still fighting bubble algea

J_Geisinger000 · 03/18/2006, 03:04 PM

still fighting what seems like a hopeless battle with the bubble algea

here are some pics

any help would be greatly appreciated

Serioussnaps · 03/18/2006, 05:22 PM

That is in plague proportions. You must have let it go for a long time. The problem with bubble algae(valonia) is that it doesnt need very many nutrients(DOC's, nitrates, phosphates) to reproduce/grow unlike alot of other nuisance algaes. This being the case, implementing dsb's, macroalgae growth, water changes and heavy skimming will only help so much though they should all be done. Make sure you are replacing your carbon and phosphate removal media frequently, they leach phosphates after a while. With all this said you will need mechanical removal. You will have to go in and pull rocks out and scrub in a seprate buck it or pluck them off when doing water changes and siphon out witha small siphon(take vaccuum off and just use tube). when the bubbles burst they release spores which makes it worse. My suggestion is get about 4 emerald crabs that eat this stuff(it will take a while because you have sooooo much) The problem is with these emerald/mithrax crabs, if they have plenty of other food sources(like frozen food, cyclopeeze etc...) they wont eat the valonia as much so you will have to cut back on feeding for a while which will be good for keeping nutrients down anyways. Dont get it wrong, i dont mean starve the tank, just cut back what you can afford to do so.

--------Go to www.wetwebmedia.com ------search for bubble algae and valonia-------read all the faq's and come back with quesitons if you need more help----------GOOD LUCK!

J_Geisinger000 · 03/19/2006, 06:19 PM

thanks for the help

so it woulnt eventually go away on its own?

tanker · 03/19/2006, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J_Geisinger000
thanks for the help

so it woulnt eventually go away on its own?

It will never go away by itself.

TheFlyingTang · 03/19/2006, 08:06 PM

DOn't scrub them! you will release the spoers and end up with more. Use tweezers to cull the growth. Try not to pop the bubbles.

Do water changes to reduce nitrates and check your water parameters. Chances are ph, alk, or dkh are off. Once you can get it back in line and cull you shouldn't have that much growth.

Try an emerald crab or two.

Puffer Daddy · 03/19/2006, 08:13 PM

I had a problem too...but nothing like this. Pulling the rock and cleaning is the best way, as well as the other advice. The best thing I found to pull them with was a toothpick. Easy to just flick them off.

Serioussnaps · 03/19/2006, 09:01 PM

Yeah, get your pH up. 8.2-8.3 being ideal. Dont raise more than---0.2-----at a time. No it wont go away on its own. Get some emerald crabs, but dont go to crazy and get 10 or anything. ---------Nothing good will happen fast

irisheyes · 03/19/2006, 09:13 PM

Mine was almost that bad. I have Hair Algae also. I did a 30% water change, and started taking rock out and picking it off, then rince it in another bucket. I am still having problems, but it is not taking over like it was. I also bought Hermits and Snails, as mine had disapeared. Also 2 Emerald Crabs. I still have no idea what caused it. Nitrates and Phosphates show =0. I also cut back my light hours and feeding less. It is slowly getting better.

Zoom · 03/19/2006, 09:24 PM

My Blonde Naso tang eats it like candy.

J_Geisinger000 · 03/20/2006, 11:46 AM

my ph is at 8.2
and nitrates and phosphates are 0

im getting ready to move into my new house in 3 weeks so I will be tearing down the tank to move it I will try to eliminate as much of it then as what I can

GPB · 03/20/2006, 12:10 PM

I had a similar problem , not quite as severe as the one you have. I was able to eradicate 90% with the aid of a metal spatula. I scraped it from the rocks being careful not to pop the bubbles. As I scraped I collected all of the bubbles and removed them from the tank. This was pretty easy to do. When I pried them off the rocks they would come off in clumps of 10-15 bubbles. The bubbles float around i the water flow so they are pretty easy to rmove. I did this weekly for about 2 mos.

I still get a little bit but I remove them about once per month. Yoy have to be looking for them to see them in my tank.

tanker · 03/20/2006, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zoom
My Blonde Naso tang eats it like candy.

Yea, but you have a 200gal, he only has a 90gal.

3-4 crabs (assumeing that they eat it) will feast on that for a while.

Zoom · 03/20/2006, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tanker
Yea, but you have a 200gal, he only has a 90gal.

3-4 crabs (assumeing that they eat it) will feast on that for a while.

You can get a small BNT . I had my in a 90G fowlr tank for two years till it got big.
Emerald crabs just don't cut it for me they will eat some of the corals if they get a change to.

Serioussnaps · 03/21/2006, 05:34 PM

Also, do you have a fuge? If so do you have calerpa? If you have calerpa, dump it, it is bad stuff IMO. Go with chaeto. Calerpa can sex if lights arent on 24 hrs. and release a bunch of toxins and nutrients. This is off topic, but it is something that can cause algae outbreaks IMO. Anyone else ever observe this with calerpa.

-----Also, gettting a Naso simply for removal of bubble algae is preposterous. Why get this fish(huge) for a 90g if you dont specifically want a Naso just to have a Naso. Thats like getting a .50 caliber Desert Eagle to shoot a squirrel. Your PH is just right, and if you have good test kits then you probably stil lhave trace levels of phosphates and nitrates(bubble algae doesnt need hardly anything to grow). When you move, clean the rocks thoroughly, leave the tank fallow with just emerald crabs for a few months(no fish), therefore no more nutrients and use manual removal. Just keep that elbow grease going, nutrients down, and be patient.

Serioussnaps · 03/21/2006, 05:39 PM

Actually, the more I look at your pics, the more you really need to just remove the rocks and scrub them with something in tank water(after waterchange perhaps with the dirty water), then put the rocks in ro or something an rinse it off more(to make sure spores arent all over the rocks). When you move will be the proper time, or you can start now so you have less to do when you move. This will need manual work along with emerald crabs, doesnt look like something emeralds can do on there own and if they can it will take a long time.

Serioussnaps · 03/21/2006, 05:40 PM

Think toothbrush or algae scraper. Scrape them off then scrub them down with toothbrush and rinse well.

Zoom · 03/21/2006, 09:46 PM

The bubble algae is in my opinion very hard to irritate almost impassible in any tank with no BA predators . you can clean and scrub all you want it will come back you need something to feed on it any macro algae will almost die off when the BA takes over the tank . The Emeralds will eat some but if you feed the tank they rather feed on that . yes your tank is small for a Naso but if you get one that is 3"long it will take about two years before you need a larger tank for it . I rather have a naso tang in my tank than the ugly Bubble algae.
But you can try to clean the rock and then if you have the passion you can start to pluck them out every week with a large tweezer that will work also .
If you put corals in your tank you can't always take all the rock out and clean it regularly .

Well good luck .

J_Geisinger000 · 03/24/2006, 06:59 AM

I think ive found the cause beleive it or not

I have three 10 gallon water jugs I use for my top off
and the one jug has a funny odor in it so I havent used any water from that jug for like a week and the bubble algea is starting to shrivel up and die!!!!!!!!

I'll post some pics later today

CW from the OC · 03/24/2006, 11:14 AM

Hey J. Geis,

Here is what I did in my 120. I did a water change, and saved the water I pulled out. I put this water in 3 buckets. Then I pulled out each rock, and using a flat blade screwdriver, scraped off all the bubbles. Then I dunk/swished the rock in each of the 3 buckets to clean them off and try to get any spores in the buckets rather than in the tank. Repeat this for each rock. I did this once a week, only doing a couple of rocks each time. I systematically cleaned each rock in the tank, moving from left to right over a few weeks.

Also make sure you have chaeto growing in your sump.

Once you have most of the rock clean, just get in the habit of picking off any bubbles you see anytime you have your hand in the tank.

If you do this, you'll get ahead of it in a few weeks, and you and your tank won't be stressed out.

Holmie_D_Klown · 03/24/2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Serioussnaps
Actually, the more I look at your pics, the more you really need to just remove the rocks and scrub them with something in tank water(after waterchange perhaps with the dirty water), then put the rocks in ro or something an rinse it off more(to make sure spores arent all over the rocks). When you move will be the proper time, or you can start now so you have less to do when you move. This will need manual work along with emerald crabs, doesnt look like something emeralds can do on there own and if they can it will take a long time.

This sounds like the easiest and most efficient way of removing your bubble algae. Just use a 5 gal bucket filled with "water change" water to dip it in to rinse the rock of spores, then add it back.

J_Geisinger000 · 03/24/2006, 12:48 PM

here are the pics it's deffinatly dying!!!!!!!!!!

like I said above I think it was one of the containers that held my topoff water

dont have any macro in my sump its bare
because of the bare bottom tank

J_Geisinger000 · 03/25/2006, 06:50 AM

anybody else think it looks like its dying??

Zoom · 03/25/2006, 06:55 AM

Yes it is.

ZOKU · 03/25/2006, 07:59 AM

That's cool it's dying... but with the tank being torn down soon due to the move, wouldn't it be a good idea to cook the rocks just to insure it is eradicated? Or is that overkill? I would think re-introducing the rock back into a newly established tank (after the move) could cause another spike... or am I way off base here? If it were me, I'd cook it just to be sure. *shrug*

J_Geisinger000 · 03/25/2006, 08:40 AM

its a bb tank tearing it down to move it really isnt going to cause that much of a problem cause theres no sand bed or anything like that to disturb its still going to be all the same tank and setup just moving it to the new house

03/18/2006, 03:04 PM	#1
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	still fighting bubble algea still fighting what seems like a hopeless battle with the bubble algea here are some pics any help would be greatly appreciated

03/19/2006, 08:13 PM	#6
Puffer Daddy Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sherman, Texas Posts: 1,117	I had a problem too...but nothing like this. Pulling the rock and cleaning is the best way, as well as the other advice. The best thing I found to pull them with was a toothpick. Easy to just flick them off. __________________ There is unrest in the reef, There is trouble with the corals, for the lps want more sunlight And the sps ignore their pleas....The trouble with the LPS,(And they're quite convinced they're right) They say the SPS are just too lofty And they grab up all the light. But the SPS can't help their feelings If they like the way they're made. And they wonder why the LPS Can't be happy in their shade..So the LPS formed a union And demanded equal rights. "The SPS are just too greedy;We will make them give us light." Now there's no more SPS oppression, For they passed a noble law, And the Corals are all kept equal By Reefer.. frag.. and saw.

03/20/2006, 12:10 PM	#11
GPB Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Washington DC Posts: 633	I had a similar problem , not quite as severe as the one you have. I was able to eradicate 90% with the aid of a metal spatula. I scraped it from the rocks being careful not to pop the bubbles. As I scraped I collected all of the bubbles and removed them from the tank. This was pretty easy to do. When I pried them off the rocks they would come off in clumps of 10-15 bubbles. The bubbles float around i the water flow so they are pretty easy to rmove. I did this weekly for about 2 mos. I still get a little bit but I remove them about once per month. Yoy have to be looking for them to see them in my tank. __________________ It is what it is! Current Tank Info: Oceanic 37g cube, AquaC Remora Skimmer, 6 x T5 ligts, SSB, 10g sump, GFO, GAC, Polyfilter

03/21/2006, 09:46 PM	#17
Zoom Premium Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: S.N.J Posts: 5,706	The bubble algae is in my opinion very hard to irritate almost impassible in any tank with no BA predators . you can clean and scrub all you want it will come back you need something to feed on it any macro algae will almost die off when the BA takes over the tank . The Emeralds will eat some but if you feed the tank they rather feed on that . yes your tank is small for a Naso but if you get one that is 3"long it will take about two years before you need a larger tank for it . I rather have a naso tang in my tank than the ugly Bubble algae. But you can try to clean the rock and then if you have the passion you can start to pluck them out every week with a large tweezer that will work also . If you put corals in your tank you can't always take all the rock out and clean it regularly . Well good luck . Last edited by Zoom; 03/21/2006 at 09:58 PM.

03/24/2006, 11:14 AM	#19
CW from the OC Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 853	Hey J. Geis, Here is what I did in my 120. I did a water change, and saved the water I pulled out. I put this water in 3 buckets. Then I pulled out each rock, and using a flat blade screwdriver, scraped off all the bubbles. Then I dunk/swished the rock in each of the 3 buckets to clean them off and try to get any spores in the buckets rather than in the tank. Repeat this for each rock. I did this once a week, only doing a couple of rocks each time. I systematically cleaned each rock in the tank, moving from left to right over a few weeks. Also make sure you have chaeto growing in your sump. Once you have most of the rock clean, just get in the habit of picking off any bubbles you see anytime you have your hand in the tank. If you do this, you'll get ahead of it in a few weeks, and you and your tank won't be stressed out. __________________ Cheers! C Dub Current Tank Info: 210 LeeMar starfire reef (7x2x2), 100 gal SoCalCreations sump, Aquacontroller 3, Geo 618 fed by Cole Parmer peri pump, ATB Large Cone , Aquatinics Constellation T5, 4 Vortecs with wireless controllers, Eheim 1262 return on a SeaSwirl

03/18/2006, 05:22 PM	#2
Serioussnaps Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,703	That is in plague proportions. You must have let it go for a long time. The problem with bubble algae(valonia) is that it doesnt need very many nutrients(DOC's, nitrates, phosphates) to reproduce/grow unlike alot of other nuisance algaes. This being the case, implementing dsb's, macroalgae growth, water changes and heavy skimming will only help so much though they should all be done. Make sure you are replacing your carbon and phosphate removal media frequently, they leach phosphates after a while. With all this said you will need mechanical removal. You will have to go in and pull rocks out and scrub in a seprate buck it or pluck them off when doing water changes and siphon out witha small siphon(take vaccuum off and just use tube). when the bubbles burst they release spores which makes it worse. My suggestion is get about 4 emerald crabs that eat this stuff(it will take a while because you have sooooo much) The problem is with these emerald/mithrax crabs, if they have plenty of other food sources(like frozen food, cyclopeeze etc...) they wont eat the valonia as much so you will have to cut back on feeding for a while which will be good for keeping nutrients down anyways. Dont get it wrong, i dont mean starve the tank, just cut back what you can afford to do so. --------Go to www.wetwebmedia.com ------search for bubble algae and valonia-------read all the faq's and come back with quesitons if you need more help----------GOOD LUCK!

03/19/2006, 06:19 PM	#3
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	thanks for the help so it woulnt eventually go away on its own?

03/19/2006, 08:06 PM	#5
TheFlyingTang Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NW suburbs - Chicago Posts: 150	DOn't scrub them! you will release the spoers and end up with more. Use tweezers to cull the growth. Try not to pop the bubbles. Do water changes to reduce nitrates and check your water parameters. Chances are ph, alk, or dkh are off. Once you can get it back in line and cull you shouldn't have that much growth. Try an emerald crab or two.

03/19/2006, 09:01 PM	#7
Serioussnaps Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,703	Yeah, get your pH up. 8.2-8.3 being ideal. Dont raise more than---0.2-----at a time. No it wont go away on its own. Get some emerald crabs, but dont go to crazy and get 10 or anything. ---------Nothing good will happen fast

03/19/2006, 09:13 PM	#8
irisheyes Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 105	Mine was almost that bad. I have Hair Algae also. I did a 30% water change, and started taking rock out and picking it off, then rince it in another bucket. I am still having problems, but it is not taking over like it was. I also bought Hermits and Snails, as mine had disapeared. Also 2 Emerald Crabs. I still have no idea what caused it. Nitrates and Phosphates show =0. I also cut back my light hours and feeding less. It is slowly getting better.

03/19/2006, 09:24 PM	#9
Zoom Premium Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: S.N.J Posts: 5,706	My Blonde Naso tang eats it like candy.

03/20/2006, 11:46 AM	#10
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	my ph is at 8.2 and nitrates and phosphates are 0 im getting ready to move into my new house in 3 weeks so I will be tearing down the tank to move it I will try to eliminate as much of it then as what I can

03/21/2006, 05:34 PM	#14
Serioussnaps Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,703	Also, do you have a fuge? If so do you have calerpa? If you have calerpa, dump it, it is bad stuff IMO. Go with chaeto. Calerpa can sex if lights arent on 24 hrs. and release a bunch of toxins and nutrients. This is off topic, but it is something that can cause algae outbreaks IMO. Anyone else ever observe this with calerpa. -----Also, gettting a Naso simply for removal of bubble algae is preposterous. Why get this fish(huge) for a 90g if you dont specifically want a Naso just to have a Naso. Thats like getting a .50 caliber Desert Eagle to shoot a squirrel. Your PH is just right, and if you have good test kits then you probably stil lhave trace levels of phosphates and nitrates(bubble algae doesnt need hardly anything to grow). When you move, clean the rocks thoroughly, leave the tank fallow with just emerald crabs for a few months(no fish), therefore no more nutrients and use manual removal. Just keep that elbow grease going, nutrients down, and be patient.

03/21/2006, 05:39 PM	#15
Serioussnaps Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,703	Actually, the more I look at your pics, the more you really need to just remove the rocks and scrub them with something in tank water(after waterchange perhaps with the dirty water), then put the rocks in ro or something an rinse it off more(to make sure spores arent all over the rocks). When you move will be the proper time, or you can start now so you have less to do when you move. This will need manual work along with emerald crabs, doesnt look like something emeralds can do on there own and if they can it will take a long time.

03/21/2006, 05:40 PM	#16
Serioussnaps Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,703	Think toothbrush or algae scraper. Scrape them off then scrub them down with toothbrush and rinse well.

03/24/2006, 06:59 AM	#18
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	I think ive found the cause beleive it or not I have three 10 gallon water jugs I use for my top off and the one jug has a funny odor in it so I havent used any water from that jug for like a week and the bubble algea is starting to shrivel up and die!!!!!!!! I'll post some pics later today

03/24/2006, 12:48 PM	#21
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	here are the pics it's deffinatly dying!!!!!!!!!! like I said above I think it was one of the containers that held my topoff water dont have any macro in my sump its bare because of the bare bottom tank

03/25/2006, 06:50 AM	#22
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	anybody else think it looks like its dying??

03/25/2006, 06:55 AM	#23
Zoom Premium Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: S.N.J Posts: 5,706	Yes it is.

03/25/2006, 07:59 AM	#24
ZOKU Resident Ninja Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oshkosh, WI Posts: 560	That's cool it's dying... but with the tank being torn down soon due to the move, wouldn't it be a good idea to cook the rocks just to insure it is eradicated? Or is that overkill? I would think re-introducing the rock back into a newly established tank (after the move) could cause another spike... or am I way off base here? If it were me, I'd cook it just to be sure. shrug __________________ - SCOTT. Check out my homepage to see my build! Current Tank Info: 40B / Super Reef Octopus SRO2000INT / 35-gal. acrylic sump+refuge / 120W LED lighting / Water Blaster 3000 Return... IN PROGRESS!

03/25/2006, 08:40 AM	#25
J_Geisinger000 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States P.A. Posts: 748	its a bb tank tearing it down to move it really isnt going to cause that much of a problem cause theres no sand bed or anything like that to disturb its still going to be all the same tank and setup just moving it to the new house