Finally an easy solution to bryopsis!

[Reeferhead]

Originally posted by Reeferhead
I've kept my Mg level at 1700 ppm for the last 2 weeks and my bryopsis is still growing strong.

I've continued to maintain my Mg level and I think although it certainly hasn't killed off the bryopsis it may have slowed its growth. I've noticed that it takes longer for it to rebound after pruning.

[Reeferhead]

Originally posted by Peter Eichler
Any chance of a good photo of your algae? Also, what are your tank parameters besides the Mg?

Sorry no photo but I can assure you it is bryopsis however it does not appear to be the same species pictured earlier in this thread.

Other Parameters:

SG 1.025
Temp 80-81
pH 7.9-8.2
Alk 8-9 DKH
Cal 425-450
NO3 undetectable
PO4 undetectable

[raddogz]

Originally posted by steelers2005
W The stems of what a believe to be the bryopsis went from being green to clear.

If the tips are going clear does that mean it's dying? I just received my one gallon jug of Tech M. As of two days ago my mg level was at 1200 so we'll see.

[TWallace]

Yes, definitely. Mine started turning clear before it vanished.

[myfrostymember]

is it posible that its not the range in which you take the mag but the amount you increase it?

like if you start with 1200 you have to go close to 2000
but if you start with 800 you only have to go to 1500 or so

if two people each have a reading of 900 and 1200 and they both raise them to 1600- the person that started with 900 has raised there mag twice as much -almost

also i woul dleave the mag raised for awhile because there is probably alot or particles of the bri your not seeing

just some thoughts i gathered from reading this

[tangdiver]

Good thinking....would be nice to try....

[Kolognekoral]

frosty

The same idea crossed my mind, but then I remebered that my Mg was about 960 and I raised it to 1600 without effect! Something else is in the game. Maybe a nutrient source?

In any case, I am continuing to play with the Mg.

[raddogz]

Well at this point I'm willing to try just about anything including raising it to an insane 2000.

My rocks are so covered with this stuff including all the bases of the frags the next step would be to break the tank down, and restart anew with new rock.

[Randall_James]

Originally posted by raddogz
Well at this point I'm willing to try just about anything including raising it to an insane 2000.

My rocks are so covered with this stuff including all the bases of the frags the next step would be to break the tank down, and restart anew with new rock.

just go back to basics..

Algae needs nutrient and light...keep working on limited import and expanding the export... is not a fast process but it will work over time... just frustrating when you have a tank full of gunk I am sure

[TWallace]

Originally posted by Randall_James
just go back to basics..

Algae needs nutrient and light...keep working on limited import and expanding the export... is not a fast process but it will work over time... just frustrating when you have a tank full of gunk I am sure

I've witnessed bryopsis continue to thrive in tanks with no livestock and no feeding for weeks, with 0 nitrates/phosphates.

In fact, it's currently flourishing in my QT which hasn't had a fish in it for over a month (and therefore, no feeding). The only inhabitants of the tank are 2 astrea snails.

I'm currently boosting the magnesium to see if it will kill it. I had trouble getting magnesium beyond 1440. I knew that low mag prevents calcium from being raised, so I thought maybe the inverse was true as well. My calcium measured 430, and I know that calcium is typically around 1/3 the level of magnesium. I mixed up my kalkwasser and poured a glass of it into the QT and added some Kent Turbo Calcium for good measure. Then I measured the mag an hour later and it was 1660. I'll now wait and see if the bryopsis starts dying.

I'm just not sold on the idea that bryopsis can be defeated simply by nutrient starvation. If the ideal tank doesn't have the nutrients to support bryopsis, then how do so many people run refugiums with flourishing chaetomorpha? Surely the presence of chaetomorpha would indicate excessive nutrient levels, just as the presence of bryopsis does, right? Fact is, bryopsis choked out the chaetomorpha in my refugium. It was easily out competing it for nutrients.

[jdieck]

Many algae can use the carbon they need from the dissolved CO2 and convert the nitrogen dissolved from aeration into nutrients also.

[raddogz]

I agree with TWallace.

I didn't feed the fish for three days that the lights were out in my 120g tank. One 30g water change before and another one right after the three day lights out time. Very little change to the Dersbia hair algae at all. Calcium levels were at around 400, and alkalinity was around 14 and Ph during the day was at 8.3 and go down to 8.1.

I've been battling this since late March. I'm still playing with the magnesium as the amount that I've been throwing only raises it maybe 50ppm.

I have several chunks of rock which I pulled out of the tank when it first got real bad and have been sitting in a 7g salt bucket with powerhead for the past two months. I opened the bucket the other day. That stuff is as thick as ever.

[Randall_James]

Originally posted by jdieck
Many algae (Cyano as an example) can use the carbon they need from the dissolved CO2 and convert the nitrogen dissolved from aeration into nutrients also.

Cyano as you know is not an algae at all..

Spontaneous algal growth is something I am unfamiliar with. I have not experienced a tank with algae outbreaks that did not have some type of nutrient import.. Pulling nutrient from aerated water is something I have never heard of before... can you point me in the direction of where this info is? interesting stuff that is...


Old rock with growth is pretty easy to explain, phosphates leach into and then out of the rock...

As far as the qt tank, it is possible that you have a small circle going here. Some dies, some grows, the nitrogen and nutrient released from dead or dying could be feeding new stuff... hence the export issue, if you pull out growing matter, it deprives the system of the nitrogen it has used (mulching your lawn for example puts nutrient back into the lawn to be used by new grass) The original nutrient was likely brought into the system by fish waste and food initially.

I am not speaking from personal experience here, I have never had issues with algae after about 3 months on any new tank.

I have gone through all the various stages at one time or another and only can only say that I held off on nutrient import on these systems, exported what I could and the stuff always went away as fast as it started. (the time involved was radically different on tanks I put fish in btw, took much longer)

[raddogz]

Absolutely you can have a vicious circle if one was not doing water changes or skimming but many of do.

As many have stated there are many kinds of "hair algae", so I am curious to see what elevated magnesium levels will do.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by Randall_James
Cyano as you know is not an algae at all..

Spontaneous algal growth is something I am unfamiliar with. I have not experienced a tank with algae outbreaks that did not have some type of nutrient import.. Pulling nutrient from aerated water is something I have never heard of before... can you point me in the direction of where this info is? interesting stuff that is...

Cyano? who said Cyano? ..... j/k

Randy:
Has been a while (about a year since I read about it), I'll look for the links. It mentions the use of the CO2 to turn out some sugars used to feed on. On the Nitrogen it mentioned something about simbiosis with bacteris and conversion via some enzymeor something on that line.
Hope I find it.

[melev]

Well, I had to battle bryopsis a couple of years ago when I got some LR from a local reefer that was moving away. In his tank he never saw it because he had a foxface that kept it mowed down. As I don't like the look of that particular fish, that wasn't an option.

For months, I battled it. I plucked what I could, I added Lettuce Nudibranchs and daily searched for them (in the refugium, pasted to the intake of pumps) and placed them back near the byropsis patches.

You can use a turkeybaster to blow out the trapped detritus that this particular algae uses like a DSB to fuel more growth. If you keep at it this way, you can rid your tank of it. It is frustrating though.

I really hoped this idea of boosting Mg to kill it would work, especially if the livestock doesn't feel any ill effects from higher Mg in the water.

[TWallace]

Originally posted by melev
I really hoped this idea of boosting Mg to kill it would work, especially if the livestock doesn't feel any ill effects from higher Mg in the water.

It worked great in my main system. I'm currently trying it out in my QT. I just got the mag over 1600 last night. I've taken pics along the way and will post them, assuming the magnesium does the trick in this tank as well.

[steelers2005]

I wanted to report in that this does indeed seem to be working for me. Most of what is left in the tank are t he stalks of what I believe to be bryopsis. Slowly but surely it's clearing up, hopefully it will stay away. I still have not be able to figure out how to post a few pictures.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by Randall_James
... can you point me in the direction of where this info is? interesting stuff that is...

Been looking for a while, can find it... still looking.

[murraycamp]

I just tried this method with my sps tank. I raised Magnesium to between 1550-1600 (with Tech M) from 1200 over the course of four days. I had a nasty Bryopsis outbreak, and no herbivores worked. Even a sea hare wouldn't touch it.

Three or four days after I hit my target level, the Bryopsis was gone. No evident harm to any other inhabitants. Pretty cool.

I am planing on keeping the Mg level up for two weeks and then brining it back down.

[frederickk]

Let us know if it stays like that. I might try it as well but curious to know if chance are you get another outbreak a little later.

[Kolognekoral]

It seems that many of the successes are done using Tech M. Perhaps there is some component in it that makes the difference? I do not know the product here in Europe. Anyone know more about its composition?

[raddogz]

I have been dosing with Tech M in earnest for the past four to five days. The magnesium levels are up to 1500 or so for me from 1200.

The tips are dying as they are clearly turning white. The recession of green is a bit more (as in a little bit) everyday.

I will say I have been doing more water changes, running dual phosban reactors with Warner Marine's phospure HC, upping Magnesium levels, added sea hare, and removing the worst to the hair algae covered rocks. I also have been doing way more pruning.

Yes, I am trying a little bit of everything so will never really know if it's just the Tech M or not; however I am seeing results. I would just leave the bryopsis covered rocks if it was a smaller tank, but at 120g it's starting to be an ongoing nightmare.

[TWallace]

I've been using Mag Flake in my QT to boost the magnesium. I haven't tested in a few days, but the last test was around 1600. I haven't noticed the bryopsis dying that tank. I had success with Kent Tech M in my main system, though. Maybe I'll order more of that and try it again in the QT.

[Travis]

TWallace, that is very interesting. Thanks for sharing and please keep us updated. Maybe there is something extra in the Tech M or maybe there is something lacking in the mag flake.