Alright, I've been battling this stuff for a couple of months now and I just can't seem to get rid of it . I am "weeding" my tank just about every other day and pulling clumps of this crap out...it's EVERYWHERE!!! I know some people claim the only way to eradicate this pest is to remove your rocks, scrub them and maybe even boil them but this is NOT an option for me, I have a Bonsai style aquascape constructed with acrylic rods, black zip ties and a lot of epoxy and after all the effort and hard work it took to construct this aquascape there's no way I'm tearing it apart...are there any other options? I already know that there is no known natural predator of this stuff (which is always my preffered method of dealing with pests), I have heard some people raise their magnesium to very high levels (1600 - 2000) and that kills it but wouldn't that also stress out my corals pretty bad? Would a chemical such as API AlgaeFix work? I have no idea how this started, I have fairly new bulb in my light (a couple of months old), I do weekly 20% water changes, I skim 24/7. My water params are great. I do feed feed heavily and could reduce my coral feedings to every other day but I've heard doing that alone won't make much of a difference now that the Bryopsis has a strong foothold. Any and all advice from people who have fought this "war" would be greatly appreciated!!!

Well I do not have any direct experience, but someone in my club with a 1000gal tank had bryopsis in his tank and the only way to get rid of it is to bring your Mg levels up like you mentioned. The corals will be fine if you bring it up slowly. In order to get rid of them completely you will have to keep your Mg level high for several months.

I have heard that Kent tech M magnesium is a good one to use.

I've heard some people have had success using Phosban in a reactor...has anyone else heard of this or tried this method?

- Wawawang

The trick to MG treatment is too use Kent Tech M. For some reason that no one has yet to figure out this brand seems to be the key. Some think their must be some sort of impurity in Kent that helps fight it. Anyway...raise your MG to 1800 or higher with Kent Tech M and keep it there until your free of the plague.

It taks a huge amount of MG to get it to the levels required, use the calculator to estimate your needs. http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

Won't bother your corals and your coraline will got nuts for it. The treatment is well documented here and over on Reef Central.

Good luck,
Mark

Right now my Mg level is about 1250 which I don't consider low as I've always heard that 1300 is the consensus target goal for your MG. I guess I will try dosing more Tech M to raise my levels or try thr Phosban reactor route or maybe a combination effort...this algae is Hellspawn !!!

Just keep in mind that the only repeatable method to kill is Bryopsis is by the treatment I outlined. You HAVE to get it above 1800 or your just wasting your time and MG. It is well outlined on RC.......check it out.

I guess I am going the route of raising the magnesium up to between 1600 - 1800 so I ordered up a 64oz. bottle of Kent Tech M. I'll keep you updated (with pics if possible).

API AlgaeFix has also been reported as successful in treating this but... It is a herbicide that may impact your fish and corals so use with caution and with a skimmer. Plus it will also kill any and all other plant type (algae) creatures in your tank.

Remember, corals are algae creatures.

I'd do the MG raise first and see how that pans out. Also I believe the max level to acieve is 1600, not 1800.

Whoops...your right Phixion. Typo, I didn’t catch it. 1600 is the target. But.... remember it takes a min 1550-1575 to kill it, so you better have at least 1600 or your might have just wasted your time. Many people, including myself have gone higher without any ill effects to the corals or other livestock. I maintained 1700 according to my Salifert kit, for over a month and noted no ill effects other than the Bryopsis slowly dying. My coralline went wild and began plating like nobody’s business during that same period, others have noted the same. Coincidence? Don’t Know.
Good luck with your treatment. Only advice from some one that won the battle....don’t under do it.

Good point. I forgot about that.

I am considering this option for my tank. What tests kits go to 1600+ ? I tried looking at a few different brands, but can't seem to find the max range they detect.

I never thought of that, I think my kit only goes up to 1250...how am I going to accurately measure my Mg levels?

snails may suffer...fyi.

i just got it to 1300-1400 using BRS mag suppliment (so you dont waste Kent),

then switched over to Kent...using a rough calculation to just guestimate it....basically adding double the max daily rec. dosage for 5 or so days should do it...repeat every time you see the bryopsis start to reappear.

IMHO, you don't have to be exact....guestimating the proper dosage of daily Kent MG for a few days isnt too difficult.

Using the Salifert Kit.... you just do the test as usual until it maxes out. Then fill the syringe again and continue adding the regent until the solution changes color. Add the numbers from the second test to the first test and you have the accurate level of MG.

I put a couple Lettuce Nudibranch in my tank. Bryopsis was so bad it was choking out my corals. They cleared it all out in a few weeks and it hasnt returned. I passed the Nudis on to someone else when they were done.

Sounds like the Lettuce Nudi's are hit or miss when it comes to dealing with this awful stuff (plus I've heard they are attracted to power heads like moths to flames) and I don't really have money to burn on something that may or may not work, raising the Mg level seems to be the only sure thing that kills this stuff.

Getting in on this late but I got Bryopsis in my tank. I researched like crazy and ended up raising my Mag up to 1600 and it disappeared in 2 weeks. I only need to keep it at 1500 and it stays away. But it's true that it needs to be Kent Tech-M. I was using Seachem and it wasn't going away. As soon as I started using the Kent it went away. There was a discussion (I think it was in the big RC thread) about the "sulfate" being the key product that affects the Bryopsis. Some people were using epsom salts to raise their Mag but then there is a by-product that builds up.

Sorry for the rambling... . It does take about 2 weeks for it to disappear so don't get discouraged if it's not gone in a day. Also, make sure that when you do your water changes you test your new SW and add Mag to it using a Reef Calculator so it doesn't drop in your tank. That way your level stays constant in your main tank.

Hope that helps!

i used BRS mag supplement and it worked for me. it came back though when the levels droped. that stuff is the devil.

someone on our local forum spot treats it with good results on frag plugs:
http://norcalreefclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=573

Yeah, I think as long as it has high sulfate content then it works well. It was such a long discussion on the RC thread and I can't remember it all. At least there are ways to get rid of it! Whatever he uses...hopefully the OP gets rid of his Bryopsis.

Question, is it normal during this treatment for SPS to close their polyps? I've noticed that about 80 - 90% of my SPS have not opened their polyps since I started dosing the magnesium. I tested my water params and my Alkalinity was 11.5 dKH and my calcium was 380 ppm (a little low but not terrible...although I did adjust my dosing pump to stay on an extra 4 minutes per day to help raise the level) while my Mg was at 1200 when I started dosing the Tech M yesterday.

Try a Lettuce Nudibranch.... some have said that they eat bryopsis.

Right. Did some more research on this...

1. pH to 8.6+
2. Skim wet
3. Temp to 85*+
4. Mg to 1800+
5. dKH to 10

This is per Calfo.

Keep it there for as long as you can and you should see this go away. If it softens up a bit nudi's/large Turbo's may go after it.

From a biochemical standpoint the Mg interferes with the algae's ability to process chlorophyl thus starving it to death. This occurs irrespective of the type of Mg used but and this is a big *BUT* Kent Tech-D *MAY* have a trace element like copper in it in low enough doses not to hurt your tank but to hurt the algae.

Algae Fix is coral safe but use with caution. YMMV.

Hey Kid,

Think it s the ALK being that high thats your SPS is not happy with. Some SPS keepers say that high ALK causes/promotes tissue recession.

Really? I always thought that 10 to 12 Alk was perfect for all corals. Hmmm...well, I upped my calcium and that combined with high Mg should bring the Alk down a bit. As far as the MG dosing goes I am dosing almost 100ppm per day. The Tech M jug says to add 1ml per tank capacity and that will raise my Mg by 18.3ppm, if that is correct that means 29ml of Tech M will raise the Mg level by 18.3ppm so divide 100ppm (max level to raise by per day) by 18.3 and you get 5.4, round down to 5 and multiply by 29ml (which is the necessary amount to raise the Mg by 18.3ppm) and you get 145ml (which if you multiply 18.3 by 5 you get 91.5ppm which is how much 145ml of Tech M will raise my tanks Mg level by per day) which is the amount I have added per day (so far only twice as this is my second day). Am I figuring correctly?

That makes my brain hurt...try this.

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

Yeah, I have done those...comes out with about the same figures as I described above.

I am currious to know if this treatment worked for you. I am having the same issue in my setup.

I know a guy on my local forum who raised mag. and the stuff is going away FAST.

How goes the Mg treatment affect other macroalgae? I have quite a variety of macroalgae in my seahorse tank. Will the elevated Mg hurt all macroalgae or just the Bryopsis?