Is this bryopsis

[Shu]

Is this bryopsis not sure but i think it is.

[Mr Cob]

Looks like it. Would be nice to see a closer picture. Bryopsis is fern like.

[Shu]

my camera is out of commission so cant. It is furn like so I am pretty sure it is. I am dosing mag right now. Trying to figure out how much I should dose. I need to go pick up a **** test kit.

[Europhyllia]

Dosing the Kent Tech-M has really worked well for me. The salifert test kit won't go as far as you need but you can draw a refill into the syringe and calculate it by that.

[corruption]

Jarren -- never dose without test kits. This is why I've been telling you for months you need your own test kits -- if you're blindly 'treating' the chances of you fixing the problem are next to zero, whereas your chances of introducing new problems are very high. Magnesium, Calcium, and Alkalinity are all directly tied, and too much of a shift in any of them can cause the dreaded precipitous event.... Go get yourself some test kits, the SeaChem sets are nice and affordable, and reliable enough. If you wanna really be serious, get some Elos or Salifert test kits ;)

Definitely looks like Bryopsis without a closer pic though -- manual removal during water changes will help on top of testing your own water and fixing the imbalances properly...

-Corruption

[Shu]

I am getting one today don't worry justin

[corruption]

Get either a complete set, or pick up all the individual sets that go with it -- you don't want to only test for the item you're dosing... Like I said, Mag, Cal, and Alk are all directly related, and pushing one too far can cause the others to drop -- you always need to be matching the preferred ionic balance here. Plus, it never hurts to have the basics around (ammonia, nitrate/trite, pH)..

I picked up the SeaChem Marine Basic from Gabe's Fish a couple weeks ago, its a very complete basic test kit, including Ammonia, Nitrate/Trite, pH, and Alkalinity. Easy to use, and nice and affordable. Not sure if he keeps em in stock though, I believe he had to special order this one for me. For the higher resolution tests (Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Strontium, etc), Elos/Salifert/LaMotte or other lab-grade test kits are definitely the way to go.

-Corruption

[Roo&Lis]

Yup. Sure looks like the dreaded bryopsis. I had to tear down my whole tank and bleach my rock to get rid of it.

[Bill S]

What corruption said. This is a cardinal rule. Don't dose without testing. And having Ca, Alk and pH along with Mg is essential.

Personally, after having a bad kit from SeaChem (and acknowledged by SeaChem), I stick only to Salifert. They aren't cheap, but neither are fish...

[corruption]

How long ago was the bad batch of test kits, if you don't mind me asking bstreep? We've been continuing to recommend them over at WWM for quite some time, and haven't heard any problems (not denying, hence my curiosity :) )... Were the results just unreliable, or what was there specific problem?

I've not had any problems with them yet, but I just use them for baseline testing here and there -- I too buy Salifert for all my important details ;)

-Corruption

[los.tejanos83]

I have a Tropic Marin Mg/Ca test kit and it sucks...there are 12 steps to the process with several Reagents, multiple syringes, and a convuluted process.

I'm test kit challenged...of the test kits for Mg/Ca i've seen posted (or otherwise), which is the simplest? You know, add 5 drops and voila, results identified!:thumbs_up:

[corruption]

Mg/Ca don't work that way, no matter the manufacturer -- this is a variable that is widely ranged in every single tank, the chances of 2 tanks being 100% identical are actually pretty slim... As a side effect of this, a higher resolution test is required, which invariably means there will be more steps to get an accurate reading... Unfortunately, just the nature of the beast. Testing is an absolutely, essentially, 100% necessary evil in this hobby, and the high-attention items in salt unfortunately mean some longer-winded testing.

That said, have a look at Salifert and Elos, they're both regarded as some of the best resolution tests available, and are relatively easier to use than most others... just pricier.

-Corruption

[profntbtr]

the ca test from salifert is pretty simple it's get 2ml of sample, add scoop of #1, 8 drops of #2, shake, then add #3 drop by drop til the color changes from pink to blue. i looked up the directions for the mg test and it looks like they are the same, i don't do the mg test as often so i didn't remember exact instructions, but i can do the ca test in a little over a minute, so i would definitely recommend salifert, having used both salifert and seachem, among others. haven't personally used elos, so can't say anything about that.

[corruption]

I haven't used Elos yet, but I've heard nothing but rave reviews about them -- the quality of reagents is high-quality lab grade, like Salifert, and they're supposed to be somewhat easier to discern than even the Salifert tests are... Price-wise, Salifert still has them beat, so I still choose them over Elos, but based on what I've heard and been told, I would trust an Elos kit just as highly.

-Corruption

[Bill S]

How long ago was the bad batch of test kits, if you don't mind me asking bstreep? We've been continuing to recommend them over at WWM for quite some time, and haven't heard any problems (not denying, hence my curiosity :) )... Were the results just unreliable, or what was there specific problem?

I've not had any problems with them yet, but I just use them for baseline testing here and there -- I too buy Salifert for all my important details ;)

-Corruption

It was about 3-4 years ago. Alk kit. Bad reagents. I was chasing my tail. Then I took a water sample AND the kit up to CB Pets. We tested it together, using my kit and theirs. I sent an email to Seachem. They admitted they had a bad batch of reagents out, and sent me replacements. Didn't do much for my tank with maxed out Alk...

[corruption]

Ouch! Yeah, thats why I buy Salifert for all the high-resolution testing... I got the Marine Basic kit for a reliable-enough set of nitrate/trite/pH/Ammonia... everything else goes to Salifert. :)

-Corruption

[ErikH]

It was about 3-4 years ago. Alk kit. Bad reagents. I was chasing my tail. Then I took a water sample AND the kit up to CB Pets. We tested it together, using my kit and theirs. I sent an email to Seachem. They admitted they had a bad batch of reagents out, and sent me replacements. Didn't do much for my tank with maxed out Alk...


I had a bad kit (ALK) and right before we left I had bought a new kit. Tested, and my Alk was at 16! It said 8 on the other test.

[Shu]

Well went to several places today. Everyone is out of mag test.

[corruption]

Did you check Gabe's Fish? They just got in an order of Salifert yesterday, pretty sure he listed it as available..

-Corruption