Kent Tech M and bryopsis

This question is for anyone who has ever used Kent Tech M, and possibly used it to fight bryopsis.

So I have a small amount thats starting to take foot hold and I figured I'd try to banish it in the early stages. So I purchased the Red Sea Mag Test and some Tech M.
The tank is a small 22 gallon nano which holds roughly 15 gallons of water total.
So after reading the instructions it said to use 1/4 tsp per gallon per day to bring the Mag up 18.3 ppm.
1/4 x 15 = 3.75 tsp per day would raise my mag by 18.3 ppm per day.

Day 1 before dosing I tested at 1320ppm. Then dosed 3.75 tsp of tech M.
Day 2 my Mag tested at 1440ppm before dosing. Seems awefully higher than it should have? So I decided to dose less and this time dosed 2.5tsp.
Day 3 I tested again and it was 1440, so I figured my results from the day prior were wrong and I dosed 3tsp.
Day 4 (today) I tested twice and I got 1600ppm. I'm afraid to dose any more of this stuff.

Did I interpret the instructions wrong? Do I have my dosage right? Should I continue to dose and at what rate? Does it sound like the test is wrong?

Everything in the tank is happy, all corals are doing great, fish and inverts seem fine. The bryopsis still seems happy too, sorry for the bombardment of questions but I'm turning to you guys for advise on this. Thanks.

 

Hmm how well have you been shaking that stuff? You want to shake it till your arm hurts lol.

And its alright to increase mag 100 ppm per day, so don't worry too much. Just remember that Mag sulfate and Mag Chloride are salts. So keep your salinity in check...

Something isn't right.. But on the bright side, you are killing that bryopsis!! Is it possible to just physically remove that bryopsis? Like taking out the rock that its on? That may be the safer way to go..

 

Try here, but some kits may not be accurate at higher ranges too.
Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

How soon after you are dosing are you testing?

 

If you can remove the rock, dip it in PURE Kent M for 5 minutes - bryopsis gone in 24 hours. I even tried this with zoas attached and they survived fine.

 

Thanks for the reply's.

The first day I didn't shake it. I have been ever since.

I actually want to prevent any kind of future occurances which is why I'm opting for the treatment rather than removal.

I test before dosing every day.

Very good info.


Ok, so last night, I took my test tube and put it under a light. I noticed a waxy looking film inside of the vial and tried to wipe it out with a paper towl. This stuff would not come off. So I took a paper town and used the end of a pencil to scrub the film off the inside of the tube. It looks like the test solution leaves this stuff in there even though I clean it out after every time I use the kit. After cleaning the waxy substance off the inside of the tube I tested with a more reasonable 1440ppm. Going forward I really need to get the waxy stuff off after each test in order to be accurate.
I'll test again tonight to see what I get and if it's in line with the 1440ppm, I'll continue on with 3 tsp of tech M and watch this bryopsis wither.

So I'm guessing that 3tsp of tech M per day is not out of line for 15 gallons of water? It seems like a lot, but I don't often dose much of anything.

 

I never can remember the tech-m instructions off the top of my head. That is why I recommended the calculator. Did you try it?

From the calculator if I read your post correctly, i put in 15g water, current mg 1600 desired mg 1800 (should kill bryopsis). I get:

Required amount "62.2 ml; 5.4 fl oz; 32.4 tsp"

and for instructions
"WARNING: Seems that there could be two concentrations of this product, check the instructions in the bottle. If it mentions 1 ml per gallon will rise MG by 39.1 ppm USE HALF of the calculated dose and test again after 24 Hrs. Shake vigorously imediately before use. Do not dose all at once. Although it may be ok to do so, I don't recommend it. Dose 1/3 to 1/2 and the next day test. Check your levels and then dose another portion. Limit the increase to a Max. of 100 ppm/Day"

 

I did use the calculator, but it's not very straight forward. Required amount is obvious, but it doesn't tell you how much per day or over how long of a time period to break it up. Instructions state "Do not dose all at once. Although it may be ok to do so, I don't recommend it. ".

I guess I would take the 32.4 tsp and divide it by the amount of days I want this to take, and get my daily dosage that way. Basically at 3tsp per day it should take 10 days to reach 1800ppm, assuming my mag right now is really 1600.

 

Well, it says:

"Dose 1/3 to 1/2 and the next day test. Check your levels and then dose another portion. Limit the increase to a Max. of 100 ppm/Day"

The key I've always heard is the max "100ppm per day". So, since what I put in is 200ppm, it's saying dived by two and do over two days. Or to be safe divide by 3 and do over 3 days. I think for bryopsis you do need to shock it a bit, so, you don't want to go too slow...

 

I guess I didn't read into it that much.

"If it mentions 1 ml per gallon will rise MG by 39.1 ppm USE HALF of the calculated dose and test again after 24 Hrs. "

I thought it was saying to use half of the 1ml per gallon.
I was actually fearful of bringing it up that quickly (100ppm per day).