Lets talk about byropsis....

If you've ever had to deal with this stuff, you know it's a killer.  What starts out as cool tiny feather caulerpa turns into your tanks worst nightmare.  I've seen it wipe out entire tanks in a matter of months.  It seems the more you get in your tank to syphon it out the more it spreads.  Alas, it seems there is no hope with battling this dreaded beast..... fortuneately that is not the truth, and there are a couple things you can do to fight it, and hopefully erradicate it from your aquarium. 
Here are a few key points to know. 
> Most herbivorous fish will not touch byropsis.  The texture and the taste just don't seem to sit right with them.  I've had lawnmower blennys, rabbits, tangs (zebrasoma, Ctenochaetus, Acanthurus), and angels swim right on by.
> Snails do not seem to eat it with only a few successes with mexican turbo snails.
> Byropsis eats nurtients.  Im not talking about nitrates and phosphates but actually organic material floating in a tank.  The fronds on the stalks of byropsis trap organics and use them as a food source.
> Byropsis will also use high levels of nitrates and any measurable level of phophates to grow. 
> It does not come of rocks easy, at all. 
With a report like that there seems to be nothing to stop this plaque from taking over.  Through tireless years upon years of research (I wish!) i have found a couple tips that may help combat this stuff.
> First you want to make sure all tank parameters are as close to natural ocean levels.  p.H. 8.2-8.5, Alk 2.5-3.5 meq/l, CA+ 380-480 ppm, temp 76-78 F, Sal'n 1.021-1.025 (on most hydrometers), Nirtite 0, Nitrate 0-10, Ammonia 0.  These measurements are all averaged so no bashing for not being exact.  But having parameters in these ranges are proven to be the most succsesful.  And remember its not so much being at an exact number, but always trying to stay in the range you set for yourself and your aquarium.  No swining!!!!
> Watch your Alk closely.  All types of nuisince algae seem to dislike Alk levels of 3.0 - 4.0 meq/l.
> When doing a water change always syphon out the top of the byropsis in the tank.  They collect the organics and hold them at the top of the frond so doing this will hopefully remove one food source from the algae. And make sure when your trying to scrub it off (and trying hard) to always syphon out what comes off.  Any bit left floating in the water has the chance of settling in another part of the tank.
> Try to keep p.H. at 8.3-8.4
> Hermit crabs actually seem to help control this stuff.  Not saying 500 crabs would wipe it out, but it would be fun to watch.  But try to keep 1 - 2 crabs/gal in a reef tank.
> Certain types of seaslugs have been known to eat byropsis. Mainly Tridachia crispata (lettuce nudibranche) and  Aplysia sp. (Sea Hare). They do this by bursting the chlorophyll inside the algae.  Sadly, they can not burst quick enough and can never seem to get a hand on the problem.  Plus they like to get chopped up by powerheads.
> When doing a water change, use a smaller diameter hose and get into the cracks and crevices in your rocks to get built up nutrients out. 
> Oddly enough, the Yellowtail Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema ), seems to love this stuff.  Not quite sure if they will eradicate byropsis from a tank, but any little bit helps.
> Keeping Mag levels above 1600 ppm has had great success in many aquarists tanks.  As mag can be dangerous at higher then natural levels you want to make sure to raise it by no more then 100 ppm per day.  Any faster then this has been known bleach corals, SO BE CAREFUL.  Now this may seem like a tedious task but this @#*!*#&$  @&%#*!* deserves to die and so you do what you must.  Thes treatment usually takes 5-7 days before the algea starts turning from green to brown once the mag levels are above 1600.  Soon after that byropsis will start turning transparent.  This is when you rush in with your syphon hose and tooth brush and start scrubing the hell out of it.  A hundred hermits at this time wouldn't hurt either.  Keep this up for a couple months and you should be rid of it.  *IMPORTANT* Aquarists have only had succeses using Kents Tech M magneusium supplement.  No other brand seems to work. 
> Use a phosban reactor.  These little units are wonderful for controlling nutrients.  The media is long lasting as is the unit.  It may cost a bit more then other additives or Aluminum based removers, but in the end it is such a worthy investment. 
> Keep up aggressive skimming.  Clean out your skimmer cup at least once a week, and try to get more wet skimmate.  This is one of the most important tools an aquarist has and should not be overlooked.
> Dark periods of 3 days or more has had limited succes.  Probly do to the fact some die off occurs after a day and fuels growth. 
> Finally.  A 24 hour light cycle has had succses with some.  By this i mean having your lights on for 2 6hr photoperiods and having your lights off for 2 6hr photoperiods in a 24 hr day.  (i.e. Lights on at 5:00 am.  Lights off at 11:00 am.  Lights on at 5:00 pm. Lights off at 11:00pm) The reasoning behind this is that many types of algae need at least six hours to begin photosynthesis.  Cutting this time short will cut the algae's ability to produce energy needed for survival.  I have been running my light cycle this way for 2 weeks and as of yet have seen no ill effects on corals (sps, lps, softies) or coralline algae.
Hopefully this will help many people who are battling byropsis.  None of these tips are cure all methods, but one or a few of them could be enough to take control of the dreaded byropsis.
Thanks,
Joe

 

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