And . . .

Drum roll please. . . . . . . . .

It worked!

Yes, it worked quite well. Before treating the tank with the magnesium supplement (Kent Tech-M), we did the following important steps to prepare:

PREPARATION STEPS
Step 1: performed two 35% water changes to help up the magnesium level to the normal 1,300ppm and to lower the phosphate level;

Step 2: Manually plucked/removed as much bryopsis as possible while the water level was down (during the water change). We did this during both water changes over a period of one week.

Step 3: stormed the tank with a powerhead on a stick to help get as much detritus out of the tank as possible. We have 4 filter socks in the sump that catch it quite efficiently;

Step 4: Replaced the Rowaphos media (a.k.a. ferric oxide) in our chemical filter (Precision Marine SR55P Professional Series Substrate Reactor), which helps to insult and stress out the bryopsis algae.

Step 5: Began dosing kalkwasser (saturated solution of calcium hydroxide and R.O. water), which precipitates out phosphates so that the protein skimmer can remove them. It also elevates the pH to 8.3-8.5, which helps inhibit the growth of unwanted algae such as bryopsis and hair algae. And kalkwasser also helps to elevate alkalinity, which also helps inhibit unwanted algae.

Step 6: Turned off the activated carbon filter. This is just a hunch, but since the active ingredient in Kent Marine’s Tech-M magnesium supplement is not known (that which eradicates the bryopsis), I certainly didn’t want the activated carbon to remove it. Originally, people felt it was the elevated magnesium level that was doing the work, but after multiple methods of raising the magnesium level produced inconsistent results, it was concluded that Kent Marine’s Tech-M product worked the best because of some mystery active ingredient.

Now that the preparation steps were completed we were ready to begin dosing the Kent Tech-M (magnesium supplement). The main instructions are to make sure that you do not raise the magnesium level by more than 100ppm per day.

So I went ahead with dosing the tank to raise the magnesium level by 100ppm per day until the magnesium level was between 1600-1800ppm, and in one week the bryopsis dropped to less than 50% of what it was before dosing. And by two weeks, 99% of the bryopsis was gone from the display tank. I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Overall it took 2 weeks and the Bryopsis is now gone. It is my feeling that the aggressive manual plucking/removal was a critical step to insulting/stressing the bryopsis. And remember we did this just prior to changing out the Rowaphos media (lowered phosphates to zero) and the subsequent dosing of the magnesium supplement.

We will see what time will tell. I have heard of the bryopsis coming back after a successful treatment, so the constant vigilence will continue – as it always does with a truly successful saltwater aquarium.

Please comment and share your experience with hair algae or bryopsis and how you went about it and what happened.

Technorati Tags: bryopsis, bryopsis algae control, chemical filter, chemical media reactor, hair algae, kalkwasser, kent tech-m, magnesium, rowaphos

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At the end of the video there’s a link to a free bonus we are offering to help you with your tank.

And please leave a comment and tell us your biggest challenge with testing your aquarium’s water quality. You never know – your question could be the feature of our next blog post.

Here’s the link again to the free bonus.

Thanks,

Warren Gibbons

Technorati Tags: Water Quality, water testing

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With all the information and opinions there are out there on how to go about keeping your saltwater aquarium, I could go into detail on any one of them. But I would rather help you out with the information you need help with the most.

And if you think I left something out of my survey, please go ahead and post a comment. What was that movie quote “Help me … help you”?

Thanks for your participation.

Warren Gibbons

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Please leave a comment and tell me what kind of videos you would like to see (showing/explaining different filtration equipment, interesting animal interactions, how to install/layout filtration equipment, etc.).

Technorati Tags: Bangai Cardinal, fish breeding, mating dance, mouth brooder

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• How to breed seahorses in your saltwater aquarium (6)

The species of seahorse we are exhibiting here is Hippocampus erectus, which is local to the New England coast and can be found in backwaters and marshes. The ones we have came from 2 locations. Four were from the New Englan Aquarium, and the other four were from Pro Aquatix (a tropical fish/coral breeder in Florida).

We are now growing out batch #3. The first batch was a dud, as often the case where a seahorses first brood is less robust than later broods. I kind of think of this as the first time parent syndrome. The second batch we were not ready for them – and even though we fed them newly-hatched brine shrimp (not enriched), most of the babies were not large enough to eat the brine, and those that were would ingest air at the surface and then later die.

So now we are on our 3rd batch, which just hatched 3 days ago. We now have rotifers being cultured (about 1/4 the size of brineshrimp nauplii), and this batch of seahorses is the largest one yet. They still tend to congregate at the surface, so we are experimenting with different approaches to preventing this air-ingestion problem. Once we have that licked, I think we are going to be awash in baby seahorses.

Please leave a comment below and let us know if you are interested in the detailed methods we are using to breed these seahorses. If we get enough responses then we will go ahead and provide the detailed procedures for you. Also, let us know if you have experience in breeding seahorses.

Technorati Tags: fish breeding, how to breed seahorses, seahorses

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Unlike most other algae, such as hair algae or cyanobacteria, Bryopsis does not respond to most removal methods. Even a normal algae problem can be extremely frustrating or even lead to someone giving up and shutting down their tank. But that doesn’t have to happen. There is a solution and I’m going to share it with you here in just a moment.

Typically, most algae problems such as hair algae or cyanobacteria, can be solved with a combination of:
- elevated pH
- increased water circulation
- removal of phosphates and nitrates
- removal of detritus, and
- addition of algae grazers (tangs, hermit crabs, snails, emerald crabs, urchins, sea hares, etc.)
- manual removal by humans (i.e. plucking, scrubbing, siphoning, etc.)

But Bryopsis is different, as it does not respond to these methods. Actually, it can often grow even more because of such methods (especially manual removal, which can feed asexual reproduction via fragmentation). And even biological controls such as adding grazing invertebrates and tangs is not only not very effective with Bryopsis, but it can be expensive (them critters ain’t cheap).

I wish I could say it was my idea – far from it. In fact, I have been dealing with a bout of Bryopsis recently in our 950-gallon saltwater reef exhibit at the Ocean Explorium, where I am Curator. And I was researching solutions to my problem when I cam across this solution. Here’s the link.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1113109&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

It explains the whole process in fair detail, with photos of results, showing the Bryopsis dying off and disappearing as a result of the treatment. I’ve also done more research on this method (thank you google) and it has actually been widely used with consistent successful results. And yet, it is a mostly unknown method.

Most people who get cursed with a Bryopsis algae outbreak, work like crazy for long periods of time, getting very frustrated, and still not even make a dent in the problem. Bryopsis algae outbreaks are usually caused by a new addition, where the algae comes in as a hitch hiker on a new coral or piece of live rock, or even a snail shell. So I’m glad I found it and even more glad to share it with you. Please be sure and share it with your friends too.

The method uses increased Magnesium levels for three months (1600ppm compared to the normal 1300ppm), to bring the Bryopsis to its threshold for binding Magnesium. This causes the Magnesium to then perform as an enzyme inhibitor, making the Bryopsis shut down and die off. Once this happens, the grazers in your saltwater aquarium will clean up the remains.

Point of caution: Be sure not to raise the Magnesium level by more than 100ppm per day.

Please post a comment here on the blog to share your feedback, or to tell your story if you are having any problems or frustrations with your saltwater aquarium. We would love to help you out in any way we can.

Technorati Tags: algae, algae removal, bryopsis, bryopsis algae, cyanobacteria, hair algae, magnesium, problem solving, reef tank, saltwater aquarium

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This phenomenon is more and more common these days, where municipalities are adding chloramines to the drinking water. So here is an excellent article that helps you understand exactly just what monochloramines are, why they are bad, and what kind of filtration will remove them. It goes into deep detail on all accounts, so sink your teeth in and enjoy.

Here’s the link to the article:

http://www.filterwaternow.com/chloramine-and-the-reef-aquarium

Please leave a comment and let me know if this was helpful and if you learned anything new.

Warren

Technorati Tags: chloramines, drinking water, filter, monochloramines, municipality, reverse osmosis, tap water

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http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pritchard_invents_a_water_filter.html?awesm=on.ted.com_29

It is one of the most incredible inventions I have ever seen, and IS the solution to ending the worldwide problem of the need for safe drinking water – especially in areas of abject poverty and refugee camps where the problem is worst.  Just imagine how a nation can be transformed when its people are no longer parralized with disease, when they no longer have to spend the bulk of their day gathering water and food.

Imagine what your life would be like if you had to spend most of your day gathering water, which is loaded with pathogens that cause you to get sick.  So, what little time you have left from gathering water, you spend fighting water-born disease.  If our nation lived like this, we wouldn’t be free to work, to invent, to become educated, to be of service to others. Basically our ability to be productive in society would be severely diminished.  Thus, this issue of not having practical access to safe drinking water is crippling the world’s impoverished nations.

What if this problem no longer existed?  What if it were solved permanently?  Think about it.

Technorati Tags: drinking water, poverty, water filter, waterborn diseases

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Sincerely,

Warren Gibbons

www.saltwateraquariumsecrets.com

Technorati Tags: algae, Hawaii, invasive algae

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For more short videos on interesting animal behaviors and other aquarium related educational information, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ocean-Explorium-at-New-Bedford-Seaport/98256108758?v=wall and become afan/friend (I’m still a bit new to to Facebook). Also, for more ‘how to’ information on saltwater aquariums, design, installation, maintenance, etc., go to www.saltwateraquariumsecrets.com and sign up. Sincerely, Warren M. Gibbons www.saltwateraquariumsecrets.com

Technorati Tags: mouth brooding, Ocean Explorium, pajama cardinal, reef tank

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