Rough reef week - SPS bleaching

Does your algae look like that? Do you have more pics of it? How big is system and how long has it been up?

Here's another picture of it. When it starts it does look fern like, kind of like the second picture you linked to.

This is a 40B DT with a 20L sump and it's been up and running since December.

I just kicked my reactor back online and will leave it running for a day or two to see if this knocks it back down like it did before. I'm still trying to balance against my desire to rehab my green slimer too.

I've heard raising mag can help to kill bryopsis. Might want to google it. I know some fish stores do it

U have to use tech m raise your mag to 1600 plus. It's an impurity in it not the mag itself

If it's only on that one coral you can also just remove it.

True and true above. Is the algae growing in other areas in the tank? What other coral and inverts do you have? Like I saw you have a shrimp. I would strongly suggest you do some more reading on this. If it is bryopsis then taking all the p04 out isn't going to kill it. It will slow it down. Taking out all the p04 will kill your sps and maybe lps and softies. If you find little patchs of it everywhere and you don't have much coral growing on your rocks it may be easier to empty tank clean and get different rock. Bryopsis can be a major PITA.

Thanks guys! it is presently only on this one frag. I will go buy a set of tweasers and see if I can manually remove it before things get out of control.

I would remove the frag.

I would remove everything that the bryopsis is on ASAP. That's a fight most people don't win. Save yourself a headache and remove it.

Few questions, was the slimer a maricultured piece? How long have you had it? Can you get a clearer pic of the damaged area? You said your LPS is fine, but do you have any other Sps? If so, how are they doing? I'm not familiar with the Maxspect Leds, but how high are they mounted above your tank and how long is your photoperiod? Are all the Leds at 85% intensity? Do you have access to a Hanna meter to check your actual phosphate levels? Can you double check your alk level?

As others have mentioned, I've had similar results with certain Sps.
They were usually due to one of the following: the piece was maricultured and had no chance of survival no matter what I would have done, I dropped phosphates too low and too quickly, or I stuck the Sps under LED's.. I'm lucky to have a few different tanks with different lighting systems, but I've noticed my lps do phenomenal under Leds, whereas I can't keep certain Sps at all. Moved the same Sps piece to a tank under t5 and mh, problem instantly solved. Some are more resilient to lighting changes than others...

For the bryopsis, as suggested, tech-m is a step in the right direction. Instead of just dosing it to your tank, for best results, take it one step further. Turn off your flow and use a Turkey baster to directly spray the affected area/frag with the tech-m. I've noticed a lot more effectiveness this way. Youll see it lose its blueish/greenish hue and turn more brown after a few applications. It is possible to beat it, but youll need to attack it from a few angles. (Tangs, gfo, getting rid of whatever you can that keeps growing it back, macro algae, etc). Just my .02

I'm sorry I didn't see this until now - I must have missed my tapatalk alert! My understanding is that the Green Slimer is aquacultured through ORA, though that may not be the case as I can't vouch for its source. I got it from another reefer and though I do not know how long he had it, it was doing fine in his tank.

The Maxspect LEDs are about 8 inches above the water. I've pasted a picture below. The photo period was going as high as 85, but now I have it ramping up (linearly) from 0% (7am) to 50% (noon) and it starts ramping down again from I think 4pm to 7pm, though I could be wrong. Unfortunately I do not have a Hanna meter.

I've also put a few more pictures I took this morning. I don't know that there has been any improvement over the past week, during which I decreased the light (85%-50%), took my GFO and Carbon reactor offline and moved my MP10 to give it a bit more direct flow. I've also started feeding more frequently and adding reefroids into the mix from time to time. These pictures show the bleaching, but unfortunately due to bad lighting they do not show the polyps - There still are the tips of polyps poking through on most of the branches. Oddly enough, the other place where I'm seeing green all over like I used to is on the lowest branch, which is the most bleached.

The bryopsis, if it is that, has largely abated again, which seems weird. I ad a LOT of similar fern type looking algae at the same time I got my first real hair algae bloom, some I'm wondering if it might not be bryopsis afterall. If it starts to spread I'll begin combat immediately, but I feel like I'm fighting a war on too many fronts right now as is.

Your system looks really clean. Another way to combat algae on that plug is to mix hydrogen peroxide with tank water 1 to 3 ratio. There is a huge post about it. Leave it in for a minute or so. It kinda works. Look at pics if it is bryopsis toss frag.
About the SPS, find a LFS or maybe a reef club with a hanna tester for P04. Other than water changes is all you can do for now.

Thanks for the tips on the peroxide! I looked into it and am going to try it tonight.

I was able to get the following picture this morning with the lights off and indirect sunlight. I think this really shows the recent events; bleaching is slowly spreading (including at the bottom) even though the bottom is coloring up. I'm wondering if a location change might be in order?

How long have you had the tank running with livestock in it?

I may be a big dummy for saying this, but to me your tank looks rather new and maybe you should just give it more time to mature instead of chasing numbers. Personally, I have found that chasing numbers(Mag, Alk, Cal,etc..) daily isn't going to make anything better. All the up and down swings usually ending up hurting you. Here are my tips:

- Be consistent in water changes and feedings
- Feed your fish, not your tank. I only feed 3 times a week
- Find something that works and don't fiddle with it. I constantly have to stop myself from buying the new "it" product or must have new light. If it works, stick with it.
- Just because you can test for something, doesnt mean you should change everything. I have seen amazing tanks run with little to no testing. I remember when no one tested for mag...
- Watch your evaporation, temperature, and keep your hands out of the tank

And if you are going to do SPS.
Be prepared for losses. Unfortunately they are inevitable.

Just my .02