bryopsis algae or hair algae that is the question

[blasto_master]

I need an identification and a solution for this problem.

[HighlandReefer]

It doesn't look like Bryopsis to me from what I can see. ;)

This is what Bryopsis looks like for reference:

http://www.solpugid.com/cabiota/bryopsis_corticulans_3.jpg

Notice the plumose (feathery) branches off the stems.

[blasto_master]

I have zero phosphates, a phosphate reactor in use, weekly water changes, and I am using a five stage r.o. unit with all new filters, two of which are kent di's. Can someone help me on this one?

[blasto_master]

I have seen those picture of bryopsis, my question is can it come in different strains?

[HighlandReefer]

There is no miracle cure for algae, dinoflagellate, cyanobacteria & diatom pests in a reef tank. :(

The bottom line is that you want to reduce nitrate, phosphate, dissolved organics and suspended organics. You need to say no to all pests present in your tank and all debris in your tank. Keep a spick and span tank including the sand bed and glass. This will need to be completed often to erradicate these type of pests.


There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of algae and/or cyanobacterial pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of soft coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest even when phosphate and nitrate are extemely low. Vinegar dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either. It has been shown in research that vinegar will not promote cyano growth, whereas ethanol will.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a category correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar. In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these categories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algae, cyanobacteria or dinoflagellate type pest problem, it is best to implement an a pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka or vinegar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) Running a diatom filter which has been suggested by Boomer, makes a lot of sense to me. It will help remove a lot of organic material in your water column.

16) Keep your sand bed clean if it is a shallow bed weekly by vacuuming it. Lightly vacuume deep sand bed surfaces.

17) Keep your tank glass clean all the way around regularly. Perhaps it will need to be done 2 to three times a week if growth is fast.

18) For some additional thoughts regarding switching an algae or cyano based system to a bacterial based system see this thread:

Why should you use just vinegar as your carbon source?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2101969

19) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______


If after you have tried all these procedures and you are still loosing the battle, I would recommend that you initiate the use of AlgaeFix Marine for controlling hair algae, based on the reports I have seen in this thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1595003

I hate to see anyone give up on this hobby due to algae type pest problems.

[HighlandReefer]

I have seen those picture of bryopsis, my question is can it come in different strains?

Yes Bryopsis comes in different species, but they all have that plumose branching to different degrees when you look at the stems closely.

This link has pictures of a lot of different species of bryopsis:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&cp=7&gs_id=o&xhr=t&q=bryopsis&safe=off&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1344&bih=702&wrapid=tljp1325388287657010&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=HdL_TurfIKny0gH-87D1AQ

[zigzag1]

+1 to the hair algae vote. All of what Highlandreefer said, and AF a last resort. JMTC & GL!

[blasto_master]

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk313/the413pimp/DSCN0434.jpg

[blasto_master]

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk313/the413pimp/DSCN0436.jpg

[HighlandReefer]

Perhaps a Derbesia would be my guess.

[blasto_master]

Well hopefully it goes away sometime soon. Thank you for all of the good advice guys.

[HighlandReefer]

If it is a Derbesia, this is a very tough siphonous algae which requires a lot of hand scrubbing to get rid of. Not an easy pest to control IME. AlgaeFix does not work on Derbesia nor on Bryopsis or any of the siphonous algae. Even extremely low phosphate and nitrate levels did not help in my case.

[HighlandReefer]

I did not try increasing my mag level using Tech M, perhaps that will work with your pest if other measures don't help. ;)

[blasto_master]

I am actually starting to raise my Mag using Kent Tech M.

[HighlandReefer]

I would suggest raising your mag level 300 -400 ppm using the Tech M. Don't raise it more than 100 ppm per day.

I would be interested in any results good or bad as well. ;)

[blasto_master]

Well how long do you think before I start noticing results?

[HighlandReefer]

How many ppm mag have you increased it so far?

Is it easier to pull this pest off the rock?

[tmz]

I've had a problem with an algae that looks similar in the past in a clean tank with a sand bed , low PO4, low NO3, high flow. It was green stringy and wiry, with single hold downs supporting a significant mesh like growths. Persistent removal over the course of a few weeks finally got rid of it. Don't know what it specifically is but whenever, I saw a strand , I'd pluck it.

[brandon429]

If you get tired of waiting come join our pest challenge thread in the nanos section, it will work on this larger tank just as well.

It will be dead and clean off the rocks in about 4 days. this is a method to clean your tank of it so you can spend the next free time engineering great tank params to keep it at bay. You can reuse this method anytime it or a cousin decides to show up despite your best attempts.

[brandon429]

Try this, just one test to prove.


Take that sample whisker rock of zoanthids and green wiry X

make a solution of 50 percent 3% store bought hydrogen peroxide and 50 percent clean saltwater.

drip on the target algae while this test rock is lifted outside the tank. if some gets on zoanthids it won't matter, we've diluted it and its only let sit for about 2 mins then rinse it off well and place back in tank. spot drip the peroxide mixture on the target algae and try to keep it off the zo's, you will feel better about the test. Compare this test rock to your other algae growths after 36 hours.

Then come join thread with before and after pics! we will slowly do this to every rock in your tank using full 3% and it will be gone. The next time, take action when its only on one rock.

[Sport507]

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk313/the413pimp/DSCN0434.jpg

I had that same thing in a 20L frag tank, I thought it was bryopsis. What ever it was I run my Mag. level to 1500+ with Tech-M.

Mine went away in about a week and hasn't come back. That was about 3 months ago.

[brandon429]

Look how Simon SKL worked his bryopsis gsp frag its nearly identical to the problem rock above. one dip, no more problem thread.

Ive been bragging on SSKL for posting such huge pictures of peroxide work.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2082359&page=4

[blasto_master]

Update, I slowed down the growth greatly by using kent tech m and a reactor. I still have the algae but if seems that I am gaining ground. I change 25 gallons of water every two weeks and also purchased a sea hare. Hopefully by manually plucking out the remainder I will have slayed the green hairy beast!

[tmz]

I've tried two minutes out of the water with dribbled on H2O2 for several frag plugs with sps and zoanthus with that wiry stuff on it . It works without harm to the coral and the algae is gone in a couple of days after treatment.That algae for whatever reason seems to get a foothold on plugs even in low nutrient water. I also dipped a few in a 50/50 mix of H2O2 and salt water for 4 minutes . That also worked but a couple of magician palys bleached a bit. Perhaps it's picking up leaching PO4 from the plug or can grab off some organic phosphate.

Thankyou for the tip Brandon.

[blasto_master]

The H2O2 drip on the infected area seems pretty extreme. I would do that if I knew that my corals wouldn't kick the bucket after the treatment. It has only been three weeks since I started using my reactor. From what you are saying, you cannot starve this algae to death?

[Acronic]

try raising the SG to 1.030, worked for me and it wouldn't hurt to try. Best part is its a whole tank treatment and its free!

[tmz]

Yeah, seemed extreme to me too. Checked with a few friends who had success with it after reading the post about it ; so, I gave it a shot to be fair and I am happy with the results. I couldn't strave it out . I'd pluckit and dremmel it off and it would come back just on the frag plugs, even ceramic plugs. Couldn't make sense of it.. I run my system with low PO4 and NO3 with vodka and vinegar dosing and gfo. I never went for 0 PO4 though ,more like .04ppm which takes care of any other algae and cyano but not the wiry stuff. Less than .03ppm PO4 may limit it as it does other green algae but this stuff might be grabbing some organic P. Let me know if you manage to starve it.

[blasto_master]

Update: No more hair algae at all, and the problem has been solved. I took out all of the rock and scrubbed it in salt water. Actually when doing a water change, I used all of the old water to do the scrubbing of the rock and put the rock back in the tank with the make-up water. Next I stopped adding frozen mysis shrimp directly to the tank. Then I added a couple of snails, emerald crabs, and a sea hare to my reef. I know the hair algae problem came from the frozen mysis shrimp, it is like rocket fuel for any algae to grow. Thank you everyone for your help.

[Big E]

Manually scrub that macro down to a shorter level than get a few pin cushion urchins. I per 50g type size tank is plenty.

They will mow that down on a regular basis. Some of your coralline will get eaten but it's a small price to pay. Be aware your going to need to have all frags or small loose rocks secured or the'll become urchin riders or just get knocked off their positions.

The whitish type urchins that you can get for like $10 are fantastic work horses.

[blasto_master]

Manually scrub that macro down to a shorter level than get a few pin cushion urchins. I per 50g type size tank is plenty.

They will mow that down on a regular basis. Some of your coralline will get eaten but it's a small price to pay. Be aware your going to need to have all frags or small loose rocks secured or the'll become urchin riders or just get knocked off their positions.

The whitish type urchins that you can get for like $10 are fantastic work horses.

Actually, from all the good advice I received, my live rock looks immaculate now. I take all of the info you guys gave me, and pass it around to others on reef central. Scrubbing the algae off of the rock, and keeping low nutrient levels, phosphate reactor, and water changes helped me to defeat the kraken. I must stress manually removing the nuisance algae, is the biggest factor in getting rid of it.