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Bryopsis Problem

Staaan

Staaan

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Manhattan Reefs
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Queens, New York
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So.. I've been "battling" this bryopsis in my tank for about 2 months now.

By battle.. I mean about every 2+ weeks, I'd open up my little 6g nanocube hood, and try to pluck as much out as I could with a long tweezer.

It seems that the bryopsis has made a bit of a root system in the sand bed.

I read that increasing the magnesium levels has been found to be an effective way to completely get rid of bryopsis.

Can anyone confirm the magnesium dosing?
 
I

ins0mniac001

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Manhattan Reefs
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westchester, ny
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I too have been plagued by bryopsis sp. in my 55g reef.
I've read about increased magnesium levels but I never got the nerve to throw the chemical balance that far out of wack.
I can't find it again right now, but there are a few threads discussing which magnesium to use if you're going to try it. From my reading,
it seems like its definitely something in the Kent Tech-M, because that's the only thing that seems to be reported to work 100% of the time.
Perhaps either an impurity or just something about the specific combination? It also appears that the magic number is somewhere between
1400-1600ppm (with the tendency on the higher end of that spectrum).
I was still never confident enough to do something so drastic though. Your situation might be different, if there is actually a root system
built in the sand bed you may not have many other options. (I ended up sacrificing an entire rock and pulling/epoxying over another patch)
If you do it, just make sure you raise it slowly (and test all your other parameters often) so that everything can have more of a chance
to adjust to the change in water composition.
I've tried just about everything else under the sun, mechanical and biological without any luck whatsoever. Some of these "amazing"
blue-eyed (spot?) mexican hermit crabs that actually just eat my snails...

Good luck!
 
DrHarryLopez

DrHarryLopez

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Ozone Park, Queens
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Have you ck'd the mag level in your tank?
What is ur mg level?
I figured out for a 6 gal total water volume
to raise ur mg from 1300 to 1500
you would need to dissolve 44.8 grams; 1.5
in enough rodi water to dissolve the cystals
of Epson salt. Add it to a high flow area,
better if in a sump. The first time add in small
portions and test mag level.
 
Staaan

Staaan

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Manhattan Reefs
Location
Queens, New York
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Nope. I don't really have any SPS, so I never saw the need to get a mag. test kit.

I do my weekly water changes with instant ocean, about 20 - 30%, and thtats basically how I "refresh" all my levels.

Only thing I ever really dose into the tank is PurpleUp.. which has actually helped me boost the speed of my coraline growth tremendously.

However.. I guess I should pick up a Ca & Mg test kit. Possibly even Alkalinity as well..

I gotta say though.. maintaining this small system, atleast to me hasn't proved as hard as people made it seem.

Only real "problems" I ever had with this tank are Cyanobacteria, which was very easily disposed of with special blend dosing and finally adding a powerhead into the tank for added circulation.

And now this problem, bryopsis.

It looks so ugly to me..however my mother absolutely loves it.. and thinks I should leave it... :sigh:
 
Staaan

Staaan

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Manhattan Reefs
Location
Queens, New York
Rating - 100%
12   0   0
Nope. I don't really have any SPS, so I never saw the need to get a mag. test kit.

I do my weekly water changes with instant ocean, about 20 - 30%, and thtats basically how I "refresh" all my levels.

Only thing I ever really dose into the tank is PurpleUp.. which has actually helped me boost the speed of my coraline growth tremendously.

However.. I guess I should pick up a Ca & Mg test kit. Possibly even Alkalinity as well..

I gotta say though.. maintaining this small system, atleast to me hasn't proved as hard as people made it seem.

Only real "problems" I ever had with this tank are Cyanobacteria, which was very easily disposed of with special blend dosing and finally adding a powerhead into the tank for added circulation.

And now this problem, bryopsis.

It looks so ugly to me..however my mother absolutely loves it.. and thinks I should leave it... :sigh:
 
Thales

Thales

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SFBA
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The only mag addition that has been shown to effect bryopsis is Tech M. Raising Mg with other Mg doesn't kill the bryopsis. The reasons why Tech M appears to work is unknown. There are dangers with Mg around 1600 - some corals react badly and can die, and Mg can have an anesthetic effect on mollusks. Also, there are reports of the bryopsis coming back after the levels have been reduced.
 
Staaan

Staaan

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Manhattan Reefs
Location
Queens, New York
Rating - 100%
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Yeah.. honestly I don't want to screw around with the water chemistry of my tank. Everything is so stable now, and its only a little 6g that any small change could end up being catastrophic. I'm gunna keep looking around for some other, as mandown stated "natural remedies".

On my 46g upgrade, I'm going to inspect every piece of coral, before it goes into the tank... haha.
 
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