Bryopsis :(

[Mark_C]

A frag I bought a few months back was a bryopsis carrier. I've battled this piece of rock three times now and always come out on top, usually with little bits of green sludge on my clothes and smelling of peroxide. Now, having returned from vacation and with the auto feeder having been on, I've found bryopsis growing on the zoa frag again. And in the vicinity of the frag. And on the rock next to it. And on the rock about a foot away... ect. In total there are 5 or 6 patches on 5 or 6 different rocks, all growths about 1-2" in height. The original frag and rock were un-salvagable and are now with Poseidon where, I'm sure, they're much happier.

Today my war begins. I present a narrative for future generations of flood loving idiots with disposable income, complex gadgets, and aptitude for PVC projects.

Day 1 - Recon
Temp: 78.8
SG: 1.026
pH: 8.2
Mg: 1600ppm
Ca: 400ppm
Alk: 125ppm - dKH 7
Phos: 0.29ppm
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Ammonia: 0

Debrief:
Alk has dropped due to lack of dosing (though I always seem to be dosing for it). Need to get a doser. Because I need more gadgets. How is it that I keep buying all this cr&p yet nothing with this hobby seems to get any easier? Anyway...
Phosphates and nitrates undoubtably up from the auto feeder and no water change.
No idea WTF is up with the Mg, though I did dose before vacation. Regardless, this may be an ally in the battle.

Plan:
Lower phosphate and nitrate.
Raise alkalinity and calcium.
Maintain magnesium for the time being to help eradicate the existing bryopsis.

Actions:
20% water change
Reactor on and GFO'd up.
8oz calcium chloride (BRS) to pull Ca slightly up to 420-450
4oz soda ash (BRS) to pull Alk up towards 8-10

Considerations:
Have Kent Tech M on deck to up Mg to 1800 if required over next few days using a method reported successful in numerous forums.

Thoughts:
If someone could engineer a bryopsis eating snail I would gladly pay $100 a piece for them.

 

[kschweer]

When dealing with bryposis which can be really tough I usually will treat any removable frag plugs with a peroxide dip and a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush. For rocks in the tank I take the old toothbrush and rubberband it to the end of a small siphon tube. Start a siphon and scrub the areas with the Toothbrush. The idea is to not spread it around. I will also raise my mag to around 1800 with tech-m. Good luck!


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[redfishbluefish]

I have read success stories with Tech M.....and it has to be Tech M. Simply raising your magnesium with other brands, for some reason, doesn't have the killing effect Tech M has on Bryopsis. Best of luck.

 

[downbeach]

A reefer on R2R seems to think, after some Triton tests, that the Lithium in Kent's Tech M is the element that makes all the difference. Fortunately, I've never had the problem.

 

[hcker99]

Tech-M will do the trick but in my experience you need to bring your mag up to 2000-2100. This will not hurt most corals. Some zoas and palys may look dull and some sps may brown but they usually bounce back in a couple weeks. The only issue is with certain species of snails. During treatment I would recommend removing all your snails and putting them somewhere else for the time being. Reason for removing the snails is as they die from the high mag they release proteins back into the water and it becomes a vicious cycle of death and algae.

Going this route you will also want to carefully monitor your salinity as it will shoot up if your not careful.

 

[Mark_C]

Sunday
Added 150ml Tech M, according to the label, this should raise Mg by approximately 50ppm (going up slowly and monitoring along the way).

 

[Ligershark]

the key to the tech m appears to be lithium. http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tech-ms-magic-bryopsis-killing-ingredient-lithium.200498/

 

[Mark_C]

Not planning on a water change for a while, going to see if the decreasing food source and increasing Tech M impurity will do the job.
Eyeballing this for the most part based on bryopsis itself and the state of the inverts, in particular the micro-ceriths I have in the tank.

Day 3 (Monday)
Added 150ml Tech M
Bryopsis spreading, inverts fine.

Day 4 (Tuesday)
Added 75ml Tech M
Lost a Darwin Clown (the one from the vacation feeding post). Can’t find body. Fortunately was very small. Lived up to its name in one way or the other.
Bryopsis seems to have slowed down spread.

Day 5 (Wednesday)
No additives.
Put on filter sock.
Bryopsis decreased spreading. It seems one or two of the smaller colonies are turning brown.
Inverts fine.

Day 6 (Thursday)
Added 75ml Tech M
Bryopsis may have halted, one smaller colony is definitely browning.
Inverts living it up slow style like nothings going on.

Will update with a report on parameters on Saturday.

 

[Hawkeye]

tech m is what i used...heavily. it worked. That feathery bryopsis is enough of a nuisance to have made me consider quitting. Ever since then i try my best to rip frags off the plugs and re-glue them on my own plugs. Just never know.