Byropsis defeated

[110reef]

I have been suffering with a terrible byropsis outbreak for over a year and a half now. I have tried every "cure" I have ever heard of, even switching tanks a year ago. I have tried raising the mag (with epsom salts, not tech M), changing my lighting, adding predators including various types of snails, lettuce nudis, sea hares, hermits, rabbitfish, tangs, I have tried other things including changing skimmers, shooting peroxide at it, pulling it out manually (by the handful), taking rocks out and baking them in the sun, algaefix marine etc, etc, etc. I have spent hundreds of dollars trying to get rid of the stuff. I cannot remember all the things I have tried. So, I wanted to document what I finally did to get rid of this stuff.

4/19 I began using Microbacter 7, adding 55 ml/day (I have a 240 gallon tank and a 60 gallon sump).
4/22 - I also began raising my mag using tech M.
4/23 - Mag 1380
4/24 - Mag 1500
4/26 - Mag 1620 - Began noticing results, so I quit raising the mag. Continued with the MB7 additions daily.

Here are pics of the results:

Before treatment: (4/19)

4/26:

4/29:

5/2:

 

[Mavjoy]

Great job!

 

[650-IS350]

congrats, always have heard consistant high mag helps melt those guys away.

 

[Azurel]

Nice.....Do you think it was the combination of the 2 or just the tech M?

 

[Aqua Amie]

AWESOME! Congrats! Hey look, there is rock in there..:tongue::angel:

 

[J&O'sdad]

Nice you gave your corals some breathing room.

 

[gilmour01]

went thru the same thing myself. tech-m finally killed it off.

 

[110reef]

Nice.....Do you think it was the combination of the 2 or just the tech M?

Not sure -

I know that I raised the mag before using just epsom salts and saw no improvement. Others in my local reef club used Tech M only, and it took care of their problem, but it took much longer. So it is possible that using both together is more effective than just Tech M by itself.

Unfortunately, I originally set out to document using MB7 only on the byropsis, but after some discussion with others on my local site, I decided to hit it with a 1-2 punch of MB7 and Tech M. The good news is it worked, the bad news is I cannot pinpoint which produced the result.

 

[drainbamage]

Nice.....Do you think it was the combination of the 2 or just the tech M?

Been fighting something similar in my tank, and for what it's worth after starting the M7, noticed an overnight result. Frag plugs had been coated in a short stubby algae growth, overnight they cleaned up to well...looking like ceramic plugs again.
Have also noticed a difference on the rockwork as well. I'm going to start dosing up magnesium to see if that makes a difference as well, but I really do think the M7 helps considerably.

 

[Azurel]

NIce either way......I have an issue with it myself so I will do te one two punch you did I think.....Good job either way, I know I almost quite the hobby a couple years ago because of this devil weed....

 

[aerius007]

Can you tell by the TechM if it were a new bottle or had it been sitting on the stores shelves for a while. I remember reading not too long ago that they changed their formula and that lowered the effect it had on bryopsis. If your bottle was from a newer batch, this is good news. Congrats!

 

[soccerbag]

Hey Ken. How did you arrive at the 55ml dose of MB7? Just curious. Thanks.

 

[TopNotchCorals]

That must feel great to finally have a cure for your Byropsis problem 110reef.I have never come across this before (knock on wood) but thanks for the thread on solving one of the many different algaes/headaches in this hobby.

 

[BeerNut]

I pushed my mag level up to 1600 using Tech-M over the course of a week and within two weeks all the bryopsis was gone. Haven't had a sign of it since in over a year.

 

[Azurel]

Has it eve came back after the mag dropped? I know there was a couple thread on another site that people had it come back over time due to the lower Mg.....I bet if you keep it high for a period afterwards it will make sure it is all gone for good.....

 

[extremehobbyist]

would Magnesion work just as good to kill byropsis cause tech M has copper in it and i always thought copper was bad for a reef?

 

[110reef]

Hey Ken. How did you arrive at the 55ml dose of MB7? Just curious. Thanks.

The directions say 5 ml / 25 gallons. I figure I have about 280 gallons, tank = 240 gallons, sump = 60 gallons, but it runs more like 50 gallons, minus water taken up by rock. 55 ml is good for 275 gallons, which seems about right.

 

[110reef]

would Magnesion work just as good to kill byropsis cause tech M has copper in it and i always thought copper was bad for a reef?

I earlier tried it with using epsom salts only (MgSO4), raised my mag level much much higher and while it looked like the byropsis wilted a little, it did not go away or even slow down growing. I don't know if adding MgCl2 would help, but I can say that Tech M with MB7 worked like a charm.

If it has copper in it, I have seen no adverse reactions to anything in the tank. The only observations I have made are that my cabbage coral has gone from brown to nearly white, and my green polyped leather has lightened its polyps to more of a mint green. I don't know if that is from reduced nutrients (MB7) or from high mag.

Oh, also, I have noticed my Moorish Idol's pennant has turned black in places. Not a very good sign. But I don't know if that is from the treatment or just because it is an Idol, and I have had it for over a year now. I am hoping it is nothing serious and will go away. Fingers crossed.

 

[110reef]

Can you tell by the TechM if it were a new bottle or had it been sitting on the stores shelves for a while. I remember reading not too long ago that they changed their formula and that lowered the effect it had on bryopsis. If your bottle was from a newer batch, this is good news. Congrats!

I did not check to see any dates on the bottle. I got 2 gallons from an on-line source. I can check the remaining bottle when I get home to see if there is a date on it.

 

[Paul_N]

Glad to hear you beat it! I also used Tech-M to beat it. I ran my mag at 2000 for several weeks. I actually run my mag around 1500 now continuously. I know there is another mag that will kill it also.