If you had a bubble algae problem... - Page 2

Reef Frog · 01/03/2014, 04:35 PM

I've read pretty good things on AlgaeFix Marine by API as a solution for hair algae. I assume its been tried on BA with no success?

puggsli1 · 01/03/2014, 04:56 PM

I have had my uv on my system for about a year before bubble algae showed up. Bulb is changed yearly and quartz sleeve is cleaned twice a year. The flow through the uv is slow to help with killing ich. My problems started when it came in on a frag and I did not know better at the time so I left it. Then it started to spread like wild fire on one of my rocks. After that I read that you should remove it by scraping it of the rock, while sucking it up with a air hose during water change with all pumps off. This by far was my biggest mistake after that all of rock's were infected.

Reef Frog · 01/03/2014, 05:11 PM

Thanks. I got BA in the same way. So it looks like UV isn't the answer. On well.

I'm resigned to just removing it every so often. No big deal anymore, I'm reigned to it I guess. Like gardening or landscaping I suppose - weeds are just part of the package.

puggsli1 · 01/03/2014, 05:26 PM

Just pour peroxide on it and call it a day. No need to scrape it off and after 3 days it will be gone. Do this with the rock out of the water. Let the peroxide work for a couple of minutes. I did 10 min then rinse the rock with tank water and place the rock back in the tank.

Maxxumless · 01/03/2014, 06:03 PM

In my 80g I scraped it off a single rock every day until I got most of it. Then I went out and got six emerald crabs of various sizes, added a foxface, redid my sump to add a compartment for algae (chaeto) which was lit 24/7, started doing 20% weekly water changes, siphoned as I blew off rocks, replaced mechanical filters every two days (sock every 3 days), added ChemiPure (already was running Purigen), rocks that I was unable to remove had to be pruned while siphoning into the sump (ran through sock), and the bubble algae was gone in three months. I then caught all the emerald crabs and donated them but I kept the foxface - he grew on me

The only way to get rid of bubble algae is aggressive and consistent daily effort.

GreenSaltyOne · 01/03/2014, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxxumless

The only way to get rid of bubble algae is aggressive and consistent daily effort.

+1!

Tagging along. I've had a ba problem since the start, which is only 8 months now for me. I think maxxumless has the right idea. Scrape and siphon (WITHOUT POPPING!!!), emerald crabs, and the biggest thing imo is the macro algae. I only run my light on my refugium 12 hours a day, but when i stay up on cleaning and weekly wc at 10% (only for a 30 gal luckily), I notice the ba turns white and dies on its own. When my macro is thriving, the ba is not. Emerald crabs are eh for ba....i got them mainly for bryopsis and thats been gone for months

. I wish I could have a sump with a refugium and run the light 24/7, but I have a HOB because of money, space, etc.... Good luck beating BA!!!
OH YEA! - most important .02..... by letting your macro beat the ba by competing for nutrients, and without scraping them, you do not spread them by popping them.....

Joe · 01/03/2014, 08:56 PM

I tape a small needle to the end of a siphon hose. Starting the siphon, I pop each BA with the needle on the end of the hose during a small water change, and siphon the water into a five gallon bucket. I don't worry about the empty shell of the BA. It just disappears.

Tzwizzle · 01/03/2014, 09:01 PM

I tangled horns with it for a while on my old 75g. I got 3 emerald crabs and I noticed they wouldn't attack any of the large marble sized pieces but after scraping and siphoning, the bubbles wouldn't come back for the most case. My guess is that the emeralds only eat the smaller ones.

Also I was thinking, is this only a problem with tanks that have open live rock? Seems like it would be harder for them to find places to attach on an older mature tank full of large coral.

Urbs · 01/04/2014, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxxumless

In my 80g I scraped it off a single rock every day until I got most of it. Then I went out and got six emerald crabs of various sizes, added a foxface, redid my sump to add a compartment for algae (chaeto) which was lit 24/7, started doing 20% weekly water changes, siphoned as I blew off rocks, replaced mechanical filters every two days (sock every 3 days), added ChemiPure (already was running Purigen), rocks that I was unable to remove had to be pruned while siphoning into the sump (ran through sock), and the bubble algae was gone in three months. I then caught all the emerald crabs and donated them but I kept the foxface - he grew on me

The only way to get rid of bubble algae is aggressive and consistent daily effort.

Thanks man!
I'm really close to doing what you did now except scrapping from the rocks.
After listening to everyone is sounds like there is know easy way and takes a little hard work.

Urbs · 01/04/2014, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeguyy84

I battled bubble algae for months. I did weekly water changes with a 1/4 rigid airline cut to a point. then I would pry up the bubbles and either suck them through the airline or pull them out with my fingers. it sucked, but I would go from the left side to the right side then start over with the new growth. eventually I was able to get it under control with only some small patches.

a 3 day lights out period seemed to do nothing to limit the growth. Toward the end I could pull it off in sheets.

before:

almost gone:

I don't have a picture of the tank when it was just a few patches but you get the point.

Thanks for the pics. I will refer to them for encouragement.

TruRacr314x · 01/05/2014, 10:02 AM

Mr. Saltwater Tank has a nice video on removal...

I dealt with it for quite a while...but recently picked up a blonde naso who has almost wiped it out!

AquamanE · 01/05/2014, 10:16 AM

Red Sea Desjarni (sp) Tang did it for me.

Jeff000 · 01/05/2014, 10:21 AM

I have a mix of tangs that may or may not have eaten it.
But I just ran lots of GFO after battling for months and months to keep it under control. 3 months with GFO and now I can't find a trace of it.

Bpb · 01/05/2014, 11:01 AM

It's a pain. To those of you that are terrified of popping the bubbles...you do realize that they're going to pop on their own. And they only pop when they reach peak spore maturity. If you manually remove them and accidentally pop a bunch, you're popping them prematurely. Reducing their chance of successfully spreading. And when an emerald runs around popping them, she's doing the work for you and eating spores in the process.

meegwell · 01/05/2014, 11:26 AM

I had a massive ba breakout covering most open rock. Emeralds didnt work for me. I resorted to scraping. They pop like crazy but its been a few weeks and i havent seen any increase in growth. I like the weeds in the garden analogy.

barjam · 01/05/2014, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Frog

I've read pretty good things on AlgaeFix Marine by API as a solution for hair algae. I assume its been tried on BA with no success?

It got rid of my bubble algae this way. I wasn't even trying to get rid of the bubble algae it just happened... I wouldn't recommend this approach though the corals hated it.

cloak · 01/05/2014, 01:48 PM

I got rid of mine by just removing as many as I could right before a water change. (weekly) Popping them in the process was of no concern. I've also seen a Red Sea Sailfin tang and an Atlantic Blue tang eat them first hand. The emerald crabs I tried paid no attention to the valonia.

01/03/2014, 04:56 PM	#27
puggsli1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Socal Posts: 201	I have had my uv on my system for about a year before bubble algae showed up. Bulb is changed yearly and quartz sleeve is cleaned twice a year. The flow through the uv is slow to help with killing ich. My problems started when it came in on a frag and I did not know better at the time so I left it. Then it started to spread like wild fire on one of my rocks. After that I read that you should remove it by scraping it of the rock, while sucking it up with a air hose during water change with all pumps off. This by far was my biggest mistake after that all of rock's were infected. __________________ Equipment: Leemar 48x24x20 rimless, Bubble King 180 Double cone skimmer, ATI 6 Bulb PM, Vortech mp40's, Ac Jr, Eheim 1262 return.

01/03/2014, 05:26 PM	#29
puggsli1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Socal Posts: 201	Just pour peroxide on it and call it a day. No need to scrape it off and after 3 days it will be gone. Do this with the rock out of the water. Let the peroxide work for a couple of minutes. I did 10 min then rinse the rock with tank water and place the rock back in the tank. __________________ Equipment: Leemar 48x24x20 rimless, Bubble King 180 Double cone skimmer, ATI 6 Bulb PM, Vortech mp40's, Ac Jr, Eheim 1262 return.

01/03/2014, 08:56 PM	#32
Joe Registered Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Amish Country, PA. USA Posts: 978	I tape a small needle to the end of a siphon hose. Starting the siphon, I pop each BA with the needle on the end of the hose during a small water change, and siphon the water into a five gallon bucket. I don't worry about the empty shell of the BA. It just disappears. __________________ I put the laughter in slaughter. Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Oceanic Tech Tank, Two MP40W Gen 2 Vortechs, H & S A-150-F2001 External Skimmer, Oceanic Model 3 Sump, Current Outer Orbit Pro 250 Watt MH/T5 Combo

01/05/2014, 10:16 AM	#37
AquamanE Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 6,544	Red Sea Desjarni (sp) Tang did it for me. __________________ Eddie Soler FMAS BOD Member MACNA 2013 Chairman "I'd rather die living than live to die" Current Tank Info: 200G mixed reef with 60G sump, Radion LED’s , Bubble King skimmer, blah blah blah.

01/05/2014, 11:26 AM	#40
meegwell Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 608	I had a massive ba breakout covering most open rock. Emeralds didnt work for me. I resorted to scraping. They pop like crazy but its been a few weeks and i havent seen any increase in growth. I like the weeds in the garden analogy. __________________ 90g mixed reef \| 30g sump \| 2x250 phoenix HQI; 4x54 (ati blue plus, ati aquablue special, geissman tru actinic, geissmann purple)\| NAC 6 Skimmer \| 2x MP40wes \| eheim 1262 return\| AWI typhoon 5 rodi \|

01/03/2014, 04:35 PM	#26
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	I've read pretty good things on AlgaeFix Marine by API as a solution for hair algae. I assume its been tried on BA with no success?

01/03/2014, 05:11 PM	#28
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	Thanks. I got BA in the same way. So it looks like UV isn't the answer. On well. I'm resigned to just removing it every so often. No big deal anymore, I'm reigned to it I guess. Like gardening or landscaping I suppose - weeds are just part of the package.

01/03/2014, 06:03 PM	#30
Maxxumless To the Max... Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,364	In my 80g I scraped it off a single rock every day until I got most of it. Then I went out and got six emerald crabs of various sizes, added a foxface, redid my sump to add a compartment for algae (chaeto) which was lit 24/7, started doing 20% weekly water changes, siphoned as I blew off rocks, replaced mechanical filters every two days (sock every 3 days), added ChemiPure (already was running Purigen), rocks that I was unable to remove had to be pruned while siphoning into the sump (ran through sock), and the bubble algae was gone in three months. I then caught all the emerald crabs and donated them but I kept the foxface - he grew on me The only way to get rid of bubble algae is aggressive and consistent daily effort.

01/03/2014, 09:01 PM	#33
Tzwizzle Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 283	I tangled horns with it for a while on my old 75g. I got 3 emerald crabs and I noticed they wouldn't attack any of the large marble sized pieces but after scraping and siphoning, the bubbles wouldn't come back for the most case. My guess is that the emeralds only eat the smaller ones. Also I was thinking, is this only a problem with tanks that have open live rock? Seems like it would be harder for them to find places to attach on an older mature tank full of large coral.

01/05/2014, 10:02 AM	#36
TruRacr314x Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 16	Mr. Saltwater Tank has a nice video on removal... I dealt with it for quite a while...but recently picked up a blonde naso who has almost wiped it out!

01/05/2014, 10:21 AM	#38
Jeff000 Electrician Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 1,653	I have a mix of tangs that may or may not have eaten it. But I just ran lots of GFO after battling for months and months to keep it under control. 3 months with GFO and now I can't find a trace of it.

01/05/2014, 11:01 AM	#39
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	It's a pain. To those of you that are terrified of popping the bubbles...you do realize that they're going to pop on their own. And they only pop when they reach peak spore maturity. If you manually remove them and accidentally pop a bunch, you're popping them prematurely. Reducing their chance of successfully spreading. And when an emerald runs around popping them, she's doing the work for you and eating spores in the process.

01/05/2014, 01:48 PM	#42
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I got rid of mine by just removing as many as I could right before a water change. (weekly) Popping them in the process was of no concern. I've also seen a Red Sea Sailfin tang and an Atlantic Blue tang eat them first hand. The emerald crabs I tried paid no attention to the valonia.