Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

[steks]

Finally I have read the entire topic, while I am still planning on raising my SO4 I don’t really believe this will be the “magic ingredient” of Kent Tech M. If having a SO4 level of 4000/4500 ppm won’t have any effect in my Bryopsis I will raise my Mg level to around 1800/2000 ppm (using MgCl2, because otherwise my SO4 will be way to high). If that won’t work I will bring everything back to near NSW and I will buy Ken Tech M.

It will be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but maybe an analysis on Kent Tech M will result in knowing what ingredient can be responsible for killing the Bryopsis. You just need to know the NSW levels of about 80 elements (that’s not so difficult to obtain) and than analyze the Kent Tech M and see what components are significantly higher in proportion. Unfortunately I am not able to do that, and I also don’t know people who could, but maybe there is a chemist in this large community of Reef Central that can do it.

@ redfishsc, I will battle the Bryopsis for at least 2 months, but already I am curious about your way of oxidizing everything in the tank cheaply.

 

[blasto_master]

Thats pretty interesting. I am a little nervous to raise the Mag to those levels tho.

 

[redfishsc]

Thats pretty interesting. I am a little nervous to raise the Mag to those levels tho.

Up to around 1800 or 2000 you really aren't risking a lot, although some euphyllias do not like this. I've gone waaay over 2,000 and lost nothing except one torch went from 6 heads to 3. One was a polyp bailout due to being shaded, the other two I cannot say for what reason other than maybe magnesium.
I also have a frogspawn--- an orange that seems to be more delicate than normal, that has closed up and won't open but 1/4" or so at the most. It's been that way for a while.

 

[OwNeD162]

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I'm having success using SeaChem Magnesium crystals, dissolving them in RO/DI and adding to the tank daily... Hopefully in a few more weeks time I'll be bryopsis free !

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks for that! There are a lot of folks that have reported success with Seachem's mag product.

 

[steks]

I have used Seachem Reef Advantage Magnesium to boost my Mg from 1200 to almost 1500 but with no effect.

 

[wrott]

Iv'e used Tech-M in the past w/ good results.
I have another outbreak that is almost gone (Mg@2000ppm), and I have noticed that Valonia has started to die as well. The bubbles are turning clear and then rupturing.
I'm sure this is no coincidense, because I've been monitoring Mg concentration and the Bryopsis didn't really start to die until 2000ppm Mg/Salifert (noticeable overnight). Before I had Mg at 16-1800ppm, then kicked it up a gear--big difference. The only thing that i have noticed is my Ricordia not open as much, SPS+LPS seem very well.
From past experience, slowed snails is a sign of too much Mg.
\
Has anyone else seen Valonia vanish??

 

[Doobze]

Just curious, as the Salifert Mg tests only go up to 1500ppm, what's everybody's process for measuring beyond that? I'm interested in this technique because I have the very beginnings of bryopsis rearing its ugly head and I want to tackle this head on before it gets bad.

 

[redfishsc]

You can go beyond 1500 with salifert.

Just refill the syringe again (but leave the sample water alone) and count the drops that it takes to turn the sample color.


Then add the two totals together.


I return the remaining fluid in the syringe to the test fluid vial.

 

[Doobze]

Oh, duh, makes sense haha

 

[TeePee]

I actually turkey basted the tech M onto the bryopsis as I was administering it to the tank....I really need to post a before and after pic of my rock covered in bryopsis... and NONE now...I still have a few little patches here and there and I am keeping my Mag elevated until I think it is ALL GONE... no ill effects seen as of yet and it has been around 1580 -1600 for about a month...in fact, I am seeing really good polyp extension on some of my sps that I have not seen extension on in about 6 months...:dance:

After reading this, I tried the turkey baster method when dosing last night. If that helps speed up the process, I'm all for it. As far as I'm concerned, there can be no death to this weed that is considered too cruel or unusual!

 

[jennmac415]

I don't know if it actually contributed to the bryopsis death or not... but when I get around to it, I will post a before and after pic... I did this a few times while I was dosing the Tech M regularly...I am going to try it on another small patch of bryopsis that is being slower to die...let me know if it starts to work...

 

[redfishsc]

I don't know if it actually contributed to the bryopsis death or not... but when I get around to it, I will post a before and after pic... I did this a few times while I was dosing the Tech M regularly...I am going to try it on another small patch of bryopsis that is being slower to die...let me know if it starts to work...

Hit the bryopsis first with boiling RO water (be careful with the turkey baster, the heating of the air in the baster can rocket out a jet of hot water onto your tank glass).


Hitting the bryo with boiling water can severely weaken it (particularly at the point of rock attachment). I do this on the occasion as a way of killing off certain patches of it.


Next thing I am going to try is a hypersaline solution (standard noniodized table salt).

 

[Lightsluvr]

I posted this on my build thread, but thought I would place it over here for comment and suggestions:
*************
First a photo of the algae in question. The tangs pick at LR all day, but won't touch this stuff - thus my reason for opining that it is Bryopsis:


*******************
In the past, I have measured phosphate using a Hagen test kit. Unfortunately the kit jumps from zero to .25, which isn't very helpful.

Hair algae and diatoms are now under control, but nothing seems to affect the suspected Bryopsis. I have decided to attack suspected phosphate that is not being controlled by water changes or Chaeto in the acrylic sump.

First, I will dump the Hagen kit, replacing it with a Hanna Instruments Phosphate (LR) Photometer with 890 nm LED:

Quoting Hanna's specifications: "Phosphates in a reef aquarium can be very detrimental to coral growth. It is recomonded Phosphates levels be kept below 0.03ppm. Most test kits will not read as low as 0.03, howerver the Hanna Instruments Photometer will read down to 0.01, providing the acuracy needed for maintaining a SPS tank."

The meter should arrive today, at which time I will obtain a reading in the system, to establish a baseline PO4 reading.

After getting the baseline number, I will put a TLF Model 550 Phosphate reactor on line. It will be mounted on the acrylic sump, using a MJ400 to feed the reactor:

At the same time, I will be slowly increasing MG from 1350 to 1600+/- using Tech-M, that old favorite of Algae Slayer (a mythical slime fighter often found here on RC).

We'll conduct our own test to see if the unknown "impurity" in Tech-M causes Bryopsis to simply "melt away"... I should be so lucky.

LL

 

[TeePee]

Wow, where did all my bryopsis go?? I started dosing Tech-M to raise Mg levels last weekend (starting value around 950). In seven short days, my bryopsis is gone. My mag level as of last nite was about 1300. I normally dosed right to the sump but twice used the turkey baster method described a few posts ago by JennMac. Put me down as another worshiper at the temple of Tech-M.

 

[jennmac415]

wow... good news.. maybe I am on to something!

 

[PhreeBYrd]

I posted this on my build thread, but thought I would place it over here for comment and suggestions:

<snipped>

First, I will dump the Hagen kit, replacing it with a Hanna Instruments Phosphate (LR) Photometer with 890 nm LED:

Quoting Hanna's specifications: "Phosphates in a reef aquarium can be very detrimental to coral growth. It is recomonded Phosphates levels be kept below 0.03ppm. Most test kits will not read as low as 0.03, howerver the Hanna Instruments Photometer will read down to 0.01, providing the acuracy needed for maintaining a SPS tank."

While I think the Hanna LR Phosphate photometer is a nice, useful, and well-made tool (I have one myself, a #HI93713), the quoted specifications are misleading. According to Hanna's specs, http://www.hannainst.com/manuals/manHI_93713.pdf, the meter's resolution is 0.01 ppm. Its accuracy is only +/-0.04 ppm or 4% of the reading. Therefore, the claim that the meter reads as low as 0.03 is meaningless because it's 0.03 +/- 0.04. The claim that it "will read down to 0.01" is ridiculous.

It is, nonetheless, a great improvement over any test kit I've ever seen or used.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It seems that some folks who have tested it get better than 0.03 ppm for the lower limit of quantitation, despite your correct interpretation of their statement.

0.03 ppm is about the limit of detection of the best kits, such as the Hach PO-19.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Hmmmm....

Hmmmm....

Interesting.

Here is the first reading I got, using the "Direct Read" method:

In my mind, I knew that couldn't be correct, so I ran a second test, using the "Time Read" method where the meter counts down for 3 minutes and then displays the result.

If this second reading is even close, I know why I have Bryopsis! I am putting the Phosphate reactor online later this morning...

LL

 

[eskymick]

I actually turkey basted the tech M onto the bryopsis as I was administering it to the tank....I really need to post a before and after pic of my rock covered in bryopsis... and NONE now...I still have a few little patches here and there and I am keeping my Mag elevated until I think it is ALL GONE... no ill effects seen as of yet and it has been around 1580 -1600 for about a month...in fact, I am seeing really good polyp extension on some of my sps that I have not seen extension on in about 6 months...:dance:

I tried the "basting" method with Kent Tech M, too. I took an extra step to bring the solution to a boil first. The bryopsis turned white over night and is now falling apart. I have a few more patches to do. This time I'll mix up a batch of epsom salt and water and see if it has the same effect.