Feeling kinda defeated

[Australian_Reef]

Don’t be defeated mate

 

[Reefchik]

When I had a bit of a bryopsis issue once, some targeted peroxide seemed to help a lot, but it was really only a few isolated areas. I have tuxedo urchins as well and love them, but in my experience pincushion urchins will decimate most algae in a way the tuxedos just don't. Bit of a nuclear option because they do chew straight down to bare rock, but they've done a good job for me at getting rid of everything from algae to vermetid snails at various points over the years.

 

[allof fish]

One thing I haven’t seen talked about yet is your water and lighting schedule. You said 10% water changes. Are you using rodi water? And have the stages been changed recently? That can also contribute to a lot of algae. Hydrogen peroxide is a good move also. Add a large clean up crew and turn lighting schedule down and the amount of time

 

[fish_collector]

Is bubble algae really a cause for concern? I have it growing in my SPS tank and when it gets built up enough I just scrape it off and siphon it out. There is no harm in just popping them as well, nothing will become of that, they do not spread by doing so.

Reef Flux will kill bryopsis for sure if you follow the instructions word for word and leave it in the system long enough. You must also remove the cup from the skimmer and let it overflow back into the sump if you have one.

Don't feel defeated, you'll be a better, more educated hobbyist if you work through the difficulties one at a time. Awesome reef tanks weren't just filled with water and corals and them Bam! They were grown into what they are and have the same issues all of our tanks have.

 

[jadedog]

One thing I haven’t seen talked about yet is your water and lighting schedule. You said 10% water changes. Are you using rodi water? And have the stages been changed recently? That can also contribute to a lot of algae. Hydrogen peroxide is a good move also. Add a large clean up crew and turn lighting schedule down and the amount of time

My lighting schedule is about 11 hours long. I have a 6stage RODI BRS I change it out about every 5-6 months my TDS is always 0. I think its mostly the clean up crew doesn't touch bubble or Bryopsis so its kind of overruns the system. I dosed reef flux again last night for the Bryopsis and i am ordering some Pitho crabs for the bubble algae that's most of my problems so I'm hopeful it puts a dent in it.

 

[jadedog]

Is bubble algae really a cause for concern? I have it growing in my SPS tank and when it gets built up enough I just scrape it off and siphon it out. There is no harm in just popping them as well, nothing will become of that, they do not spread by doing so.

Reef Flux will kill bryopsis for sure if you follow the instructions word for word and leave it in the system long enough. You must also remove the cup from the skimmer and let it overflow back into the sump if you have one.

Don't feel defeated, you'll be a better, more educated hobbyist if you work through the difficulties one at a time. Awesome reef tanks weren't just filled with water and corals and them Bam! They were grown into what they are and have the same issues all of our tanks have.

Thanks for the encouragement! I order some crabs to help with the bubble algae and i re dosed reef flux last night! I think I will start manually removing the bubble algae too. I think last time when I ran reef flux it killed 90% of it but it left a small patch that didn't die. This time I will not do a water change until all of it is completely dead.

 

[davidm777]

Your fundamentals are good. The tank is young. The first advice from Reefer Matt is the route I would choose peronally. By adding a product you are adding something external instead of letting the tank do it's own thing. This would make your tank to take longer to settle and mature.
Patience and a good routine you can maintain every week and you will ride it out.
Whatever you do you will do fine since your fundamentals are fine. Your tank looks great. We as reefers sometimes tend to focus on the bad and stop enjoying the good.

 

[jadedog]

Your fundamentals are good. The tank is young. The first advice from Reefer Matt is the route I would choose peronally. By adding a product you are adding something external instead of letting the tank do it's own thing. This would make your tank to take longer to settle and mature.
Patience and a good routine you can maintain every week and you will ride it out.
Whatever you do you will do fine since your fundamentals are fine. Your tank looks great. We as reefers sometimes tend to focus on the bad and stop enjoying the good.

Thanks man! I hate to have to add reef flux but I've yet to find a invert that will eat Byropsis. I think some people have success with fox face or tangs but my tank is way to small to comfortable house those fish. I've tried turbos urchin hermits and variety of different snails nobody will touch it so it kinda forces my hand.