Remedys are the same for hair algae as Bryposis, how ever usually the hair algae is defeated before resulting to the full extremes of treatment as are often necessary with the Bryposois. However, I am quite certain that if you intriooduced Bryposis to this tank, hair algae would shortly dbe defeated by the Bryposis and then you would have an even bigger fight. Often hair algae can be defeated or slowly starved out just through the effects caused by increased circulation, that is not the case with Bryposis algae.
Attack of the Killer Hair Algae!!!
- Thread starter TheSaltwaterKid
- Start date
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
I agree with the others. The only real way to get rid of it is to starve it out. There has to be excess nutrients somewhere. A good protein skimmer should help as well as manual removal as possible but neither is a complete fix.
You have to find out where the excess nitrates/phosphates are coming from.
The most frequent cause is overfeeding. (One I am very guilty of.)
Check the water change water for nitrates and phosphates to see if it is coming from there.
Rinse all of your food with ro/di water. Most prepared foods use phosphates as a preservative. At this poing I would soak some food in RO/DI and test that water to see if the food is the source.
Unfortunately I am not the one who came up with the toothbrush siphon idea but it is a very good one. I believe it was Vicki or Doni that came up with that one.
You are going to have to do a combination of things to totally beat it and it likely won't be quickly.
As long as your source water is good, I would drastically increase water change frequency and amounts while manually removing as much as possible.
Good luck
You have to find out where the excess nitrates/phosphates are coming from.
The most frequent cause is overfeeding. (One I am very guilty of.)
Check the water change water for nitrates and phosphates to see if it is coming from there.
Rinse all of your food with ro/di water. Most prepared foods use phosphates as a preservative. At this poing I would soak some food in RO/DI and test that water to see if the food is the source.
Unfortunately I am not the one who came up with the toothbrush siphon idea but it is a very good one. I believe it was Vicki or Doni that came up with that one.
You are going to have to do a combination of things to totally beat it and it likely won't be quickly.
As long as your source water is good, I would drastically increase water change frequency and amounts while manually removing as much as possible.
Good luck
One can not remove from the water that which is not in the water long enough to remove. If your nutrients are being tied up by living matter at so fast a rate as to not be detected then they will not be in the water long enough to skim out or remove through water changes. All your nutrients are being tied up in the organic life forms in the tank. If you choose to kill them through light deprivation then the nutrients will be dumed into the water stream and can be removed. By stopping or limiting inputs of nutrients you will, stop their growth but not kill them as the first organisms to starve and die will be the nitrifying bacteria which will dump nutrients into the water to be quickly taken up by the algae. Is is obvious if you kill the nitrifying bacteria off that even their released nutrients will not be removed by water changes and skimming as if it isn't already working then it still will not work just be cause your trying to starve the algae. The tooth brush and siphon hose makes sense but removal of the rock and a vigorous cleaning would make more sense. Most things being mentioned will only help the problem from coming back once it is cleared up, but there is little being brought up that will be very effective at solving the existing problem now. IMO If you look at ocean pictures or read about micro, macro algae and Phytoplankton, even cyano bacteria you will find that in general nuisance and most macro lagae will not grow at depths where the chief light waves are in the blue actinic wave lengths. You can light your tank with actinic blue at or around the 420 nm rwave length and invertebartes and fish will di=o fine for weeks, but nearly if not all nuisance algae will die. Even Bryopsis requires lighting above 500 nm.
NCguy
WiseGuy
One will have to do more that just turn off the "day" lights to get rid of one's Bryopsis.
I've had rocks sitting in a rubbermaid trash can with the lid on it for a couple of months (no light..no heat..no circulation..no feedings)and the Bryopsis didn't die.