saving a tank from bryopsis outbreak

[lisawolk]

An updated photo. If you look at my very top piece of tonga branch I have some yellow polyps. In my last picture the algae looks like "peach fuzz" It is now totally gone. I can't believe it. My toadstools are getting green again and my GSP are looking great.

Wow, it is way better. Awesome. As for me my lights are new LED's, wavemaker, and I do a WC probably every week or every other. Because of the Harlequins I have to get the waste so I'll often siphon the pellets out and replace the little bit of water I took out. I'll be looking into some of the herbivores that were mentioned.

 

[kimba]

CUC is good too. I hadn't realized how small mine had become. I had like 2 hermit crabs, NO turbo snails and 4 sand sifting snails. I got 6 turbo snails and right away they were mowing down the GHA. The crabs and snails are cleaning the dead briopsis off my rocks, they are awesome!!

Good luck.

 

[lisawolk]

CUC is good too. I hadn't realized how small mine had become. I had like 2 hermit crabs, NO turbo snails and 4 sand sifting snails. I got 6 turbo snails and right away they were mowing down the GHA. The crabs and snails are cleaning the dead briopsis off my rocks, they are awesome!!

Good luck.

Thank you. It's funny cause my tiny brittle stars are always in the bryopsis so I'm sure they like it and are eating it but they're so small that it would take an astronomical amount of time to make a difference.

 

[nervousmonkey]

I know this is an old thread, relatively speaking since R2R is pretty on top of things, but I've found that a combo works. Getting rid of nitrates and phosphates is always a good option, but there are times that you still get bryopsis or hair algae, something. What works for me is peroxide and forced tank rehab. There is something wrong if I have hair algae growing on my rocks and in my tank, so I take it out, peroxide the parts of the rock that are infected, scrub the rest, vaccum my sand bed super well, drain most of the water out of the tank, get a cloth with peroxide and scrub the glass clean, toothbrush the corals around them so I don't directly peroxide them (although I've never had an issue with dipping corals in 3% H2O2 mixed 50/50 with old tank water, SPS, LPS, softies, zoas, shrooms, etc.), basically just get the problem out with some work, and it doesn't come back. Well, until I do something stupid like introduce a cool frag from a friend or something. Point is that with some work, you can get rid of it and fix the problem causing it at the same time (reduce feeding, lighting, add GFO or Phosguard for quick removal, etc.). Basically just make the tank behave like I want it to, and then fix the stupid thing I did to cause it in the first place. Just like brushing my teeth and flossing. Same concept. I don't believe in putting something in the tank and then waiting for something good to happen. That's like telling me to just keep eating an apple a day and that'll keep the doctor away... Not my style. Just make it happen the way you want it to happen and don't let the algae stick around any longer than you want it to.
Just my $0.02....

 

[lisawolk]

So shornik, I took your advice and it worked! Compiled with dosing Dino X that's proven to help with bryopsis, I got a royal urchin (been told they're almost the same as tuxedo) and its almost gone. So thank you!

 

[lisawolk]

I know this is an old thread, relatively speaking since R2R is pretty on top of things, but I've found that a combo works. Getting rid of nitrates and phosphates is always a good option, but there are times that you still get bryopsis or hair algae, something. What works for me is peroxide and forced tank rehab. There is something wrong if I have hair algae growing on my rocks and in my tank, so I take it out, peroxide the parts of the rock that are infected, scrub the rest, vaccum my sand bed super well, drain most of the water out of the tank, get a cloth with peroxide and scrub the glass clean, toothbrush the corals around them so I don't directly peroxide them (although I've never had an issue with dipping corals in 3% H2O2 mixed 50/50 with old tank water, SPS, LPS, softies, zoas, shrooms, etc.), basically just get the problem out with some work, and it doesn't come back. Well, until I do something stupid like introduce a cool frag from a friend or something. Point is that with some work, you can get rid of it and fix the problem causing it at the same time (reduce feeding, lighting, add GFO or Phosguard for quick removal, etc.). Basically just make the tank behave like I want it to, and then fix the stupid thing I did to cause it in the first place. Just like brushing my teeth and flossing. Same concept. I don't believe in putting something in the tank and then waiting for something good to happen. That's like telling me to just keep eating an apple a day and that'll keep the doctor away... Not my style. Just make it happen the way you want it to happen and don't let the algae stick around any longer than you want it to.
Just my $0.02....

Nice concept. Makes sense.

 

[kimba]

Another updated photo. Can't believe how much better my tank is. My coral are growing and getting better color! I love my tank again!!

 

[nervousmonkey]

Another updated photo. Can't believe how much better my tank is. My coral are growing and getting better color! I love my tank again!!

So what did you do to achieve this? What did you change, add, etc.? Always awesome to see a fellow reefer have success and happiness with their systems?

 

[kimba]

I started taking care of it again. Doing regular WC, put Purigen back in it, started usin Nano A&B again, feeding my corals all the good stuff.

I also have LEDs now instead of compact florecents.

 

[nervousmonkey]

Nice! Amazing what a little love can do!