bluephish pics before it all go's to hel!

[geekdafied]

Originally Posted by amcarrig

If you have turbo snails that are eating " bryopsis", chances are that what you have is not bryopsis as nothing but a few sea slugs eat the stuff due to its toxicity. If it is in fact bryopsis, are you going to try to boost your magnesium levels before you try something as drastic as a complete breakdown?

Theres been a lot of people having good success with Tech M.... Theres something about Tech M thats different then the other Magensium buffers that Bryopsis doesnt like.

[omard]

With "bryopsis" or any kind of "hair" algae, for that matter, simplest way to get under control is pull out by hand, until you can get it down to reasonable level that tank inhabitants can deal with.

Takes a load of time...but to me is better option then nuking or replacing all affected rock - pinch off "bunches" of the long stuff. Making sure to rinse off fingers in glass of clean water before pulling out next bunch. - Don't want loose algae filaments wandering about in water column.

Algae eaters in tank, fish, crabs, shrimp, will take care of from where you leave off.

Might want to check out one of these guys,

Rainford's Goby (Amblygobius rainfordi)
(Advanced Aquarists)

Cheap, colorful addition to tank that lives almost entirely off any kind of "hair" algae" if any about.

Have had one in Nano for about a year. But very shy and rarely see...

But something in there is keeping hair infestation under control...

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by geekdafied

Theres been a lot of people having good success with Tech M.... Theres something about Tech M thats different then the other Magensium buffers that Bryopsis doesnt like.

I read about that too but Tech M didn't work on the bryopsis (pennata) that we had.

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by omard

With "bryopsis" or any kind of "hair" algae, for that matter, simplest way to get under control is pull out by hand, until you can get it down to reasonable level that tank inhabitants can deal with.

Takes a load of time...but to me is better option then nuking or replacing all affected rock - pinch off "bunches" of the long stuff. Making sure to rinse off fingers in glass of clean water before pulling out next bunch. - Don't want loose algae filaments wandering about in water column.

Algae eaters in tank, fish, crabs, shrimp, will take care of from where you leave off.

Might want to check out one of these guys,

Rainford's Goby (Amblygobius rainfordi)

(Advanced Aquarists)

Cheap, colorful addition to tank that lives almost entirely off any kind of "hair" algae" if any about.

Have had one in Nano for about a year. But very shy and rarely see...

But something in there is keeping hair infestation under control...

I hate to disagree with you but bryopsis and hair algae are completely different and different/more aggressive methods are needed to deal with bryopsis. You can pluck longer pieces of bryopsis off but, and I repeat myself here, "regular" algae eaters WILL NOT EAT BRYOPSIS. It is toxic so if fish and/or snails eat it, THEY WILL DIE. There are only a few specialized critters that eat it and these animals are impossible to find for sale in the aquarium hobby. You simply cannot treat bryopsis like you would hair algae, period. Keeping nutrient levels, nitrates and phosphates down can keep certain species of bryopsis from growing out of control but other species (such as pennata) are far more tenacious and more drastic measures are required to get rid of it.

[lillys Grandad]

Hope it all works out....It would a real shame to lose that wonderful tank...It looks sooo perfect...its obvious you have taken alot of time and effort to keep your critters in a wonderland of natural comfort.
Kudos man....good luck

[gazog]

I have heard that people are having good luck with Fauna Marin's Algaex. Here is a Reef Central link to a discussion about it.

[BluePhish]

trust me i will try every thing before i tare the tank down. ive already started with the addition of a sump, fuge, new feeding routine and food, increased clean up crew. ive started taking action as soon as i noticed it. its still in its early stages only a few spots have grown into the full hair algae. think ill first make sure im reducing the phosphate levels as much as possible, then ill move to dosing and changing chemistry, and as a last resort the dreaded tare down,this would only be if it gets really bad, as im kinda neat freak when it comes to my tank, so i doubt i will stand looking at it for long if the whole tank goes green. maybe ill borrow a royal urchin from my lfs they cool wit me.

what is a good po4 test kit that will read levels i need to know?low range . the api test kits are no good for this right?

also what is a good mag test kit.?
and what is a good sillica test kit?

please any more info you can give would be a great help.

dont worry im not discouraged im ready to battle! its all part of the learning experience aint it.

[amcarrig]

I like Salilfert and Red Sea test kits. I would test both your tank water and your r.o. water for phosphates and nitrates to make sure that you're not adding these elements via your make up water. When running carbon and phosphate reducing media, make sure that you're passing water through it, not just on/over it or it won't work at all.

[BluePhish]

is there any negative's to using phosphate media, like affect on coral?raise lower in parims?


oh and i posted some pics of the algae, still really cant find the type of bryposis it is, does not seem to have the feather like structure of bryopsis, more stringy.and it seems to start from a brown diatom looking mat and then developes into longer greener threads. any one wanna reconfirm my nightmare, and tell me what you think it is.

oh yeah im going to fish store in a hour or so, anyone recommend anything to aid in my battle?

[amcarrig]

I've never had any problems using phosphate media. I've read some accounts of clams reacting poorly to it but that has never been my experience. Where did you post the pictures of your algae?