying to hit this while it's relatively new. I was planning on picking up the tech m after work today and want to be sure before I start messing with my parameters.

dkeller_nc · 06/24/2013, 08:22 AM

Definitely looks like Bryopsis to me. Personally, I wouldn't freak out. I've never had a tank that was absolutely free of nuisance algae, regardless of whether the nuisance flavor was Bryopsis, Valonia, or invasive Caulerpa Racemosa.

Just buy a 7' length of silicone (the "silicone" is important - clear vinyl doesn't do the trick) tubing to use as your siphon/water change hose. Start a siphon, put the opening of the tube on your algae patch, then pinch the end and pull. Beats an "algaevac" any day.

While I've also had luck with high Mg concentrations reducing Bryopsis algae, nutrient control is the essential piece. Without it, high mg, water changes, algaevacs or anything else is a temporary victory.

In my case, a large part of the nutrient control was kalkwasser as make-up water, and nitrate control via carbon dosing (I combine the two by using slightly acidified water to make up the kalkwasser).

gone fishin · 06/24/2013, 08:42 AM

Looks like it to me. They can be tough to get rid of due to their "Roots" they can really anchor down into crevices. If you do not get all of it it will grow back.

It does not look like you have anything else on the rock. I may take an extreme approach but I would take the rock out and burn the bryopsis off then rinse it and put back in. I have done this before with bryopsis and aiptasia with success.

Spyderturbo007 · 06/24/2013, 09:35 AM

Unfortunately, it would be extremely difficult for me to remove those rocks. I was going to try and spot treat with H2O2, but I have a cleaner shrimp and I've read that the addition of H2O2 would quickly kill him. I'm not going to do that to my little buddy that makes sure my arm is spotless every time I need to put my hand in the tank.

t00lfan · 06/24/2013, 12:29 PM

That stuff is a pain...I remember my days before I was able to get a tang to keep stuff like that down. Lots of toothbrushing and even then that stuff can grow back if you dont get down to the root. I think I even Kalk pasted a few holes just to get it to stop growing. I feel your pain.

TimeConsumer · 06/24/2013, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t00lfan

That stuff is a pain...I remember my days before I was able to get a tang to keep stuff like that down. Lots of toothbrushing and even then that stuff can grow back if you dont get down to the root. I think I even Kalk pasted a few holes just to get it to stop growing. I feel your pain.

I hear you on the tang part. I took my blue tang out of my 75g recently to move her to her new 800g home. Within a week of her being gone suddenly I had feather caulerpa, halimeda, neomersis, and green turf algae start growing out of nowhere. I had never seen it before because my tang never let it grow big enough to see. My mimic tang comes out of QT on Saturday and better get to work quick.

Spyderturbo007 · 06/24/2013, 02:01 PM

My tang won't touch the stuff. He wants to eat everything but the small amount of nuisance algae I have in the tank. Goes right for his seaweed every other day, but won't touch the stuff I need eaten.

I'm just trying to get a handle on this before it becomes an outbreak. I suspect it's going to be an easy fight.

t00lfan · 06/24/2013, 02:13 PM

No tang will touch it unless it is cut down...what kind of tang?

Spyderturbo007 · 06/24/2013, 04:36 PM

He is a 2 Spot Bristletooth.

msnwld · 06/24/2013, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimeConsumer

I hear you on the tang part. I took my blue tang out of my 75g recently to move her to her new 800g home. Within a week of her being gone suddenly I had feather caulerpa, halimeda, neomersis, and green turf algae start growing out of nowhere. I had never seen it before because my tang never let it grow big enough to see. My mimic tang comes out of QT on Saturday and better get to work quick.

Holy sh#t 800 is a massive tank. I couldn't imagine looking into that every night. Dont even want to know the bill from your live rock ...

TimeConsumer · 06/24/2013, 07:38 PM

Lol, the 800g doesn't belong to me. Just where my tang was moved to.

Spyderturbo007 · 07/08/2013, 12:16 PM

Well, I started bumping up my Magnesium with some Tech-M from Kent. It's up to about 1640ppm and the Bryopsis is starting to die off and recede. Most of what was on the rock is gone, with just a faint bit left. I have some growing on my overflow, but that is thinning out significantly. I figure I'll give it a little more time and hope it all dies.

One of the side effects of the high Magnesium is that my Acans and some of the Zoanthids don't seem to like the higher concentration. The Acans now have an unusual color to them, almost like someone artifically inflated the brightness on your television.

Hopefully it doesn't do any damage, because I'll need to leave it like this for awhile longer.

For future reference, I started at a baseline concentration of 1,340ppm and raised it ~100ppm everyday for three days, starting 6/24/13. As of yesterday (7/7/13), almost everything on the rock is gone and about half of what was on the overflow is gone. So it does take some time for it to die.

06/23/2013, 12:04 PM	#1
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Bryopsis? Please tell me it isn't. I'm hoping this isn't what I think it is..... All pictures are thumbnails and can be expanded.

06/23/2013, 01:47 PM	#2
TimeConsumer Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Orleans, La Posts: 1,919	The first picture looks like byropsis, the second picture looks almost like feather caulerpa. Does it have runners? If it is byropsis, it's not hard to fix. Use Kent Tech M (don't know why, but that's the brand that works) to raise your magnesium to 1600ppm until the byropsis melts away and dies. Problem solved. You can also pull out the rocks and squirt them with some hydrogen peroxide on the algae and let it bubble for a minute or two. Then put the rock back in the tank. __________________ Steve - Retired from reefing, for now.

06/23/2013, 05:46 PM	#5
Tickle Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Pardeeville Wi Posts: 272	1st one does look like the big B. I had it once from some pumps I bought and never cleaned very well before I added them. I wound up tearing that tank down. Get it while its in its infancy. I tried tech M with no avail. Then I tried hydrogen peroxide and it seemed to work but I couldn't get a grasp. Good luck. __________________ 125 in wall with end overflow, 50&100 rubbermaid basement sump, 2x250 20k halides, 200+ of live rock, aqua C ev180 skimmer w/mag 9.5, Apex AquaController Current Tank Info: 20L custom AIO, Kessil A150, Budget build

06/24/2013, 08:42 AM	#10
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	Looks like it to me. They can be tough to get rid of due to their "Roots" they can really anchor down into crevices. If you do not get all of it it will grow back. It does not look like you have anything else on the rock. I may take an extreme approach but I would take the rock out and burn the bryopsis off then rinse it and put back in. I have done this before with bryopsis and aiptasia with success. __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

06/24/2013, 02:13 PM	#15
t00lfan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 149	No tang will touch it unless it is cut down...what kind of tang? __________________ Ocellaris are clowns, and so are people. Current Tank Info: 90 gal. mixed reef tank (SPS, softies, LPS,3 Clams)with 10 gallon fuge and 30 gallon sump. Lighting 2 250 MH 20k radiums with 4 t5 HO ATI(1actinic 1purple and blueplus)

06/23/2013, 02:45 PM	#3
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	Check this out. http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.ph...d=54&Itemid=60

06/23/2013, 06:09 PM	#7
wii64brawl Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 364	If you want to get something cool to combat it, get some lettuce slugs. They love them some bryopsis.

06/24/2013, 07:37 AM	#8
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	I think I got some better pictures. Hopefully these help with the identification. I'm trying to hit this while it's relatively new. I was planning on picking up the tech m after work today and want to be sure before I start messing with my parameters.

06/24/2013, 08:22 AM	#9
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	Definitely looks like Bryopsis to me. Personally, I wouldn't freak out. I've never had a tank that was absolutely free of nuisance algae, regardless of whether the nuisance flavor was Bryopsis, Valonia, or invasive Caulerpa Racemosa. Just buy a 7' length of *silicone* (the "silicone" is important - clear vinyl doesn't do the trick) tubing to use as your siphon/water change hose. Start a siphon, put the opening of the tube on your algae patch, then pinch the end and pull. Beats an "algaevac" any day. While I've also had luck with high Mg concentrations reducing Bryopsis algae, nutrient control is the essential piece. Without it, high mg, water changes, algaevacs or anything else is a temporary victory. In my case, a large part of the nutrient control was kalkwasser as make-up water, and nitrate control via carbon dosing (I combine the two by using slightly acidified water to make up the kalkwasser).

06/24/2013, 09:35 AM	#11
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Unfortunately, it would be extremely difficult for me to remove those rocks. I was going to try and spot treat with H2O2, but I have a cleaner shrimp and I've read that the addition of H2O2 would quickly kill him. I'm not going to do that to my little buddy that makes sure my arm is spotless every time I need to put my hand in the tank.

06/24/2013, 12:29 PM	#12
t00lfan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 149	That stuff is a pain...I remember my days before I was able to get a tang to keep stuff like that down. Lots of toothbrushing and even then that stuff can grow back if you dont get down to the root. I think I even Kalk pasted a few holes just to get it to stop growing. I feel your pain.

06/24/2013, 02:01 PM	#14
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	My tang won't touch the stuff. He wants to eat everything but the small amount of nuisance algae I have in the tank. Goes right for his seaweed every other day, but won't touch the stuff I need eaten. I'm just trying to get a handle on this before it becomes an outbreak. I suspect it's going to be an easy fight.

06/24/2013, 04:36 PM	#16
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	He is a 2 Spot Bristletooth.

06/24/2013, 07:38 PM	#18
TimeConsumer Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Orleans, La Posts: 1,919	Lol, the 800g doesn't belong to me. Just where my tang was moved to. __________________ Steve - Retired from reefing, for now.

07/08/2013, 12:16 PM	#19
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Well, I started bumping up my Magnesium with some Tech-M from Kent. It's up to about 1640ppm and the Bryopsis is starting to die off and recede. Most of what was on the rock is gone, with just a faint bit left. I have some growing on my overflow, but that is thinning out significantly. I figure I'll give it a little more time and hope it all dies. One of the side effects of the high Magnesium is that my Acans and some of the Zoanthids don't seem to like the higher concentration. The Acans now have an unusual color to them, almost like someone artifically inflated the brightness on your television. Hopefully it doesn't do any damage, because I'll need to leave it like this for awhile longer. For future reference, I started at a baseline concentration of 1,340ppm and raised it ~100ppm everyday for three days, starting 6/24/13. As of yesterday (7/7/13), almost everything on the rock is gone and about half of what was on the overflow is gone. So it does take some time for it to die.