Rasing Magnesium To Kill Algae...

[ryangrieder]

So im really getting tired of my algae issue that sprung up again. so i talked to a nice guy over at Manhattan Aquarium and russ at saltwater critters (another great guy) and they convinced me to try the whole rasing magnesium thing to kill it. the guy from manhattan aquariums reccomended kent tech M magnesium. i just went over to russ's house and bought a gallon of ESV B-ionic Magnesium. i was told to double to triple the treatment and raise my magnesium up to 1800-2000. So, directions say add 1 1/2 ml per gallon every day until i hit my level i want to be at. its a 46 bow (3 fish no corals) and with sump so maybe 50g total of water. im dosing 150ml a day. my magnesium level is currently i think around 1300-1400. i have a couple questions on this...

1. what test kit goes that high up on the scale chart of around 2000? i have a red sea test kit and it stops at 1350.

2. is 1800-2000 good? i have also heard 1600-1800 works as well.

3. does temp or salt levels have anything to do with this as well or just leave it as normal?

4. i was told tech m to use, but i got ESV instead because i love ESV, should still be fine right? or does kent work better for this situation?

5. should i be doing anything else while i do that? check any other levels? turn skimmer off? anything random like that?

6. who has done this method and works? i was told be careful, but it works amazing. usually takes 2-3 weeks to get levels right then it all slowly dies.

7. here are a few pics of the algae i have, i have three different types, will this method kill all three types?




first type...(dont know what type. small stem going up with faded ferns)

second type...(just hair i believe)

third type...(not sure what kind either. like spaghetti style all intwined)

thanks all if you answer, and ill keep it updated on how it works...

 

[scapone]

2000 is a bit much first what's the rest of your parameters like phosphate and nitrates I had a real bad algae problem got rid of it and never raised mag

sent from my HTC EVO

 

[knugenx]

first type is bryopsis

 

[ryangrieder]

all other pars are perfect. everything is spot on.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

I don't know what type of magnesium that ESV uses but the Kent or Brightwell product combines magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride and this seems to make a difference with bryopsis

 

[Staaan]

I've battled bryopsis before. From all the googling I did - Kent Tech M magnesium is supposed to be the best.. for whatever reason.

It definitely decimated my HUGE bryopsis out break. (You can see pics on my 6g nanocube thread in my sig)

However - start dosing it VERY slowly.. especially if you have inverts.

My cleaner shrimp literally started "bugging" out after just 2 days of dosing. He used to hang upside down in his little cave and come out at night, but he started coming out in the middle of the day crawling over corals.. and constantly - what looked like cleanning his antennae? Just a weird sweeping motion, rubbing them. And at some points just start jumping/swimming around in erratic patterns. Next morning... I found remnants of his tail being feasted on by my CUC.

But it did destroy the bryopsis. And About 3/4 of my tank was covered in it.

Of course it was easy to over dose my tiny little 6g, but just try to do it as slowly as possible. It will work no matter what, just don't shock your system.

 

[Arati]

Its been awhile since I read through the thread on RC, but i seem to remeber it was only working with the products LIAndy mentioned it doesnt work with esv.

The best option is to figure out the cause. How much water do you change, how often? do you use rodi water, have you checked you make up waters TDS. I always get a small algea breakout when its time for new rodi filters.

I think you should tell us asmuch as u can about your system, bioload, lighting(how old are the bulbs), feeding scedual, maintences schedual ect.. so we can help you to get a real plan. mag only treats the symptom.. it wont change the cause and the problems will re accure.

also do you have clams, im not sure how they will be effected by mag that high. ya u can kill all your inverts with mag. u will notice it stuns all the snails if u raise it to fast.

 

[Staaan]

Its been awhile since I read through the thread on RC, but i seem to remeber it was only working with the products LIAndy mentioned it doesnt work with esv.

The best option is to figure out the cause. How much water do you change, how often? do you use rodi water, have you checked you make up waters TDS. I always get a small algea breakout when its time for new rodi filters.

I think you should tell us asmuch as u can about your system, bioload, lighting(how old are the bulbs), feeding scedual, maintences schedual ect.. so we can help you to get a real plan. mag only treats the symptom.. it wont change the cause and the problems will re accure.

also do you have clams, im not sure how they will be effected by mag that high.

Yeah... Arati hit it on head.

In my case my RODI system/filters was still practically brand new... don't know if thats the case for you.

 

[jerl77]

tech m worked for me stayed at 1700 for a week

 

[ryangrieder]

well here is a quick sum up

tank
46g bow. 9 gallon sump. nac 7 skimmer. filter sock. mag 7 return pump.
ESV salt.
RODI water
2- 1250 hydor EVO powerhead
1- 1200 aqueon powerhead
50 pounds or so rock
20-30lbs sand
3-4 inch clown trigger
3-4 inch miniatus grouper
3-4 inch spiny box
no corals, no inverts, thats it. those fish will eat anything like that.

light
4 bulb t-5. fuji purple. ati blue plus. ati super blue. wavepoint actinic. all bulbs 1-2 months old
1 250w metal halide. phenoix 14k 2 months old
8-1w blue LEDS
ice cap 36 inch blue LED strip.

water pars.
ph 8.4
amm: 0
nitrate:5
nitrite:0
calcium: 465
mag:1350-1400
phos: .5
dkh: dont remember but spot on last i checked
temp:79.5
sal: .024

tank been running for maybe 5 months now
coraline algae blooming like crazy

battled algae first month of set up. started dosing mag and calcium to get those pars up and the algae died naturally while i was doing that.

fish healthy and happy as can be. tank has been running amazing. except the algae that started maybe 2 weeks ago.

ill tell you what...its only been 3 days dosing alot of magnesium...but i think i kinda nodice some death already. bryopsis is thinning out, losing colors, and turning into only stright stalks now, the ferns dying down. hair algae looks kinda the same though, maybe not as green anymore though.

 

[jerl77]

i had bryopsis algea only but it killed it all have not seen it in 1 year now

 

[fishman1069]

Why do you have such a crazy lighting setup with no corals?!?

 

[ryangrieder]

well.... i DID have corals in the tank, until the algae started. i moved them all to my bio cube. its going to be a full reef sooner or later, but im still doing the whole waiting game til i feel its ready to go, and right now, its not ready

 

[knugenx]

there's a thread started here on MR today on using H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to deal with algae...maybe that's another idea to try

 

[ryangrieder]

i read it, but im already commited to this. thank u though...

 

[jfahim]

You should try running a phosphate reactor. Brs one is great. If you have that much algae and your phosphate is .5 it is probably much higher


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[jcolon2]

I raised my magnesium and it worked wonders for eliminating algae!

 

[batt600]

Come to think about it when my may was at 1800 i had no alge problem what so ever

 

[ryangrieder]

ohh i forgot to add i do have a very large reactor. by precision marine. about 1 1/2 foot tall and 12 inch around and a mag 3 or 5 pump on it.

im going to retest my phosphates today.

batt when you had your mag at 1800, were you just running it naturally that high for corals or something or for a dif reason?

 

[seldin]

As for getting rid of some types of Algae, the brand of magnesium you would want to try is Kent. There is something in there that is slightly different than other brands, that was documented by an aquarium guru on-line. Sorry, don't know reference...