zygote2k December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 In the 90 SPS tank I have an ongoing battle with bryopsis. It doesn't seem to be affected by high levels of Magnesium either. Current water params- Alk 3.9 Cal 420 Mag 1600 P04 0.01 Sal 1.027 N03 4ppm temp 79 Tank has lots of current, big skimmer, 750w of light, and a HOB 'fuge. 'fuge has a 4" reef mud substrate and grows chaeto and halymenia. Can the mud be a source of the problems? What kinds of fish will graze on turf algaes? Already have a YT and a HT. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 Rob- I know that when I got a couple of rocks covered in green hair algea, I got a gold spotted (sometimes called orange spotted) rabbit fish and it ate everything in no time. Might be worth a try......they're cool fish too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 Let me know if you find something that works! My tang and algae blenny take care of everything else, but neither will touch the bryopsis. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 I finally killed off mine when I started using ozone. The elevated ORP seemed to do something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Camaron December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 i had success when i raised my mag to 1850. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 There was a thread awhile back on battling bryopsis and the levels you had to raise the Mg to. I believe it was higher than the concentration you are indicating... I'll see if I can find it. No fish will eat it (at least none that I've ever heard of and I have never seen one that will eat it). You might be able to get an urchin to eat it, but you have to kill it off or the roots will just let it come back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 Never mind, it was your thread! Nate did say that he raised his Mg to 2000 and it killed it off, do you want to try that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 Bring the magnesium up to 1500 by using squirting Kent Tech M Magnesium directly onto the bryopsis. This will kill it over night. Also get a tuxedo urchin. BRK had them. It's the only thing that eats bryopsis. These worked great for me in a matter of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 19, 2009 Author Share December 19, 2009 (edited) I tried the Kent method, but that is expensive. I'm using Mag flake and Epsom. I can try to bring it up to 1800-2000. A rabbitfish would be cool too. Anyone got an extra? Urchin is out of the question since it will probably knock things over unless Jan knows that they won't... Jan, can I borrow your urchin? Edited December 19, 2009 by zygote2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 I only have a bit of it, in a couple of spots... one frag, for example. I can not believe the speed with which it grows. I can scrape that frag down until I think I have every single spot gone. A couple of days later, there is a short branch of it back. Within 4-5 days, it is a big, healthy colony again! How can we turn this into bio-fuel? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 I didn't see that your magnesium is at 1600. Whether you use Kent Tech M or some other something that has magnesium in it squirting magnesium directly onto the bryopsis is what seems to kill it. Increasing the magnesium to 1500+ keeps the bryopsis in check. when i does Magnesium I squirt it right on the areas where the bryopsis appeared. If frags are not glued down then the urchin will knock them over and give them a ride on it's back. My urchin looks like a decorator crab. Other than these things the urchin is a model occupant in my tank. It cleans the rocks so well they almost look white. Sorry Rob, lending my urchin would be like lending my car. I don't lend my car. I tried the Kent method, but that is expensive. I'm using Mag flake and Epsom. I can try to bring it up to 1800-2000. A rabbitfish would be cool too. Anyone got an extra? Urchin is out of the question since it will probably knock things over unless Jan knows that they won't... Jan, can I borrow your urchin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrego December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 (edited) I have used Kent M for bryopsis control with good success too. Using it as a weed killer works particularly well, when feasible. I noticed when I elevated my Mg to 1600+ I did not see bryopsis degradation as fast as I would have liked and it wasn't until I used it as a a direct "weed killer" did I get very good results. Are you user you have Bryopsis? Sometimes it is very difficult to identify the type of algae with out microscopic visualization of the cell structure. I would recommend positively identifying the type of algae before trying to treat it. gl p.s. why is your alk so low? I assume your P.H. is very low too?! Edited December 19, 2009 by cabrego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 Hey Jan, How bad your bryopsis when you did this? Thanks for the tip! Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 (edited) Hi Laura, Long time no see. How are you? I have one rock that is 14x8 that was covered with bryopsis. I also had small patches in different areas. For some reason that rock is the one that also gets cyano. It still gets patches of bryopsis here and there so when I see the patches starting to come back I spot squirt them with the Kent magnesium. I also take the urchin and physically put it on the patches. Thanks goes to El Camaron for suggesting what level I should be keeing the magnesium at in my system and for suggesting that I use the Kent tech M like a weed killer. Hey Jan, How bad your bryopsis when you did this? Thanks for the tip! Laura Edited December 20, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 20, 2009 Author Share December 20, 2009 I have used Kent M for bryopsis control with good success too. Using it as a weed killer works particularly well, when feasible. I noticed when I elevated my Mg to 1600+ I did not see bryopsis degradation as fast as I would have liked and it wasn't until I used it as a a direct "weed killer" did I get very good results. Are you user you have Bryopsis? Sometimes it is very difficult to identify the type of algae with out microscopic visualization of the cell structure. I would recommend positively identifying the type of algae before trying to treat it. gl p.s. why is your alk so low? I assume your P.H. is very low too?! I'll try the direct method next friday. alk @ 3.9 meq/l is around 10 dkh. ph is 8.2 day, 7.9 night. seems normal to me unless I'm missing something. What's your suggestion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 Hmmm, maybe it was Cabrego that posted about the Kent M? It was one of the two. Hi Laura,Long time no see. How are you? I have one rock that is 14x8 that was covered with bryopsis. I also had small patches in different areas. For some reason that rock is the one that also gets cyano. It still gets patches of bryopsis here and there so when I see the patches starting to come back I spot squirt them with the Kent magnesium. I also take the urchin and physically put it on the patches. Thanks goes to El Camaron for suggesting what level I should be keeing the magnesium at in my system and for suggesting that I use the Kent tech M like a weed killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 Thanks Jan, and Rob for starting this thread just when I needed it : ) I have been totally out of WAMAS touch dealing with other issues in my crazy life, but I am back now! And while I was distracted the bryopsis took advantage and took over. I physically removed as much as i could find / reach last week but I see small patches coming back. I will try the Mag as soon as I can get back on the road! Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 I found that the rabbit fish are hit and miss with that stuff. I had a Magnificent Foxface that loved the stuff, but I know that others that won't touch it. A vendor told me to use some Blue Knuckled Crabs. I got 5 of them and they completely destroyed it...and quickly at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kngfisher December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 (edited) i have an orange spot and tux urchin and neither can keep bryopsis at bay. Will try drect application tomorrow. Will be redoing the tank in the next month or so because of bryopsis. Cant believe it is even growing on my nano-streams..... Die you PITA Die :-) Mag 1500 dKH 12 pH 8.02 Cal 380 Mag 1600 P04 0 Sal 1.024 N03 .5 temp 80 Edited December 20, 2009 by kngfisher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 Hi Laura,Long time no see. How are you? I have one rock that is 14x8 that was covered with bryopsis. I also had small patches in different areas. For some reason that rock is the one that also gets cyano. It still gets patches of bryopsis here and there so when I see the patches starting to come back I spot squirt them with the Kent magnesium. I also take the urchin and physically put it on the patches. Thanks goes to El Camaron for suggesting what level I should be keeing the magnesium at in my system and for suggesting that I use the Kent tech M like a weed killer. Great tip about Mg solution as "weed killer". Do you turn off all flow pumps while applying it, like with aiptasia killer? Let it form a cloud of locally high Mg solution for a few minutes? I found that the rabbit fish are hit and miss with that stuff. I had a Magnificent Foxface that loved the stuff, but I know that others that won't touch it. A vendor told me to use some Blue Knuckled Crabs. I got 5 of them and they completely destroyed it...and quickly at that. By blue knuckle crab are you referring to the black and blue banded ones, Calcinus elegans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 A while back, I read the thread over at RC. While I had success killing off some bryopsis that was brought in on a frag plug using Mag Pellets (the pelleted form of Mag Flake), the experience is by no means consistent among hobbyists. The only consistency seems to be in the use of Kent Tech M to obtain the high magnesium concentrations cited here. The inconsistency leads some to believe that the active agent here is probably some impurity in Kent Tech M rather than the magnesium itself. It's hard to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 Place your tuxedo urchin with a pair of tongs right on the bryopsis. Once there it will eat it. I don't know that orange spot urchins eat the stuff. i have an orange spot and tux urchin and neither can keep bryopsis at bay. Will try drect application tomorrow. Will be redoing the tank in the next month or so because of bryopsis. Cant believe it is even growing on my nano-streams..... Die you PITA Die :-) Mag 1500 dKH 12 pH 8.02 Cal 380 Mag 1600 P04 0 Sal 1.024 N03 .5 temp 80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 Great tip about Mg solution as "weed killer". Do you turn off all flow pumps while applying it, like with aiptasia killer? Let it form a cloud of locally high Mg solution for a few minutes? I just shut the powerheads off and squirt the magnesium right into the bryopsis. I do this on a rock that has no corals on it. I tried it on a mag rock that had an sps with some bryopsis growing out of it and well it's starting to grow back now. I've never used aiptasia killer solution but from what i read, yes, i'm using it the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrego December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 I'll try the direct method next friday. alk @ 3.9 meq/l is around 10 dkh. ph is 8.2 day, 7.9 night. seems normal to me unless I'm missing something. What's your suggestion? Oh right, I got the units mixed up meg/l vs. dkh nvm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth December 20, 2009 Share December 20, 2009 By blue knuckle crab are you referring to the black and blue banded ones, Calcinus elegans? I believe so. Mine were black with blue stripes/bands. I would have to ask Sean about the scientific name as I don't know. The problem with those is that 2 of the 5 died after they got rid of the stuff. I think the didn't have enough to eat afterward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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