Dilemma...opinions sought.

shesacharmer · 09/28/2014, 11:14 AM

I have this rather cool pink sponge that I've been watching for awhile. It doesn't appear to be the kind that goes crazy and wreaks havoc. Two weeks ago I noticed little green things starting to stick out and I figured it was the beginnings of algae of some sort. Maybe hair algae which I haven't had in my tank yet at all.

With my fish coming back to the fallow tank in a couple of weeks (on day 54 now) I figured the One Spot and the Sailfin Blenny would take care of the algae. But now, there is a singular bubble of bubble algae trapped in there.

There is a Chinese restaurant near me that has about four of these gigantic algae bubbles...they leave them alone and they never spread...but they are about the size of a small plum and they actually look kind of cool. Do I dare leave this thing alone or should I remove the rock and scrub it down before the whole thing turns into a bad deal?

I wish Sk8tr and Paul B would chime in...

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cloak · 09/28/2014, 11:25 AM

I would just use some tweezers and remove the bubble right before your next water change. Piece of cake. If you want to let the bubble grow though, it could take quite awhile before it gets that big, and who knows what will happen during this time. You could have a lot more bubbles on your hands then. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

Sk8r · 09/28/2014, 11:35 AM

Tweezers for the thready stuff. Love your pink sponge. It may actually be an encrusting leather (can't tell at this remove) but the bubble---I don't worry about them much. Remove it if you can---they usually come right off---but otherwise it's ok. They can get big---had one the size of a golf ball I just let grow out of curiosity. Then it burst. And the bubble all went away, including the little ones. I'm sure it'll come back eventually---it happens kind of in cycles. I see bubble about once every 2 years, usually all about that size. Then it goes away on its own.

09/28/2014, 11:14 AM	#1
shesacharmer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Central NH Posts: 1,241	Dilemma...opinions sought. I have this rather cool pink sponge that I've been watching for awhile. It doesn't appear to be the kind that goes crazy and wreaks havoc. Two weeks ago I noticed little green things starting to stick out and I figured it was the beginnings of algae of some sort. Maybe hair algae which I haven't had in my tank yet at all. With my fish coming back to the fallow tank in a couple of weeks (on day 54 now) I figured the One Spot and the Sailfin Blenny would take care of the algae. But now, there is a singular bubble of bubble algae trapped in there. There is a Chinese restaurant near me that has about four of these gigantic algae bubbles...they leave them alone and they never spread...but they are about the size of a small plum and they actually look kind of cool. Do I dare leave this thing alone or should I remove the rock and scrub it down before the whole thing turns into a bad deal? I wish Sk8tr and Paul B would chime in... [IMG][/IMG] __________________ 75 gal, LR w/refugium, 79 deg, PH 8.0, sg 1.025, amm 0/nit 0/nit 0, Calcium 420, dKH 8.3, mag 1300, Phos 0 Current Tank Info: A work in progress... Last edited by shesacharmer; 09/28/2014 at 11:14 AM. Reason: photo

09/28/2014, 11:35 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Tweezers for the thready stuff. Love your pink sponge. It may actually be an encrusting leather (can't tell at this remove) but the bubble---I don't worry about them much. Remove it if you can---they usually come right off---but otherwise it's ok. They can get big---had one the size of a golf ball I just let grow out of curiosity. Then it burst. And the bubble all went away, including the little ones. I'm sure it'll come back eventually---it happens kind of in cycles. I see bubble about once every 2 years, usually all about that size. Then it goes away on its own. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

09/28/2014, 11:25 AM	#2
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	I would just use some tweezers and remove the bubble right before your next water change. Piece of cake. If you want to let the bubble grow though, it could take quite awhile before it gets that big, and who knows what will happen during this time. You could have a lot more bubbles on your hands then. It's just not worth the risk IMO.