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What type of algae is this??

I have a sea hare that ate all of mine... if You want to pick it up You are welcome to it. Just make sure I get him back just in case lol
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
............ My Salifert kit only goes to 1500 and I just tested the level and the color didn't change at the 1500....so I know it is higher than 1500, but I don't know how high it is.

Is there another way of testing to find out the exact amount??


You can dilute the tank water sample with a known percentage, test that diluted sample, and then calculate back to the original concentration. As a example:

Take 7.5 mls of tank water and add 2.5 mls of water (25% dilution)
Using your test kit, measure the magnesium quantity.
When you get the result, divide by 0.75


Here’s an example with numbers, assuming the above 25% dilution:

After diluting, lets say the magnesium tested out to 1200. Now divide by 0.75 to “correct” for the 25% dilution:

1200 / 0.75 = 1600

This way you can test beyond the limits of the test kit.
 
Thanks Paul....

So the Salifert test asks for 2mls of tank water...so does that mean I should use the 2mls of tank water and add .5mls of freshwater and then use your math??
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Thanks Paul....

So the Salifert test asks for 2mls of tank water...so does that mean I should use the 2mls of tank water and add .5mls of freshwater and then use your math??

It depends on how accurate your measuring tools are. If you are using a graduated syringe that hold maybe 2 mls or so, I’d go for 1.5 mls tank water with 0.5 mls of RO/DI….this will give you the 25% reduction….and the syringe is an accurate measure.

If you don’t have accurate small volume measures, then go larger…maybe 7.5 mls tank to 2.5 fresh……or if you don’t have these measures, steal the wife’s cooking measures and put in three tablespoons tank water to one tablespoon fresh. With either method, once you mix these up, then take 2 mls to run your test. Hope this helps.
 
Ok...so I'm annoyed to say that the BRS Mag is not working :cry:

The bryopsis is taking over and starting to grow around coral....it's time to switch to Tech M under everyones advisement.

So how much Tech M do I need to keep my mag raised to 1800-2000 for a few months?? A gallon?? 2 Gallons?? 3 Gallons??
 

dnov99

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
Ok...so I'm annoyed to say that the BRS Mag is not working :cry:

The bryopsis is taking over and starting to grow around coral....it's time to switch to Tech M under everyones advisement.

So how much Tech M do I need to keep my mag raised to 1800-2000 for a few months?? A gallon?? 2 Gallons?? 3 Gallons??

Steve, when I dosed years ago I used 1ML of Tech-M per Gal of tank volume. Within a week it started to die and within a month it was gone. Here is a really good write up, its a long thread but just read what the OP writes. Good luck.

http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ree...opsis-treatment-series-skeptic-no-more-5.html
 
Tech M just got here. I dosed 180ml....will continue to dose daily and get my mag up to around 2000. This better work!!
 
So Brandon brought up a good point....as the Bryopsis dies (hopefully), won't it release the built up nutrients into the tank? Should I be concerned about that?? Doing water changes to keep them down seems counter-intuitive since every time I change the water, it will remove the mag, making me have to dose a lot again.
 
Anyone out there??

I just tested my mag and it is off the Salifert chart....I'm wondering if the mag is still high from my attempt with the BRS mag. Should I do water changes until I get the level lower and then start the Tech M again??
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
I know bryopsis can grow in a zero nutrient environment, that is why it is such a hated thing. If your phosphates are zero and nitrates are zero, it can still grow so I don't think that having it die off on you would release so much nutrients that it could be negative to the tank. If you want to be cautious, run some fresh carbon and test but I don't think it will crash your tank.

How does the bryopsis look with the mag being elevated?
 
Mike....the Bryopsis has done nothing with the mag elevated.

I thing the mag is still elevated from when trying the BRS Mag.

Should I do a water change to bring the mag levels down so that I can raise them again using the Tech M instead of the BRS??
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Honestly I have never done it myself, I am just going on what other have followed. I know there is talk that the Kent Tech M has something in it that kills the bryopsis, that is why the BW mag did not work. I think the faster you get the Tech M in the better. Good luck.
 

Fish Brain

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
What brand of salt do you use? Other than waiting for the mag levels to come down on their own, a water change or two might be a good idea to bring down the mag as long as your salt isn't high in Mag. The key is the Kent TechM, like Mike said, whatever the secret ingredent in the Kent is kills it.

Do the water change and bring the Mag back up to 1600 with the TechM.
 
Brian....I use Reef Crystals. I'll make up the water for the change starting tomorrow...it usually takes a couple days to make a full 50 gallons so I may not get to the change until Monday...ugh....I was hoping to have the tank looking better by Saturday night as I have a lot of people coming for a party....crap
 

Fish Brain

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Since you are in the Instant Ocean family of products, and the point of the water change is to bring the Mag levels down, you might want to pick up a 50 gallon bag of IO. Reef Crystals has a higher Magnesium content than the regular IO.
 
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