Bryopsis wins, I loose, must cook display, have questions...

[Elliott]

Well I give up, after trying Tech M and boosting Mg to 3500ppm only to see it die and come roaring back, it's time to cook all my LR. Since I have foam on the back wall also covered with Bryopsis I must cook the display. My setup consists of a 300g display and a mechanical room 50 ft away in my garage with various tanks for sumps, grow out, water change, etc. My plan is to remove all the coral and fish, transfer them to a 110g with MH lighting and Tunze's for flow in the mechanical room that is part of the system. Then place all my LR in the display and cover it in total darkness for 8 weeks.

So, I have a few questions.
1. What is the best method of removing mushrooms from LR? I have several pieces covered with mushrooms and of course Bryopsis.
2. Some of the sps coral and gorgonians have Bryopsis growing on it, how can I remove the Bryopsis? Or do I need to just cut that part away?
3. Will the Bryopsis spread from the dark display to the lit tank in the garage if it's part of the same system or not necessarily? Remember I have Bryopsis on the foam back wall.
4. Will the dead and dying debris from the cooked LR cause an ammonia spike and possibly wipe out my livestock downstream?
5. Any other ideas to get rid of this vile weed? Maybe I need to cook everything in brute trash cans and find a way to remove the Bryopsis from the foam, or remove the foam? I could also drain the display and spray the foam with vinegar and let it dry out, however would this also cause a dead decaying problem with resulting ammonia spike when I fill it again?

Your input is appreciated.

[tkeracer619]

1. Cut them off with a razor blade or try to get under them with a screw driver.
2. You need to cut that part away.
3. Yes
4. Yes it can and probably will.
5. Spray it with hydrogen peroxide and yes it will not be good for corals.

You will need to setup another system or remove the tank you wish to use to house the livestock during the process.

You will need to wrap the tank with black plastic to keep 100% of light out of it. This needs to be done with the filtration as well.

Do you dose vodka?

[Elliott]

I have dosed vodka in the past but stopped about 2 months ago. I was hoping to avoid setting up a complete redundant system but I guess its unavoidable.

[tkeracer619]

Why did you stop the vodka?

[Elliott]

after doing vodka for several months I had a bad outbreak of cyano, went away after discontinuing vodka, my guess is it provided a carbon source for the cyano

[Elliott]

by the way, my nitrates and phosphates are zero or very close to zero, using siefert nitrate test kit and hanna phosphate meter, Bryopsis keeps on going!

[tkeracer619]

Just a thought but a Panworld 250ps provides about 85% of the minimum manufacturer recommended flow for your model skimmer.

Is it producing well? How long has the tank been set up? Nitrates and phophates? Do you run GFO in a reactor and how often do you change it? If so what size is the reactor. Do you run carbon?

[Elliott]

skimmer runs at around 40 on each of the flow meters for the becketts, tank has been setup for 2 1/2 years with no real issues, I run carbon and change out every few weeks, ozone at 200mg/hr ORP ave. 400, UV 120 watts at flow of 200g/hr through it and lanthanum chloride through a pool DE filter, no GFO.

btw, Panworld 250 is equivalent to Iwaki 100, the recommended pump for the Barr 5220 according to their website

[tkeracer619]

40 is perfect.

The reason you have no phosphates is that bryopsis is a very effective exporter.

IME I would not cook the tank as it sounds like it is going to be a pain. I would use tech m to keep the mag up and strip the water with an aggressive GFO/Carbon regime.

I have had the best success with hitting tanks hard with GFO. It will be used up fast at first while there is algae present. Manually removing, heavy gfo/carbon use, and tech m is the route to go. Replace the media daily as it will exhaust fast as the bryopsis dies.

All of my rock was loaded with phosphates when i got it used. I have battled every algae known to reefers. I beet it, so can you.

[Elliott]

my Mg has been at 3500ppm for the past few weeks, I have dosed 1 gallon of tech M per day and have gone through 20 gallons of Tech M, that's $30/day

however I'm game for anything that will avoid a complete tank breakdown and may just try your suggestion!

[Elliott]

did you skim wet? did you do large water changes? these will deplete Mg and require more Tech M supplementation

[Mathews Z7]

FWIW i cooked some rock one time for over 6 months and when i put it back in a tank all the nubs where i had cut shrooms off came back as did GSP and Zoa's that i didn't even bother trying to take off

[Elliott]

Originally Posted by Mathews Z7

FWIW i cooked some rock one time for over 6 months and when i put it back in a tank all the nubs where i had cut shrooms off came back as did GSP and Zoa's that i didn't even bother trying to take off

wow, that makes me wonder if Bryopsis can come back!

[Mathews Z7]

well the reason i cooked it for so long was to rid them of Mejano's and unfortunately they came back. i was finally able to win the battle but you'd hate to know how.............

[goochesfish]

how do you cook live rock? And how often should gfo be changed if you're trying to get rid of algae?

[Elliott]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I have had the best success with hitting tanks hard with GFO. It will be used up fast at first while there is algae present. Manually removing, heavy gfo/carbon use, and tech m is the route to go. Replace the media daily as it will exhaust fast as the bryopsis dies.

this rings true to me, I believe the Bryopsis is loaded with phosphates, as it dies it releases phosphates only to promote more growth, my phosphates goes up with each die off as measures with my hanna meter

[romanr]

I would buy a bucket of Kent Phosphate Sponge. It is extremely effective (more than GFO) but not designed for full-time use. I would use the recommended amount for the tank size maybe up to twice the recommended amount and change it out daily for about 2 weeks. I know it sounds like a pain in the ars but it still sounds better than a tear down and cook down. Just my 2 cents. BTW, I would run the media in a canister or some other no bypass filter. You'll want something that will turn over a good bit of water.

[tkeracer619]

Watch ca/dkh when you start. Sometimes it swings. Cut the lights off for 3 days as well. Hopefully you can weaken the algae so that it is easier to remove. The more you remove the faster it will die =]

[Elliott]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Watch ca/dkh when you start. Sometimes it swings. Cut the lights off for 3 days as well. Hopefully you can weaken the algae so that it is easier to remove. The more you remove the faster it will die =]

have you tried cycling the iights 3 days on and 3 days off? The problem is both the algae and corals are dependent on light

[tkeracer619]

Ive run my tank wrapped in black plastic for 7 days with no food or light.

Full of sps, clams, lps, anemones, a leather, and some zoanthids.

I would just do it once. Not cycle it. You can shorten the photo period.

[Elliott]

when the Bryopsis first started I turned off the lights for 3 days and covered the tank with blankets, it worked quite well and all signs of algae were gone, but it came back after a week or so, then I repeated the 3 days of darkness but this time nothing happened, its as if the Bryopsis becomes tolerant of no light, it has also apparently become tolerant of Tech M

[goochesfish]

do you still feed the fish when you go dark?

[Elliott]

Originally Posted by goochesfish

do you still feed the fish when you go dark?

no I don't

[teesquare]

There is a thread here on RC - do a search - and you WILL find an answer that will help you rid the tank of Bryopsis.
I have dealt with a bad outbreak, and feel your pain.

Kent Tech M Magnesion @ 1ml. per gallon of system volume per day will knock it out.

I have done this - and not lost a single animal.

Give that a shot!
T

[Elliott]

Originally Posted by teesquare

There is a thread here on RC - do a search - and you WILL find an answer that will help you rid the tank of Bryopsis.
I have dealt with a bad outbreak, and feel your pain.

Kent Tech M Magnesion @ 1ml. per gallon of system volume per day will knock it out.

I have done this - and not lost a single animal.

Give that a shot!
T

I ran my Mg up to 3500ppm with Tech M, watched the Bryopsis die, only to see it come roaring back a week later