Ahhhhh. Ok [emoji2]
Yes.
Aside from specifically speaking of Fluconazole, why are you against methods such as gfo or carbon dosing?
, but a significant number of folks who do that seem to end up with blooms or otherwise bad situations.
I've found that the 'persistent' undesireable algaes, such as bryopsis, occur in tanks that do or do not dose carbon or run gfo. And that their are systems that don't have these algeas that do and do not run those either.Treatment vs lifestyle?
A significant number of folks seem to be using these remediation tools from Day 1 of their tank...sometimes even before there's a bio-load in the tank.
I'm still waiting on the six sigma analysis to come back
Persistently starving a food web (or tank) of N or P and/or saturating it with C seems all too able to promote undesirable biological shifts...not 100% of the time, but often enough. (Between the bryopsis, dino, chrysophyte and KNO3 threads and other related research efforts, we've got a nice accumulation of cases as well as a significant pile of research. A doc on dino's containing this info is in progress – so stay tuned!)
So I recommend these tools to be used only on a treatment basis – they should not be used to starve a tank persistently, for the life of the tank. (IMO if you are expert enough to not need this advice, you're not going to be having the related problems or looking at this advice. And you're probably already using these tools in the manner I'm suggesting vs starving your tank.)
I'm not sure that qualifies me as being "against" per se, does it?
At least from my perspective it seems more "pro-healthy-tank" and maybe a little "anti-bandaid".
+1You don't have to do any tweaking for bryopsis to bloom but you do have to introduce it into the tank in the first place.Byropsis is not held at bay by competitor algaes that once we use gfo or carbon dosing to reduce the competitors BAM here comes bryopsis. Bryopsis doesn't wait 10 years later to bloom once introduced into your tank.If you put a rock or frag plug or shell or anything else with bryopsis on it into your tank,you will see bryopsis grow from that rock,frag plug,or shell. It may be a small enough amount not to notice for a while but you'll know as it really gets going.When you do notice and you try to pull or scrub that bryopsis off while it's in your tank,you will spread that algae everywhere in your tank(if your tanks inhabitants hasn't already picked at it and spread it).
We are not creating a situation in our tanks that allows bryopsis to just appear. You have to actually have had or have bryopsis now to understand that no matter what your nutrient levels are,what or how many fish you have or what other types of algaes you have in your tank,it's going to grow through,on and around everything in your tank once you introduce it.(well it probably won't grow on your fish). If you have a reef tank up and running then you have a system that's prime for bryopsis to grow. The key is to NOT introduce it into your tank in the first place. My tank getting bryopsis was brought on by me not paying close enough attention to what I thought looked like regular gha on a couple of frag plugs. Had I cut those frags off of those frag plugs,I would not have had bryopsis in my tank.
Having a "pro-healthy-tank" has absolutely nothing to do with having or getting bryopsis in your tank.
Before this thread goes any further,I'll say this....This thread is not a gha algae prevention thread and it's also not a mcarrolls ethics thread.(although you don't seem to have the same issues in the QT threads using the same azole meds,must be selective ethics) It's about killing bryopsis(and the added benefit of some gha) with Fluconazole. Obviously you have some personal agenda here since you've had issues with everything about this thread including the name having "cure"(until you found out that REV changed the name,go figure).You had a problem with where the meds were ending up until I said that they were ending up in the same place after human consumption. (crickets chirping after I said that)I can tell you this,that's not where this thread is going. You say that you're not " just shooting off with the mouth" yet you make empty,uneducated comments like" Prescription meds without a prescription straight from China with free shipping by the US Postal Service." and"I think we've been "duped". Nobody here is trying to dupe or trick anyone other than you trying to derail the thread. You are more than welcome to start your own thread(like you have suggested to others plenty of times)and share your own agenda, beliefs,lifetsyle or whatever else you would like to there.
We are going to continue to help as many people as we can to get rid of bryopsis USING FLUCONAZOLE so they can once again enjoy their tanks.
*******Important*******
Please read the Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs) located right after the pictures before you treat your tank.It should answer most of your questions and help you avoid some mistakes.
First, I want to say that I am in no way shape or form telling anyone that they should try this in their tank.(at least not until we see how this goes) Yes Fluconazole can be used as an anti-bacterial med for fish diseases and I haven't seen any adverse reactions from using it, but I just don't want anyone to come back and say that they killed their fish/corals or inverts and blame me. This was not my discovery as I am just following what some others have already done. If you try this it is at your own risk and don't shoot the messenger.
Okay so like I have said in another Fluconazole thread,I always inspect and QT everything before it goes into my tank. I had several frags in qt for a few weeks and all seamed fine. Before transferring them to my DT I brushed off what looked like regular green surface algae and thought nothing of it.Well after about a month all three frags had a healthy helping of Bryopsis growing on them.
I've had to deal with this years ago so I know what kind of a struggle it can be. I did not want to just sit around and hope this cleared itself up because I knew this could get really bad.I had a tank full of Bryopsis years ago and tried everything I could to get rid of it and it just kept spreading everywhere.
Finally after gallons and gallons (system was almost 400gls)of Kent Tech M I was able to melt the Bryopsis away but it was no picnic.
Now, after learning that Kent Tech M has changed and doesn't work anymore or is hit or miss now,I read about some people having success against Bryopsis using Vibrant.I tried Vibrant for a couple of months and it did damage the Bryopsis fern/fan leaves but it wouldn't kill it off completely. I know people say to just give it more time but let me show you what can happen when you give Bryopsis time in your tank.(BTW I'm not knocking Vibrant or @UWC I think he has been a stand up guy on this forum and some people have had great success using their products)
They did not call me the Bryopsis King for no reason........QUESTION: Have only been able to get 100mg tablets...want to use it in my nano 10...crushed up good, will these be OK?
It was like this across the entire tank. Notice for you tang lovers out there that mine had no interest what so ever in eating any of the Bryopsis.If they would have kept the rocks picked clean this would not have reached being the forest that you see.I have more pics but it's ugly and I think you get the picture.As you can see,this would be my reason for NOT wanting to wait too long on this.
Anyway this brings me up to using Fluconazole. After searching the good ole web I found that some people(some over seas) were using Fluconazole in a one time dose to kill off Byropsis. At first I thought that this was too good to be true.I mean most people were saying that their tanks were Bryopsis free in about 10-15 days give or take a few days. Then they started posting before and after pics and also saying that they had not lost any fish or corals!! OMG sign me up! I thought. Well after doing a little more research I found out that Fluconazole can be used to treat infections/diseases in fish and that the dosage I would need to use was considered somewhat "safe" for the fish so I placed an order..
There were two different dosages that were being used. One was 9mg/L and the other was 150mg/30L which is 5mg/L. I have 200 gallons of total water volume in this system which is 757L. So 757L x 9mg/L would be a dose of 6813mg. 757L x 5mg/L would be a dose of 3785mg.
I went with 4000mg so it was 20mg per gallon.
Everyone was seeing their results when using the lower dose so I went with the lower dose.
*Also note that if I were using Fluconazole to treat my fish for infections I would need to dose this same amount every 24hrs for no less than 5 days but not more than 10 days.
This made me feel somewhat better about using it because this would be a one time dose and not building up 5-10 times as much in my aquarium over the course of 5-10 days.
So let the battle begin!!
Before I dosed the tank I turned off my actinic lighting,changed my filter socks from 200 micron to mesh filter socks,turned off the UV channels on my Radions,removed my GFO/GAC filters and removed my skimmer cup.
I emptied 20 of the 200mg capsule in a cup of tank water and stirred for a minute or two.(throw away the empty capsules) Not all of the medication dissolved but that's okay. I then poured the entire cup in my DT in front of a powerhead.
Cloudiness went away after about an hour. Fish,corals and inverts didn't seem to notice any change at all.
I apologize in advance for my blurry pics as photography is not my strong suit.
Edit: I know some people don't like reading through entire threads and just want to see the results so I'll keep this first post updated with all the pics.
Before the treatment started...
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
A big thank you to @stevo01 for writting the FAQ for this thread.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
****This treatment seems to work best in well lit areas of the tank. Some people are noticing quicker results by adding light to the shaded areas of their tank.*****
Q: Will Fluconazole kill Bryopsis?
A: YES. As of 2/2/17 Fluconazole is completely killing all Bryopsis. There have been no reports of it NOT working.
Q: How does Fluconazole work?
A: Fluconazole blocks the enzymatic pathway for the production of ergosterol. Ergosterol is essential for maintaining the cell wall integrity of plants. Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells.
Q: Will Fluconazole kill anything else in my system?
A: So far Fluconazole has not killed anything other than bryopsis and GHA. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING else is unaffected.
Q: Where do I get Fluconazole?
A: There are many sources online. The most popular/best choice is to purchase the medication in 200MG CAPSULE.
Q: How much Fluconazole do I use?
A: The suggested dose is one SINGLE dose in the amount of 20mg per gallon of water. There are reefers who are experimenting with using 10mg per gallon right now, but none with completing the 1st "round".
Q: Do I do a WC before treatment?
A: Yes. It would be a good idea as the treatment is for 14 days and expect an increase in NO3.
Q: How do I prepare the the medication?
A: I have noticed with the capsules it is very tough opening them without crushing the capsule. This is what I did. Use a razor blade and cut off the rounded end of the large outer half of the capsule. Then you can very easily pour the contents out into a glass of RODI water or tank water. The amount of water doesnt matter, but make it enough to be able to mix the med up. The med isnt very soluble, but mix it up best you can. Preferably dose at night when fish are asleep. Then pour the entire dose into the DT, or sump. Some have put it into their sump socks. I dosed directly into the DT.
Q: How long is the treatment?
A: 14 days.Maybe up to 21 days if you still have GHA present in the tank.
Q: Do I remove my carbon?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I remove my skimmer cup?
A: Its suggested for at least the first few days if not the entire treatment remove your cup. If you pull your cup you may continue to run the skimmer, or turn the skimmer down as to not allow the skim to enter the cup. You do not want to remove the med.
Q: Do I take my ATS offline?
A: Yes. Completely sanitize it, and reintroduce it after all the bryopsis is 100% gone.
Q: Do I take my bio reactor offline?
A: No.
Q: Do I take my GFO offline?
A: No GFO will not remove the meds.It will also help to remove the po4 from dying algae.
Q: Do I continue to dose H2O2?
A: Yes. It will not interact with this med.
Q: Do I continue to dose Vibrant?
A: Yes. This SHOULD not interact this med. It may help to dose Vibrant as it will assist in NO3 export.
Q: Do I continue to dose colors, alk, calcium, and magnesium?
A: Yes.
Q: Should I change my lighting?
A: No.
Q: If I take my carbon reactor, or any other equipment off line/out of the tank, do I just put them back into the system after treatment?
A: No. Do not reintroduce the algae. It would be best to sterilize any equipment and throw away old media for reactors.
Q: Is it ok to take out my chaeto, or other algae's then put back after treatment?
A: No. this may reintroduce the algae. Leave the macros in the tank.
Q: Do I take my carbon reactor offline?
A: Yes.
Q:Should I stop using Purigen during treatment?
A:Yes.
Q: Do I take my UV Sterilizer offline?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I do a WC during treatment?
A: No. Unless it cannot be avoided and a WC needs to be done to save life.
Q: Will Fluconazole kill my chaetomorpha or other beneficial maco's?
A: The treatment has not harmed any macro algae.
Q: Will Fluconazole kill the parasitic algae known to burrow through LPS corals?
A: This is currently being researched.
Q: What other nuisance algae's will be killed by Fluconazole?
A: Fluconazole kills the green algae Derbesia also known as GHA. It seems that GHA takes longer to kill than the bryopsis but it still dies. Bubble algae is unknown due to most reefers treating their tanks have been using Vibrant. Vibrant kills bubble algae very well.
Q: When do I do a WC?
A: At the end of the full 14 day treatment. After treatment has completed you will go back to your normal running system. Do a WC as your NO3/PO4 levels may be high from a lot of dead algae.
-Stevo
This treatment has been a huge success.For so many years we have had to deal with this terrible algae. Well now we can finally say that beating Bryopsis is a reality. No more tearing down your tanks. No more endless hours of pulling and picking at this mess. Fluconazole has made the eradication of Bryopsis from our tanks quick,easy and painless.Please let everyone you know in the reefing community about this treatment. The more people who know,the better.
Testing by @twilliard will be ongoing to determine a minimum effective dosing plan in the near future.
If you still have any questions about using Fluconazole,don't hesitate to ask.
Thank you to everyone who has been and continues to help and contribute in the thread. R2R has the best reefing community around!!!
NCreefguy
(And sometimes a different perspective on normal itself.) Let's at least try to remain serious. )
...although you don't seem to have the same issues in the QT threads using the same azole meds,must be selective ethics
Not much to see...about 1/2" long, rounded oblong pills...pink with an 05 on one side...not a great photographer...if you need it, I can try...thanks...;Pompus
