Algal genus Spotlight: Bryopsis "hair algae" - Page 13

bobamike · 06/26/2013, 06:49 AM

hello guys and gals,
I just wanted to post my experience with bryopsis algae.I had A bad problem with it about 3 months ago,and I researched all the possible solutions.I tried lettuce nudibranches and they didnt work,manual removal,didnt work.so I read up on the magnesium method and I dosed my tank with 16 oz.to raise my mag. from 1400pm to 1500pm in 24 hrs. and within 24 hours of dosing the bryopsis was 90% gone and over the next few days it all went away.and I havent seen it since.the only side effect was some bleaching of my red pipe organ,bubble tip anenome,and green montiporia,everything survived and has slowly colored back up.but if I had to do it again,I would.

Turbomesodon · 08/22/2013, 02:42 PM

I finally won my battle against Briopsis.

How? Dunno exactly. I overdose magnessium, put a zeolith media in my sump, 20% of water changes a week, no feeding and i put a Dolabellea auricola.

Dont know wxactly what removed my Briopsis but....happy to get rid of that nuisance.

SantaMonica · 10/01/2013, 08:43 PM

Yay!

(except for the no-feeding part)

nichthyes · 04/13/2014, 12:21 PM

I hope you guys can help me! I have been battling this shtuff for 9 months now, and I just realized it was bryopsis and not GHA: my PO4s and NO4s have been 0 all along and I have been stumped! I jus tested my Mg twice and it was 1800 ppm, and I don't know how long its been that high. Now I'm REALLY stumped - so I'm gonna try the Kent's Tech-M and hope for the best. Any other suggestions?? I'm befuddled

SantaMonica · 04/13/2014, 03:27 PM

Phosphate flow out of rocks

Many people, when they get their nutrients low for the first time, get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate have gone lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does).

Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window.

Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as the scrubber. As the scrubber pulls phosphate out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water into the scrubber. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow.

This flow causes an interesting thing to happen. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae was mysteriously being added to your tank. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks:

1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year.

2. Your filters have recently started to work well, or you made them stronger.

3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time.

4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top.

5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much.

Many people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough it does if you keep nutrients low enough in the water. How long does it continue? For 2 months to a year, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how much feeding you do, and how strong your filters are. But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.

nichthyes · 04/14/2014, 10:21 AM

I understand simple diffusion, thanks for that, but thats not the problem. Phosphates bind to CaCO3 skeletons of dead corals and aragonite liverock, of which I have very little of in my system. Bryopsis does not feed on NO3 and PO4s, because those have both been ZERO in my tank for this whole battle, and if it was leaking from the rock there would definitely be SOME traceable amount in the water. I read that high Mg levels are toxic to Bryopsis, however my Mg is thru the roof so hence my confusion.

Wanna give the Kent's Tech-M method a shot, most success stories I've read point to that treatment. Anybody have experience with this supplement?

nichthyes · 05/12/2014, 08:40 PM

Right before my most recent water change my Mg was over 1600 ppm! I still can't figure this out . . .

asmodyus · 05/26/2014, 06:18 PM

Hey guys is this bryopsis algae I having a problem with it and I got 2 sea hares and they died with 3 to 4 days and never touched the hair algae I think they starved not sure but anyways is this it?

captainfish · 09/22/2014, 11:35 AM

That looks more like hair algae than the bryopsis I had in my tank. Mine was about 4-5 inches long with a feathery fern like frond. It was actually quite beautiful except for the fact that it was completely over-running the tank. Here's a link to my bryopsis story on how I got rid of it. The short version: I used Continuum bacter clean-M.

http://hioceanfront.com/bryopsis-alg...and-treatment/

Slm222 · 09/26/2014, 05:44 PM

Can anyone tell if this is bryopsis? It has a similar look to fern and each tuft seems to attach to a single point.

photo 49BDA1A7-4E7E-4D32-BAA9-06B403315EF2.jpg

photo DDDB5A00-669F-4A46-8358-8F00FBFAFFB0.jpg

photo 27CAFFF0-7DB7-4487-987C-0D61E8B51426.jpg

Slm222 · 09/26/2014, 07:34 PM

For the most part the algae in question is the back glass and black overflows

Slm222 · 09/26/2014, 07:35 PM

Oh ya also, I'm asking for if on the taller algae not the short stuff

Bryopsis · 10/14/2014, 08:25 AM

Just in case anyone is attempting eradication, tried the tech m thing recently, slowed growth, stressed stuff, that was it.

Do a 1:1 peroxide(3%) to tank water mix, you can dip anything for 15 seconds. Might have to repeat 5-10 times but it works. Be sure to tweezer off whatever you can, it helps a lot.

(just my experience)

alvinxszeto · 03/12/2015, 01:22 AM

Just wanted to check if mine is the start of bryopsis? Thanks!

MDogg44 · 04/26/2015, 11:38 AM

Is this Bryopsis?

Biggestfish · 04/11/2016, 06:04 PM

I've been battling this stuff for a year. I had it beat with tech m.. Did a major water change stopped dosing and it came back even worse. I've scrubbed it off my rocks and pumps weekly. Dosing tech m over 3 months now and I'm not getting any where now. Im about to give up. I'm about to do a 50% water change right now. But treat the new water with tech m this time. I'm now fighting red slime also. I haven't had that in a few years.

08/22/2013, 02:42 PM	#302
Turbomesodon Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Madrid Posts: 18	I won! I finally won my battle against Briopsis. How? Dunno exactly. I overdose magnessium, put a zeolith media in my sump, 20% of water changes a week, no feeding and i put a Dolabellea auricola. Dont know wxactly what removed my Briopsis but....happy to get rid of that nuisance.

10/01/2013, 08:43 PM	#303
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Yay! (except for the no-feeding part) __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

06/26/2013, 06:49 AM	#301
bobamike Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 117	hello guys and gals, I just wanted to post my experience with bryopsis algae.I had A bad problem with it about 3 months ago,and I researched all the possible solutions.I tried lettuce nudibranches and they didnt work,manual removal,didnt work.so I read up on the magnesium method and I dosed my tank with 16 oz.to raise my mag. from 1400pm to 1500pm in 24 hrs. and within 24 hours of dosing the bryopsis was 90% gone and over the next few days it all went away.and I havent seen it since.the only side effect was some bleaching of my red pipe organ,bubble tip anenome,and green montiporia,everything survived and has slowly colored back up.but if I had to do it again,I would.

04/13/2014, 12:21 PM	#304
nichthyes Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 58	I hope you guys can help me! I have been battling this shtuff for 9 months now, and I just realized it was bryopsis and not GHA: my PO4s and NO4s have been 0 all along and I have been stumped! I jus tested my Mg twice and it was 1800 ppm, and I don't know how long its been that high. Now I'm REALLY stumped - so I'm gonna try the Kent's Tech-M and hope for the best. Any other suggestions?? I'm befuddled

04/13/2014, 03:27 PM	#305
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Phosphate flow out of rocks Many people, when they get their nutrients low for the first time, get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate have gone lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does). Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window. Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as the scrubber. As the scrubber pulls phosphate out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water into the scrubber. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow. This flow causes an interesting thing to happen. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae was mysteriously being added to your tank. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks: 1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year. 2. Your filters have recently started to work well, or you made them stronger. 3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time. 4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top. 5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much. Many people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough it does if you keep nutrients low enough in the water. How long does it continue? For 2 months to a year, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how much feeding you do, and how strong your filters are. But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.

04/14/2014, 10:21 AM	#306
nichthyes Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 58	I understand simple diffusion, thanks for that, but thats not the problem. Phosphates bind to CaCO3 skeletons of dead corals and aragonite liverock, of which I have very little of in my system. Bryopsis does not feed on NO3 and PO4s, because those have both been ZERO in my tank for this whole battle, and if it was leaking from the rock there would definitely be SOME traceable amount in the water. I read that high Mg levels are toxic to Bryopsis, however my Mg is thru the roof so hence my confusion. Wanna give the Kent's Tech-M method a shot, most success stories I've read point to that treatment. Anybody have experience with this supplement?

05/12/2014, 08:40 PM	#307
nichthyes Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 58	Right before my most recent water change my Mg was over 1600 ppm! I still can't figure this out . . .

05/26/2014, 06:18 PM	#308
asmodyus Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Largo/Bellair Florida Posts: 1,131	Hey guys is this bryopsis algae I having a problem with it and I got 2 sea hares and they died with 3 to 4 days and never touched the hair algae I think they starved not sure but anyways is this it?

09/22/2014, 11:35 AM	#309
captainfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Bellingham WA Posts: 3	That looks more like hair algae than the bryopsis I had in my tank. Mine was about 4-5 inches long with a feathery fern like frond. It was actually quite beautiful except for the fact that it was completely over-running the tank. Here's a link to my bryopsis story on how I got rid of it. The short version: I used Continuum bacter clean-M. http://hioceanfront.com/bryopsis-alg...and-treatment/

09/26/2014, 05:44 PM	#310
Slm222 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 19	Can anyone tell if this is bryopsis? It has a similar look to fern and each tuft seems to attach to a single point.

09/26/2014, 07:34 PM	#311
Slm222 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 19	For the most part the algae in question is the back glass and black overflows

09/26/2014, 07:35 PM	#312
Slm222 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 19	Oh ya also, I'm asking for if on the taller algae not the short stuff

10/14/2014, 08:25 AM	#313
Bryopsis Registered Member. Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 275	Just in case anyone is attempting eradication, tried the tech m thing recently, slowed growth, stressed stuff, that was it. Do a 1:1 peroxide(3%) to tank water mix, you can dip anything for 15 seconds. Might have to repeat 5-10 times but it works. Be sure to tweezer off whatever you can, it helps a lot. (just my experience)

03/12/2015, 01:22 AM	#314
alvinxszeto Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: La Puente, CA Posts: 14	Just wanted to check if mine is the start of bryopsis? Thanks!

04/11/2016, 06:04 PM	#316
Biggestfish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Downriver, Mi Posts: 18	I've been battling this stuff for a year. I had it beat with tech m.. Did a major water change stopped dosing and it came back even worse. I've scrubbed it off my rocks and pumps weekly. Dosing tech m over 3 months now and I'm not getting any where now. Im about to give up. I'm about to do a 50% water change right now. But treat the new water with tech m this time. I'm now fighting red slime also. I haven't had that in a few years.