bubble algae problem

[qchau]

Had some bubble algae originally on one rock....I removed the rock carefully scrapped as much of the bubble algae as possible dipped it in fresh water to try to not get any spores back on the rock....Now it seems that the bubble algae is back and in some other spots in the tank. Got two emerald crabs doesn't look like they are interested in the bubble algae.

Any other suggestions on how to get rid of this nuisance. FYI I run a upflow algae scrubber and have no other nuisance algae in the display besides the bubble.

 

[ep3n3wp]

Emerald Crabs Emerald Crabs and some more Emerald Crabs!!!!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Six2seven]

Emerald Crabs Emerald Crabs and some more Emerald Crabs!!!!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

he said he has two.

 

[Anarez]

I have they same problem I took a couple of rocks out cleaned them u have to fix the root of the problem mine are high phosphate

 

[rizon25]

I have a 100 gallon tank. I neglected the bubble algae and it grew all over my rocks. I have a lot of sps attached to the rocks so taking them out is not an option.

I did a couple of things:

1. I upgraded my skimmer from a bubble magus nac6 to a reef octopus xp2000.
2. I bought a pet dental tooth scraper on amazon and attached it to a siphon to manually remove the bubble algae while doing water changes.
3. I also bought 2 emerald crabs which I notice are picking the small bubble algae.
4. My purple tang is also eating the free floating bubble algae.
5. I feed lightly now.

I am finally seeing the bubble algae population diminishing to a tolerable level. While scraping off the bubble algae, I pop some of the bubbles but I am siphoning the water at the same time and my skimmer is doing a great job at keeping the nutrients out of the tank.

 

[robert_ellis]

Reduce phosphate and nitrate. They will starve and disappear.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

From my understanding bubble algae id a macro...doesnt really need high anything to survive... my system ran 0p04 and 0no3 snd still had it pop up randomly.

 

[qchau]

is there a fish that eats them?

 

[bustayanky]

Yeah I'm currently having this problem also. Bubble algae galore in my shelf rock with a good amount of corals so can't take it out. Emeralds wouldn't touch it since it's out in the open. There's no fish that will eat bubble algae?

 

[robert_ellis]

I always can tell when my ohosphate hits .1 or higher by bubble algae showing up. I change gfo and it starts to turn white and disappear.

 

[qchau]

im running an algae scrubber to reduce phosphates...guess its not working as well as I though

 

[rizon25]

I have low nitrates, almost none, and phos is at 0.03. I have no algae except for the bubble algae. I'm thinking it doesn't need much to survive. However, I feel the skimmer and lower nutrients has helped keep new algae from growing. I'm just getting rid of the existing ones manually.

 

[Rockstacker]

I was dealing with a bubble algae outbreak too and this is what I am doing to try to keep it under control.

1. Bought emerald crabs (ordered 5, only 2 survived shipping).
The emerald crabs in my tank only seem interested in the tiny bubble algae. They ignore larger ones.
One actually dislodged a large bubble algae so that it could eat the smaller ones under it.
At least they keep new ones from growing.

2. Skimmed wet - in the hope of catching more algae spores before they sprout.

3. Further reduced nitrates and trying to reduce phosphates. (Reduced feeding, GFO, carbon dosing, regular water changes, etc)
I was vinegar dosing for about a month, and could not get nitrates below 0.5ppm.
GFO kept phosphates at 0.04ppm.
I switched from vinegar to Red Sea NO3O4-X 2 weeks ago and it lowered nitrates, but still does not seem to make a dent on phosphates.

Using Red Sea Algae Control Pro test kit, Nitrates are undetectable and phosphates are still at 0.04ppm.

There are still a handful of bubble algae at some spots, but they are no longer plague proportions.
The bubble algae that remain, are larger pieces that the emerald crabs would not touch (and I could not reach for manual removal).
I am hoping that with the combination of steps I am taking, these larger pieces would starve out or if they pop the spores would not be able to take hold.


I do not think there is any one step that will solve a bubble algae problem.
It would have to be a combination of steps to keep it under control and hopefully eradicated from the tank.

As a side effect, hair algae and cyano is completely gone! LOL.