Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

my mexican turbo snails and sea urchins did not seem to be interested in the bryopsis when it was healthy (dark green) and actively growing. After treating with Mg, the bryopsis in my tank looked pale (completely transparent in some areas) and mushy. At this point, the snails an urchins cleaned it completely off the rock. It's also worth noting that you will need a LARGE number of snails to have an effect. I added 50 snails (40 trochus, and 10 turbo snails) to the 15 or so astrea snails that I already had. ( I have 150 lbs of live rock).

I can no longer see any trace of bryposis or hair algae in my tank. I hpe the snails don't starve to death.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11716425#post11716425 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by montrealreef
It's also worth noting that you will need a LARGE number of snails to have an effect.

I don't have bryopsis, but I would love to have snails that actually go on the rocks and eat algae. None of the snails I have tried actually go on the rocks let alone eat algae, they just go on the glass. Maybe that is because I only had a few of each type, and you need a lot of them for some to go on the rocks?
 
snails usually go on the glass to eat diatoms or dinoflagellates. Keep your glass crystal clean and they won't have much to eat on the glass. Also, some suggest that you should manually remove the snails and put them on the rocks/algae
 
Yes, I have tried placing them on the rocks and I clean the glass every day whether it looks hazy or not. My snails just don't like the rocks.
 
I have had astrea, a couple kinds of turbos, ceriths, nassarius, and stomatella. The stomatellas are the only ones I ever see on the rocks, but they are small and I don't think eat very much algae. I don't think I have the right ones.
 
margarita and nerites dont work. i have both in my tank and none of them touched the bryopsis.

i just got my order of Tech M and elos mag test. tested my water and its already at 1500ppm. i want to shoot for 1700ppm since the OP dosed to 1680ppm and everything was fine in his tank. once the level is reached ill see how the bryopsis does.

one question tho, should i follow the recommended dosage on the bottle and dose everyday at 1ml per gal...or could i calculate how much i need to bump it up to 1700, and divide the dosage so ill add it in a matter of 3 days?
 
I can't believe this. I have been dosing Kent mg for only 2 days now and see my algae dying! The tips are turning white!!! Is it supposed to work this fast?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11727421#post11727421 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by disaster999
margarita and nerites dont work. i have both in my tank and none of them touched the bryopsis.
I know but Greg was asking about snails eating regular algae (which is what I wish I had instead of this nasty BRYOPSIS!) :mad:
 
I'm regretting ever adding nerite snails. They leave annoying white dots all over my glass. It doesn't come off very easily either. I'm considering just catching them all and moving them to my refugium at this point. They do have cool shells, though.
 
Thought I'd update as I saw this thread is still active. Not only has my bryopsis cleared up, but with good water husbandry and over time with water changes my Mag levels have dropped down to reef salt levels (between 1100 and 1200ppm). No signs of bryopsis coming back even with lowered mag levels, I must have had the perfect variety for this method. Anyhow MUCH THANKS again to TWallace and this thread, I was ready to tear down my tank as every inch was covered and in two weeks bryopsis was just a memory.
 
Glad to help Caragol. I do see tiny remnants of bryopsis now and then on powerheads and my return. But I haven't seen it on rocks, glass, sand or corals in many months now.

I've also let my magnesium drop down to natural levels. I haven't even measured it in a few months. It's probably around 1150, or whatever Reef Crystals contains. I switched from Instant Ocean to Reef Crystals about a month ago. I know IO has around 1100 mag.
 
just 2 days since adding mag, i noticed the bryposis is turning white at the stem. hopefully thats a good sign

i went to check my mag level after dosing 2ml per gal for 3 days. my levels at 1800ppm now. thought adding 1ml per gal will raise the mag level 18.3ppm as per on bottle...oh well hope this works and im not overdosing
 
I sort of wish I'd kept a sample. I heard of a guy who used it to breed lettuce nudibranches due to it's easy growth and that sounds like the sort of thing I'd like to try.
 
Can somebody post the instructions for a Salifert Mg test kit? I can't find the sheet that came with mine.

No need for the big table of values - I know it takes over 1 full syringe to be even close; I just need to know how much of each ingredient.

Thanks!
 
Here's an update for me. I used Tech M and yes it killed off ALL of the bryopsis, I had it pretty bad where it killed off a lot of my corals. Bryopsis was everywhere from top to bottom. It started working within the first couple days of dosing. After a month, ALL bryopsis was gone, but after a couple of months later, they have come back. I started pulling again and dosing with Tech M only to find myself not being able to keep any snails alive. I have stopped dosing Tech M cause I want to get some snails back in there again. I've been doing many water changes and started dosing this new stuffs that was suggested to me. It's Algaefix for marine by API. In just a short period of dosing, bryopsis stopped growing and they have started to recede....I do not see any bryopsis now after I've been dosing this stuff for about 3 weeks. I do have to say IF you have chaeto or other type of fuge algae, better take'em out cause this stuff will kill it and pollute your tank. I find that out when my chaeto started to fall apart. I like dosing this product A LOT better then Tech M, at least it's not killing my snails or making my corals mad. I have not seen my corals sooooo happy in a long time!!!!! But Tech M does work though!!! Different people, different results, all depends on how you do it...... :)
 
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