Chemical Warfare Begins Now!!

Since my last post, I've left the lights on the tank off more than 23 hours of the day. The only time I turned them on was to do my routine maintenence (levels, top offs, etc.). I didn't want to leave the lights on to promote growth. I did a 50% water change and will not be doing any water changes for the next couple of weeks while I dose Magnesium (to reduce costs). After 4 weeks of heavy dosing I will resume my regular cleaning regimine. I did test my levels this morning and everything has finally reached zeros. This is important, as my tank is now ready to sustain life (if it wasnt for Bryopsis).



Yesterday evening I recieved my shipment of chemicals from JL Aquatics and I am now ready to start combatting this beast known as bryopsis. I'm just going to call it bitch algae from now on though because it sounds more appropriate. I ordered a 64 oz bottle of Magnesium Dose from Kent Marine and a Mg/Alk test kit from Seachem. The total order cost me $78 which may seem a bit steep to most but for comparisons sake the Seachem test kit sells locally for $89.99. Talk about gouging! I probably wont need all 64oz for treatment but I figured it's better to order more than not have enough. Plus, a 16 oz bottle is $10 compared to $20 for the 64 oz.
I have yet to test Mg levels but I anticipate them to be around 1250-1300 ppm. For this treate ment period, I must increase that level to ~ 2200 ppm. The instructions on the bottle suggest to add 1mL/gal daily to see ~ 19 ppm increase. I've got a long way to go. For today, I started with 7x times the recommended dosage. I will test Mg later this weekend and dose further if needed.

Here are some updated pictures of the bitch algae and a new full tank shot (or FTS):









Reducing the light cycle seems to have stunted the growth. I'm going to use a reduced light cycle on my tank along with the Magnesium dosing for the first week.









FTS: