ID please. Wiry green algae. Difficult to remove

[vokuro]

TLDR; wiry green algae that is very tough to remove from rock. Tweezers are required and even then it's a struggle.

Been battling algae for a couple months now. 3+ year old tank that I let go and have recently been trying to take back. Initially it seemed like typical GHA, clumpy and easy to remove/scrub from the rock and back glass. Recently it's turned into this very stubborn green wiry algae. Thought bryopsis but I don't see a fern-like quality to the stuff.

Phosphate: ~0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

Stopped using GFO and have been feeding more to try and up these parameters

 

[vokuro]

Bump

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bryopsis and one of the more difficult to battle. Reduce white light intensity and pull off as much as you can by hand. Flux (fluconasal) or Liquid vibrant should help remove it for good

 

[landlubber]

if I can't pinch it by hand I generally scrub the heck out of the rock with a brush and follow it with a bigger than normal water change

 

[Copingwithpods]

What test kits are you using? Are your nutrients really zeroed out? If so vibrant might cause more harm than good.

 

[good.reef]

I dont have any info for how to get rid of bryopsis but I do have an unpopular opinion to share... I had kept getting different forms of "nuisance" algae and dinos and different things. In the beginning I saw it all as being ugly and making my pristine reef look "unnatural". But the truth is nearly nothing in the wild looks anything like our carefully manicured reefs and in fact most would consider any given section the size of our tanks of a real reef to be ugly. I went through all of the usual chemicals and extremism on keeping nitrates and phosphates in check to below very specific numbers to control the algae. Some people find this hobby fun because of how well they can manipulate the water conditions in their tanks with gadgets and solutions and chemistry but I realized that I dont find that at all fun I find it frustrating and unenjoyable. So I was at a crossroads as to what to do I even considered breaking my tank down and starting over. But slowly I started looking at the tank a different way and each time I saw something "ugly" I immediately re-refrenced it in my head as "interesting". Over time I started getting used to seeing the tank differently and what others might consider ugly I thought for awhile was interesting and then started seeing it as awesome. I love the biodiversity that nature has and if a certain form of algae wants to establish itself in my tank I welcome the biodiversity it brings and enjoy it now as part of my ecosystem. I know thats unpopular but its been my experience and I wanted to share. Good luck with the bryopsis, Im sure many people will have solutions for you but from looking at the pictures you shared I think it looks cool.

 

[vokuro]

Bryopsis and one of the more difficult to battle. Reduce white light intensity and pull off as much as you can by hand. Flux (fluconasal) or Liquid vibrant should help remove it for good

Thanks for the ID! I actually bought some reef flux on a hunch that it could be bryopsis so this is good news.

if I can't pinch it by hand I generally scrub the heck out of the rock with a brush and follow it with a bigger than normal water change

Thank you. It's pretty resistant to even scrubbing but the water change could help.

What test kits are you using? Are your nutrients really zeroed out? If so vibrant might cause more harm than good.

Good question. Hanna ULR Phosphorous checker so the PO4 numbers are likely accurate. Nitrate is a cheap ATI kit, but have a red sea kit coming this week.

I dont have any info for how to get rid of bryopsis but I do have an unpopular opinion to share... I had kept getting different forms of "nuisance" algae and dinos and different things. In the beginning I saw it all as being ugly and making my pristine reef look "unnatural". But the truth is nearly nothing in the wild looks anything like our carefully manicured reefs and in fact most would consider any given section the size of our tanks of a real reef to be ugly. I went through all of the usual chemicals and extremism on keeping nitrates and phosphates in check to below very specific numbers to control the algae. Some people find this hobby fun because of how well they can manipulate the water conditions in their tanks with gadgets and solutions and chemistry but I realized that I dont find that at all fun I find it frustrating and unenjoyable. So I was at a crossroads as to what to do I even considered breaking my tank down and starting over. But slowly I started looking at the tank a different way and each time I saw something "ugly" I immediately re-refrenced it in my head as "interesting". Over time I started getting used to seeing the tank differently and what others might consider ugly I thought for awhile was interesting and then started seeing it as awesome. I love the biodiversity that nature has and if a certain form of algae wants to establish itself in my tank I welcome the biodiversity it brings and enjoy it now as part of my ecosystem. I know thats unpopular but its been my experience and I wanted to share. Good luck with the bryopsis, Im sure many people will have solutions for you but from looking at the pictures you shared I think it looks cool.

I appreciate the different perspective. This particular algae is actually somewhat cool looking, almost like an ornamental grass. If i could make sure it stayed on a particular rock in a particular spot in my tank we could live in harmony