Bryopsis Algae

[chromiumlux]

Well, I am sure you all have heard this before, but I am going to post it up for feedback anyway. I have been visited by Bryopsis algae. I noticed it abour 3 weeks ago, and before I knew it this stuff exploded into existence in my tank. I would like to hear from those that have battled this scourge and succeeded or are currently fighting with this nuisance. What can be done to eradicate Bryopsis and what methods have you all found to be successful?
So far, these are the methods I am currently using:

Higher volume of water changes
Skimming like crazy
cheato in the sump
Phosban reactor in line with carbon reactor
lowered feeding amounts to fish
slowly raising alk and mag

It has been suggested to use Tech-M by several friends. What would be best ?, and should I try to manually remove this algae? I recently posted that my frags will not be available at the swap.
I would appreciate any and all feedback
Thanks,
Andy

[marinelife]

I had it years ago in my 180, I could never get rid of it. It stayed in the tank for a few years then just went away.

I tried several fish and chemicals but nothing worked.
I have read that higher Alk will kill it.

[chromiumlux]

Here is a good link that is on RC. http://www.reefcentral.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1113109

[chromiumlux]

148714861485

This is what this rock looks like. Covered with BA and Bryopsis. looks like a tear down coming soon.

[chromiumlux]

We have discussed this, and I cant figure out what is feeding this plague! Had to be the rock. There has to be something in this pukani rock, or it was contaminated at the source. I cured this rock for over a month and a half, just like all the other rock I have cured in the past for other tanks. I placed it in the tank and ran it for about 2 weeks before adding the sand, then I lit the tank and started to move corals and rock over slowly. All the while doing water changes. Seems like as soon as the tank was lit it popped into existence. I have never had this happen on any other tank I have set up. So, it remains a mystery at this point. I have a gut feeling there is something in the rock that is fueling this crap!!!

[rayviv]

If rock was cured it should not be source.
That looks like what I have still in my 30g but have gotten rid of in the 180g. In the 180g we have raised the ALK around 10 and algae just seemed to disappear over several weeks. While in the 30g tank I have not done anything and algae has multiplied along w/BA.
Also reduced feeding.(Fish)

How do you tell the difference between hair algae and bryopsis?

[chromiumlux]

Thanks Ray, Bryopsis has fronds at the tips.

[rayviv]

thanks.

[starfishprime]

I have some frags that some member gave away for free due to bryopsis algae. I've been experimenting with different methods in a QT tank. The original owner of the frags mentioned that he had mild success with higher magnesium levels. However, he did note that initially he could see a decrease in the algae-after a while it seemed like the algae built a tolerance for it. A few people have also suggested vodka dosing, no experience there though so you may look into it. What I am doing now is spot bleaching the parts on the frags that I can, making sure that I do a very efficient rinse with several bowls. For the frags that its not working on, I am re-propagating them onto clean new frags. It has definitely turned into quite the project, seeming to be completely independent of nutrients in the water. A very tough fight. Good Luck!

[chromiumlux]

Well, I removed all the infested rock for starters. I have removed the filter socks. I removed the carbon and phos reactors. Have been growing mass cheato in the 40 breeder which goes in the fuge today to add to what is aleady existing. Doing another water change Saturday and have been skimming semi-wet. So far the tank looks great! I am going to to hold off on chemical additions for a bit to see what my true readings will be with just water changes over the next few weeks. As I am not real worried right now about growth of corals, I will be taking a more conservative approach trying to bring everything back in line. The new LED lighting seems to be helping too.

[chromiumlux]

Well, let's revamp this year old thread.

Once again the Bryopsis Fairy has reared her ugly face!!! Not sure how it came back, but it has run amuck in my tank again. Fun! I have already removed 3 rocks and it looks like I will be removing 4 more. Not going to get into the how, why, and where it came from issues this time. I have spent countless hours online reading and researching. It seems I have bryopsis pennata. This is probably the worst of the genus. I spent the day doing routine maintenance and water change on the tank and have been observing this crap trying to figure if I should go another route this time. My first decision is to remove all the rock that has this dreaded scourge on it. I will not be bleaching and recuring it this time. It is dumpster bound. I still have several peices that are not affected yet, so I will be using these rocks for coral mounts. Most everything will be low in the tank. This will not be an issue as I will be lowering my leds to compensate. My second decision is to raise my magnesium to around 1700-1800 with Kent Tech-M mag. From what I have read many people have had luck with this method. Its about a 50-50 shot that it will work. If this does not work, I will try a method that Anthony Calfo suggests which is to raise Ph to around 8.4-8.5 for a while. So, this is where I stand right now on my decision to combat this ugly monster.
During my research on this algae, I was floored when I read that bryopsis pennata is stubborn needing very little light and dissolved organic waste to flourish. If left in the tank it will reproduce via spores on its own. Even the tiniest branch left to float away will re-establish itself easily and quickly. It seems to be the worst of the worst in the bryopsis genus. Even going the route of a complete teardown and cleaning is no gaurantee to be rid of this vile weed! I have a fuge full of cheato that should outcompete this stuff and although my cheato grows very well....so does my bryopsis. Further readings have indicated that with the plethura of inverts and fish available to us there are very few that will actually eat this stuff. My Rabbit nibbled at it a few times when it first appeared and now he just looks at it. Other notes are that this one contains toxins that it releases in order to gain a foothold. Probably why there is not many fish or inverts that will eat it. Even so, if some type of animal did eat it the roots are still in the rock left to regrow. I noticed a small patch around my ice fire echinata and thought to myself...I will just refrag that coral the next day...The ice fire is now a coral skeleton. I am sure sensitivity played a part to its demise.
So, I am not sure what is feeding this algae. My refugium shows no sign of it, both my refugium and skimmer fuge are clean...ie..not detritus. I recleaned my skimmer and return pump today and performed a 30g water change. Friday I plan to remove the rest of affected rock and do another water change. Then, I will start the magnesium regimen after the rock is out. If these methods do not work I may consider biobead method to help bind up the phos and DOCs.
Now I need to find a local shop that might have a gallon of Kent Tech-M.
Has anyone here at used the mag method to kill bryopsis? All feedback will be helpful and welcome.
Thanks for reading my rant.....lol

[Sunshine]

I noticed when you posted the old thread, it has been a year, almost to the date .... weird.

[marinelife]

Sucks to hear Andy!
I hope you beat it this time!

[marinelife]

Seems to proliferate when there is some ammonia and or nitrite available. Strong biological filtration (nitrification and denitrification) limits its growth. Manual removal and some Herbivores.

Rabbitfish, Diadema Urchin, Tuxedo Urchin, Mitbraculus crab, Sea Slugs: Elysua spp., Calipylla mediteranea, Placida dendritica, P. kingstont, P. Viridts, and Limapontia

[Neogenesis]

If dissolved organics help drive this, would bio pellets help beat this down? Sorry to hear this has come back. One of the LFS here beat it by raising his mag.

[chromiumlux]

Thanks for the info everyone. I am going to pass on adding any other critters that would be hit or miss at this time. Like I noted in my post, I am removing all the affected rock, then I am going to raise the mag with Tech-M first and see if this works. After this I may add a few critters for control methods.

[Sunshine]

Do you think it's the rock? Might be a pricey move, but have you thought about replacing all the rock? I was just wondering because if you raise the mag, does that mean you have to keep it raised so it doesn't come back? Will be following this, it is interesting.

[aquatic mouse]

Not good. :( I'm so sorry Andy. You've had such bad luck. I'll be watching this thread as well.

[jsuter]

That sucks bro, I feel your pain. I had great luck with the sea hare for awhile, he mowed down the bryopsis and almost eradicated it. The problem is that he could not get the roots, and pieces tucked down into tight places. Unfortunately he perished possibly from running low on stuff to eat. I tried to supplement his diet but couldn't find anything he would touch. Since he died the bryopsis has made a limited come back and seems to be growing very slowly, although I fear it may take off again soon, I am keeping it in check with just manual removal. My plan is similiar to yours though if mine takes off again, Tech-M seems like the silver bullet for some people, lets just hope it works for us.

[chromiumlux]

That sucks bro, I feel your pain. I had great luck with the sea hare for awhile, he mowed down the bryopsis and almost eradicated it. The problem is that he could not get the roots, and pieces tucked down into tight places. Unfortunately he perished possibly from running low on stuff to eat. I tried to supplement his diet but couldn't find anything he would touch. Since he died the bryopsis has made a limited come back and seems to be growing very slowly, although I fear it may take off again soon, I am keeping it in check with just manual removal. My plan is similiar to yours though if mine takes off again, Tech-M seems like the silver bullet for some people, lets just hope it works for us.

Yeah, I hope it works. However, I will be removing the rock anyway as it is really bad and seems to grow more everyday. I have read that some people quit doing water changes for an extended period while raising mag as they beleive the WC feeds the algae. I say that would be an extreme gamble. I started dosing this morning with the esv mag to start bringing the levels up til I can get some kent tech m. Not sure if its wise but cant hurt raising 100ppm per day. just need to watch alk and adjust as needed. The plan will be to keep it at 1700-1800 for 2-3 weeks and see if the bryopsis starts to melt. May go higher as time goes on. I will keep posting updates on my findings.

[chromiumlux]

Do you think it's the rock? Might be a pricey move, but have you thought about replacing all the rock? I was just wondering because if you raise the mag, does that mean you have to keep it raised so it doesn't come back? Will be following this, it is interesting.

Well, from what I have read you take it up slowly and keep raised for around 3 weeks. Then let it drop on its own to normal seawater parameters. I wont have much to kill as the majority of it will be removed with the rock. I do have some on the overflow plate and did see it on the glass as well, so my guess is that it has went ***ual or I spread it by removing some of it. Hope this works.

[chromiumlux]

It's all part of the hobby I suppose. The bleaching didnt even touch this crap. Unless I reintroduced it on some corals. Not sure.

[Sunshine]

This whole thing sucks. You should take pics of before, during and after. Just so someone else can see what this looks like and ways to get rid of it. But, of course, what works for one might not work for another. I had to pull it up on the net, never heard of this. Good luck with it. You have the patients of a saint, not sure I would of gone through this once, let alone twice. You will be the expert on this stuff when it's all said and done.

[ghurlag]

I'm going to tack on some info, and maybe as a club we can all understand this topic better, and eventually overcome it. The hair algae we are most used to is derbesia sp. Bryopsis plumosa seems to be the most prevalent bryopsis in our corner of the world where the hobby is concerned. Wikipedia has a nice taxonomy list of all the known bryopsis varieties, but not much beyond that.

Another issue is that across the hobby, there is a lot of misinformation as to what is derbesia sp. (normal hair algae), and bryopsis plumosa (a particularly problematic "hair" algae).

To add my current experience to the mix, it appears that I may have an outbreak of bryopsis plumosa, triggered by a hurried upgrade to the 40 gallon. This outbreak was well underway before I added any new pieces to my tank, and nothing new was added to the 29 gallon since May. I never had a bryopsis problem in the 29 gallon. I did add some new rock to the tank, but it had been thoroughly bleached, dechlorinated, and aired out for several MONTHS before being added to the 40 gallon. This new rock, however, is where the bryopsis seems to have blossomed most successfully. I'm not sure that is an indication of anything, as opposed to just a coincidence, but I add it here since it's part of the story, and may turn out to be an important factor.

As far as removal goes, I have been performing frequent water changes, and built a contraption to suck up any bryopsis I can scrape off the rock, while returning the water to the sump, so I don't empty my tank :). In addition to that, I ran Phosban in a reactor for 3 weeks, and have been skimming very wet for about 3 weeks as well. It seems I have severely slowed the growth of this algae, but only time will tell if I can completely eradicate without going to the extreme measures that Andy is taking. I may well be following in his footsteps in 6 months. For now, just be sure that you follow appropriate quarantine procedures, and remove your new corals from their frag plugs to minimize your risk.


References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryopsis
http://www.reefland.com/articles/rho/nuisance-algae-in-the-reef-aquarium-part-1

[aquatic mouse]

Good info!

[chromiumlux]

Yes, I agree 100% that we, as in all hobbyist, should remove their corals from frag plugs before attaching to your reef. Another topic that I have seen more of lately is that of quarantine tanks being used to monitor our fish and corals before introducing to the tank. I have just been through a bad outbreak of bryopsis and have cut and reattached all my corals to new plugs and new rubble stones. I recently started dosing Prodibio biodigest and bioptim to my new rock and tank in hopes that this will discourage new growth and help starve out any spores that may still be present in my system. As of this morning there is no sign of any actively growing bryopsis in my tank and fuge.
One major factor to consider if you have these types of algaes growing in your tank is to be very careful when removing them as this will certainly cause them to spread. Use a method such as Ghurlag (Brian) is using and make sure to siphon it out.

[marinelife]

You guys are taking the fun out of the hobby, Were is the fun in QT'ing all things. There is an adventure in just adding straight to the tank :)

[chromiumlux]

yeah like a tootsie pop. all that work and get to center and find a flatworm....lol

[marinelife]

lol yeah! I hate when that happens