Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

[TWallace]

I know a lot of people that have been using this technique are using Kent Tech M for magnesium. Marine Depot lists the contents: Deionized water containing the following elements (as ions): magnesium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, potassium, bromine, strontium, boron, fluorine, lithium, rubidium, iodine, iron, molybdenum, zinc, nickel, copper, manganese, vanadium, cesium, cobalt, tungsten, selenium, and chromium.

[Moloch_0]

So does anyone know biologically what is happening? I know Mg is part of chlorophyll A & B but what is actually going on that is killing it?

[Mr31415]

Originally posted by Randall_James
Where did they mention this? I guess I missed that part as did someone else

Reef Frontiers - the link in the OP.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by TWallace
I know a lot of people that have been using this technique are using Kent Tech M for magnesium. Marine Depot lists the contents: Deionized water containing the following elements (as ions): magnesium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, potassium, bromine, strontium, boron, fluorine, lithium, rubidium, iodine, iron, molybdenum, zinc, nickel, copper, manganese, vanadium, cesium, cobalt, tungsten, selenium, and chromium.

Magnesium, Chlorine and Sulfur Ions come from the mix of Magnesium Sulfate and Magnesium Chloride which are the main ingredients. Also it might contain Magnesium Borate judgeing by the content of boron, this again to better balance the ions. Anything else is probably just traces coming as minor impurities of the main constituents.

[Gary Majchrzak]

in plainspeak:
monitor Mg with an accurate test kit and raise the level slowly.
An "overdose" might not be necessary in all cases to eliminate Bryopsis.
You might be able to overcome a nuisance Bryopsis problem by simply maintaining Mg at a level around 1350ppm.

[Bemmer]

So, I started dosing my large 225g main tank with the Kent TechM product. I only added 100ml because I don't want to over do it too quickly.

I added the Tech M to the sump near the intake holes to the return pump. I figured it would get mixed well this way. How are others dosing the product; into the sump or directly into the main tank?

[TWallace]

I added mine to the sump as well.

[Moloch_0]

If anyone is interested some of this info may apply as plants an green algae are closely related:

Wikipedia

The last paragraph is interesting.

Originally posted by Moloch_0
So does anyone know biologically what is happening? I know Mg is part of chlorophyll A & B but what is actually going on that is killing it?

[Neptune777]

TWallace,
I am getting the same results as you with the elevated Mg. Bryopsis is slowly but steadily melting away. I siphoned out most of the dying clumps last night to speed up the process.

I over shot the Mg levels in the beginning and shocked my snails (which I removed and put into my other system...they all fully recovered). I run very heavy with SPS and they all seem to be doing just great! Thanks again for the information!

[Neptune777]

I should add that I used Mag-Flake to boost my Mg levels.

[Khairilasny]

Originally posted by Neptune777
TWallace,
I am getting the same results as you with the elevated Mg. Bryopsis is slowly but steadily melting away. I siphoned out most of the dying clumps last night to speed up the process.

I over shot the Mg levels in the beginning and shocked my snails (which I removed and put into my other system...they all fully recovered). I run very heavy with SPS and they all seem to be doing just great! Thanks again for the information!

That's good news. I'm dosing my Mg since wednesday, but no result yet. May be it has not reached the desired Mg level...

[neelix]

Originally posted by Neptune777
I should add that I used Mag-Flake to boost my Mg levels.

Mag and epsom salts?? Which formula?

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Khairilasny
That's good news. I'm dosing my Mg since wednesday, but no result yet. May be it has not reached the desired Mg level...

MY mag is almost 2000, and the little patch I had still looks the same.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by neelix
Mag and epsom salts?? Which formula?

Ideally a mix of 10:1 Magflake to Epsom Salts, otherwise only Magflake. Note that Magflake may contain impurities that result in Ammonia so do not increase more than 50 to 100 ppm per day.

[TWallace]

Originally posted by RichConley
MY mag is almost 2000, and the little patch I had still looks the same.

How long has it been at/near 2000? When mine reached 1680 I stopped dosing and started taking pictures daily. Within 3-4 days you could clearly see the bryopsis declining. Within a week it was 90% gone. And I had a magnificent forest of the stuff. The kind that would make Brazilians jealous.

[RichConley]

I started bumping it up last week. I usually run around 1500.

[RichConley]

I started bumping it up last week. I usually run around 1500.


Maybe my salifert kit is off.... I havent been very happy with thier kits of late.

[20 20]

My 125 gallon was testing around 1320 with Salifert, the last test it had. I then added a cup of the mag additive (per Randy's instructions). I can't find a Salifert mag test kit anywhere so I bought a Red Sea test kit. It registered 'off the chart', being so high the kit couldn't measure it. So, either the Salifert kit was vastly understating the level, the Red Sea kit is vastly overstating the level, or that was one heck of a cup of mag additive I put in!

I've upped the mag level in the tank I'm cooking the rock in, and I haven't been testing the level due to the strangely high readings from the Red Sea kit. I add about 2 1/2 cups of the mag additive to the 10 gallons of water in the tank. In 3 weeks the rocks will have been cooking for 3 months, and I'll add the rock to my existing 125 gallon reef. I'll update this thread with any 'briopsis updates'.

[Randall_James]

A. Calfo explains that keeping your PH at 8.5-8.6 will have the same effect without knocking your trace elements out of whack.

I have never had algae issues and have no idea but seems PH is safer than hyper elevated mg levels.

Has anyone tried the elevated PH method?

[jdieck]

Originally posted by Randall_James
A. Calfo explains that keeping your PH at 8.5-8.6 will have the same effect without knocking your trace elements out of whack.

I have never had algae issues and have no idea but seems PH is safer than hyper elevated mg levels.

Has anyone tried the elevated PH method?

The trick would be on how to rise and keep the higher alkalinity. If using Kalk you run the risk of ending with sky high levels of Calcium and Alkalinity.

[Randall_James]

Originally posted by jdieck
The trick would be on how to rise and keep the higher alkalinity. If using Kalk you run the risk of ending with sky high levels of Calcium and Alkalinity.

I already run kalk (not very good at increasing ca levels, but maintains fairly well). I do keep my ph >8.2 , wonder if this could be part of why I have never had to deal with algae issues?

[jdieck]

Originally posted by Randall_James
I already run kalk (not very good at increasing ca levels, but maintains fairly well). I do keep my ph >8.2 , wonder if this could be part of why I have never had to deal with algae issues?

Sure it will be part of it. Algae requires CO2, nutrients and light.
Higher PH lower dissolved Co2 in the water so it may well become a limiting factor when nutrients or light are not limiting.

[mile sq. reefer]

Whats the effect of the prolonged Mag increase on SPS? Anybody using this technique with an infested SPS tank?

[jdieck]

Originally posted by mile sq. reefer
Whats the effect of the prolonged Mag increase on SPS? Anybody using this technique with an infested SPS tank?

Not much research has been done. Here is a piece on toxicity from an article by Dr Holmes-Farley:

"Interestingly, coralline algae that normally packs a large amount of magnesium into their calcium carbonate deposits (>4 mole percent magnesium carbonate, or >1% magnesium by weight) has been shown to incorporate less magnesium when the magnesium content of the water is reduced. The amount incorporated is directly proportional to the magnesium concentration. Consequently, the amount of magnesium that they consume in aquaria is dependent on the magnesium content of the water. This effect is also likely to extend to other calcifying organisms as well.

In addition to that used in calcification, many organisms (if not all) take up magnesium from seawater. Organisms ranging from bacteria8-10 to fish11 take up magnesium. In many cases, there is so much magnesium in seawater that the organisms need to spend more effort pumping back out excess magnesium than they do trying to take it up. For example:

“That the kidneys of marine fish have powerful renal mechanisms for the excretion of magnesium (Mg) from the body has been known since the early 1930s…”11

Toxicity of Elevated Magnesium

There have been very few studies on the toxicity of elevated magnesium on most marine organisms. Most toxicity studies involving magnesium use freshwater species. This is largely true because magnesium is already quite high in concentration in normal seawater, so to significantly elevate it requires conditions that would rarely be encountered in oceans or even lagoons.

Bingman12 pointed out in a previous article that at elevated concentrations (>8,000 ppm), magnesium has been used as an aid in shucking oysters, helping to force the oyster open,12-14 and also as an anesthetic for them.12 Consequently, magnesium does have potentially negative biological effects at significantly elevated concentrations.

[JB NY]

I ran my tank with mag around 1500-1550 for a little over a year with no problems to my SPS. I had probably close to 60 different acros.