Sps Meltdown..again.

reeferkeeper420

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May 15, 2013
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Ingersoll, Ontario
Are you dosing bio pellets? I used to get burnt tips using them so I took them off line. If I am not running ULNS I run my ALK at 10. I find I have less issues with burning or PH fluctuations at this level in SPS. As a bonus at higher ALK you get better calcification rates. Is the burning only at the tips? How long do you run your lights? MH right? How close to the water is the light? Are all your tips burning or just the ones right below the lights? How are you dosing for ALK? What do you use for Calcium additions? How do you mix your salt? Did it start when you started this batch of salt? Do you pre mix your salt at let it sit 24 hr?
Nope no biopellets, and i run t5s for 9 hrs. All of them are burning even my montis on the bottom of the tank. I use brs brand for dosing alk and cal. And i use h20 salt. I think it was starting before i started on this pail. I raised my lights up today before i left for work to about 12in, theyre normally around 6". Yeah i always premix for 24hrs. I thought there was no proof that higher alk had any effects like that. I thought it mattered about your alk and cal being in perfect harmony ex. 8.4 and 420.
 

reeferkeeper420

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Ingersoll, Ontario
And from what ive read having high mag levels shouldnt effect the corals. But like.i said i had this problem when my mag was at 1280, before i started dosing the tech m.
 

jroovers

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Aug 29, 2012
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London
I'd be hesitant to push MG over 1500, but that is just me. I think most of the evidence for high MG having a negative effect on bryopsis is pretty anecdotal. Where you are at now shouldn't be a problem with those alk and ca levels, as long as you are keeping them stable and they aren't swinging wildly. I would guess that your lights is the primary culprit, raising them is probably a good idea, reducing photoperiod is also a good idea. Lugol's reportedly can assist with light shock, it is dosed in very small amounts, be careful. I've used it before in similar situations but can't really say if it helped. Otherwise, I'd guess phosphate and nitrate levels. If you have a bryopsis issue, and 7 ppm nitrate, I'd worry about phosphates as well and maybe try and get them down a touch. 7 ppm in of itself isn't a huge issue, but if your levels are swinging around fairly quickly, it will definitely have an impact on your SPS. Only other thing I can think of is if your alk is being dosed right near your powerheads and is making contact with your corals before going into solution, that can be an issue as well. Hopefully you find the solution!
 

David Caplan

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I'd be hesitant to push MG over 1500, but that is just me. I think most of the evidence for high MG having a negative effect on bryopsis is pretty anecdotal. Where you are at now shouldn't be a problem with those alk and ca levels, as long as you are keeping them stable and they aren't swinging wildly. I would guess that your lights is the primary culprit, raising them is probably a good idea, reducing photoperiod is also a good idea.

I totally agree. Having battled Bryopsis in two tanks for a total of a year and trying everything to rid it, I finally succeeded. After mag-burning out my chalice and SPS I got no help from Tech M in fighting the Bryopsis. In fact, it got worse because it was now able to populate the tips of dead corals and smother them. When infested with Bryopsis if you are getting readable phosphate levels, there is a problem with your test kit. Bryopsis feeds on phosphates and light, so reducing both in conjunction with removal (manual or fish) is your best bet.
 

reeferkeeper420

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Ingersoll, Ontario
Manual removal doesnt really work, it grows back just as quick, the shit is everywhere. I had success the first time but didnt leave the tech m on long enough to fully eradicate it. We shall see. And as far as i know there arent too many or any fish that will actually eat bryopsis because of the toxins it has. I pulled as much and cut as much as i could before i went away for 4 days and when i came back it didnt even look like.i had done anything. I dont know wht to do..this stuff is a royal PITA!
Anytime i test the tank for p04 it reads 0. Im going to test the output of my reactor and see where it is there. Ill reduce my lighting period once i get home.
 

David Caplan

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They say its the impurities in the tech m that kills the bryopsis, not the mag itself. I dont know im no expert, im just trying to kill it before it kills me lol.

While you're welcome to trust old posts about an impurity that may/may not still (or have ever) existed in the product, it would probably be at least beneficial to listen to someone who is saying they did it for almost a year, this year, and there was no effect. I didn't have any other algae problems, just small well-lit tanks where the bryopsis came in on a frag plug.

There are ways to manually remove it and ways to fight it and there are quite a few fish who eat it. When manually removing Bryopsis you should try to run your skimmer skimming wet, and a UV filter should be running. The pieces need to be physically removed from the tank with a tweezers, and the tool must be dipped in fresh water before it is returned to the tank. When the Bryopsis is plucked, it releases spores into the water column that propagate (this will be picked up by your skimmer/killed by the UV).

As for things that eat it, i have had success with, Foxface, Tangs and Halloween Hermits.

While I use hydrogen peroxide as my #1 tool to beat it (both tanks), it may not be an option for you because of your acropora, which are extremely sensitive to peroxide.
 

reeferkeeper420

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Ingersoll, Ontario
I dont have a uv sterilizer. My yellow tang wont even look at it along with my yellowblotched rabbitfish, i dont know if adding anymore fish at this point would be wise considering my nutrients are probably already out of whack(just an assumption since i have a bunch of algae issues.) And my bryopsis problem is in a 135g, and there is a tonne of it, i dont think tweezing it out is even an option since theres so much.. im definately open to suggestions.
 

reeferkeeper420

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Ingersoll, Ontario
Well things are looking alot worse today, my fire and ice milli and rainbow montis are both basically gone, and everything else is slowly falling right behind them. :(
 
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Kevin Tran

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May 22, 2014
Location
Breslau, Ontario
Are you still using fuel Railey? I have stop! Much happier

Still have half a bottle and will throw it out;)

Just thinking out loud here lol
 
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