Hey guys,

Tank is currently still cycling, Ammonia and Nitrite have both spiked and are both currently reading 0.25. I have noticed amongst the pods on the glass what appears to be numerous tufts of Bryopsis. If this is the case would my best course of action be to raise the MG using Kent M? I have no livestock ofc as the tank is still cycling. Could it simply be a case of an algae outbreak associated with a new tank? Mainly an ID i'm after guys. Cheers.

Just remove them. There is nothing you can do about completely eliminating bryopsis spores. Algae blooms are common when the tank is cycling. After the cycle, manual removal and limiting of nutrients should be all you need.

Conducted a phosphate and nitrate test earlier. Phosphates coming in at 0.25 and Nitrates 5-10. I'm using what is meant to be RO/DI water from my LFS. I also tested the water itself and phosphates came out the same. Will be investing in my own unit and hope that it will sort itself out after the cycle and lowering phosphates. Thanks for the advice .

I have the same issue. I started my tank on Feb. 1st. Had my ammonia, nitrite spikes then the diatom bloom. So I added some Live rock to seed the dry. Days later....total bryopsis bloom. Now I have little "feathers" and tufts (like your picture) growing all over the glass, rocks and in the sand.

So I started dosing Magnesium. I don't have anything in my tank as far as livestock. Not even a CUC yet. But I'm nipping it in the bud. I had bryopsis in my 90 gallon in Texas and got rid of it with Kent Mag. I also have chaeto in my fuge area.

+1

Also, a phosphate sponge is very useful.

Thanks for the info guys.

I'm tempted to go the same way as you Haz tbh, going really aggressive while there is no livestock in there to threaten. Let me know how your battle goes and I shall do the same!

IMO I'd wait until your major cycle was over and you let it run for at least an additional week. Keep manually removing in the meantime. Your parameters are probably jumping all over the place right now. I'd wait until the system was a little more stable before I started dosing anything, much less a crazy helping of mag. I have seen three to four algae blooms since my cycle ended, all different from each other. (edited to add: Right after my cycle it looked like my tank was overrun (seriously overrun, it was everywhere) by something that looked like dinoflagellates. It cycled out within a few weeks, helped by manual removal with a turkey baster.) It is not imperative that you get your CUC immediately after your big cycle anyway. Many successful aquarists have kept their tanks fallow for months, letting algae succession cycles take over. I'd give it time; if Kent's gonna work, it's gonna work whether you've got 20 patches of "bryposis" or 2000.

I just think it's a bad idea to dose anything in a tank that's still very unstable, period.

Thanks for the reply

Maybe I am been a little gung ho, I'm just so desperate to make sure this thing doesn't get a foothold, but your 20 or 2000 reference does put things in perspective. On an additional note my tests for ammonia and nitrite both read 0 this evening so I'll remove as much as I can with a water change and key an eye on things. As for the clean up crew I'm in no rush to add anything to the tank, in fact I'm actually kind of nervous about it! So long since I kept a marine tank it feels. Thanks again for all your input guys.

Well...I've had bryopsis before and it's MUCH easier to dose now while nothing is in the tank then when your tank is full of fish and corals. But that is my opinion. And I chose to up my Mag.

I have brought my Mag up to 1600 and the bryopsis is slowly disintegrating. At first I was a little doubtful because there was SO much of it and it didn't seem to be going away. But each day it's less and less. When it was in full bloom I couldn't even get the tufts off. I tried picking it off the rock with tweezers. As you know...it doesn't come off easily. Now it's starting to come off when I scrub with a toothbrush.

You can do what you want but I still say it's easier to get rid of it now. Good luck!

I got my Phosphates to 0 and Nitrates <5 and it was simply getting worse. With no live stock in the tank today I have bumped up my Magnesium levels from 1280ppm, to 1620ppm. The only thing in the tank is the rock itself so I assumed I could be safe in just jumping straight up. If not, a lesson learned and at least no livestock is harmed in the process. I'll update this thread when I see some progress! As a side note I have actually just read your thread Haz which encouraged me to go ahead with this method. Thanks again.

Edit just to add, I ORDERED AN MP10 TODAY, HURRAH!!

Just an update for those interested. The Bryopsis defiantly seems to be thinning out with the smaller ones wilting and slowly turning white. With the aid of a toothbrush i'm scrubbing away the longer single stalks which were properly embedded before increasing the Mg level. Happy panda right here. Snails soon!

Good to see it's working for you. As far as my tank thread.... that was my old 90 that I sold off before moving up here to the Northeast. You had to dig deep to find that thread!! But you can see why I tried so hard to prevent that crud from occurring in my current tank. I felt like it was a cruel joke when I saw the first feathers of bryopsis growing on my rock .

My tank is doing well and the same thing is happening. Much of it has become transparent and is breaking off. I still have some stubborn spots. I'm keeping my Mag level at 1650 for now. I think once it's gone I will drop it to 1500 and hope that it keeps it away.