Best way to get rid of bubble alage??

dzovi · 08/24/2006, 11:10 AM

I've been battling bubble algae in my 29g tank. Currently I just scrape off the bubble algae off the rock but that is just a temporary fix. I'm setting up a 55g in the near future and I don't want continue to have this problem in my 55g tank. I currently use RO/DI water, feed mostly with Ocean's Formula 1, and have a CPR Bak Pak skimmer.

In the new 55g I've upgraded to a Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer to help get the excess nutrients out of the tank. I've also employed one emerald crab but I don't think he's doing his job. Any other suggestions?

RudeBoy · 08/24/2006, 11:20 AM

More agressive water changes...
How often are you doing water changes now? Keep in mind that once fish start relieving themselves in the water... "it ain't RO water anymore!"

dzovi · 08/24/2006, 02:58 PM

I'm too lax on the water changes. Iâ€™ll change my water about 20% once a month. My water parameters stay fine with low nitrates and no ammonia and nitrites. I think part of the problem is the Ocean's Formula 1. A lot of it dissolves in the water when I feed the fish.

nmprisons · 08/24/2006, 03:21 PM

a green mitrhix crab may eat the stuff.

dzovi · 08/24/2006, 03:27 PM

I've got one for the tank. It's a hit or miss kinda thing though. I think my emerald crab was a miss.

RudeBoy · 08/24/2006, 05:10 PM

Emerald's are definitely hit or miss. I had one and it never worked for me either. Honestly, I took one night when I was gonna do a water change, I popped each bubble I found and just did a massive water change. It helped a lot... eventually, they went away.

Merredeth · 08/24/2006, 10:34 PM

I'd say get a Foxface but your tank is too small for it.

You could take the rock out of the tank and submerse it fresh saltwater after taking off the bubbles yourself and put it back in the DT.

The problem with just popping the bubbles is that they spread. At least if you do it in a container and rinse with RO or RO/DI water you will have a better chance of not making it spread further in your tank.

Also, do more frequent water changes after you do this. A water change solves so many of aquarium problems and it is simple to do.

Hope it helps you out...

BurntOutReefer · 08/24/2006, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dzovi
I'm too lax on the water changes. Iâ€™ll change my water about 20% once a month. My water parameters stay fine with low nitrates and no ammonia and nitrites. I think part of the problem is the Ocean's Formula 1. A lot of it dissolves in the water when I feed the fish.

...ahhhhh....thats why you have a GSP issue..:-)

outy · 08/24/2006, 11:57 PM

bubble algea grows in perfect water

manual removal plus anything you can find to eat it helps, oh ya they break em to eat em

perfect water helps allot dont worry about breaking the bubbles the less you do the better but only the bigger one,s that look like corraline is on them have spores that reproduce. [so im told lol]

im wrong often

but do not put ro/di water on any part of your rock or livestock that has benificial bacteria your tank uses.

ive been fighten em for 7 years brought down the population 3 times. there is no cure all

good housekeeping goes a very long way, know your water

dzovi get your new tank water with 0 phos 0 nitrates alk 3.4 meq/lt ca 400 and then tell me how to get rid of em lol

dont follow me let me follow you

NORTHBAY(707) · 08/25/2006, 05:45 AM

I had I few bubbles come on in with a rock that I got with some shrooms which is what I wanted. I got a emrald crab some hermits and some turbo snails. There all gone know, but that was only a couple of days ago. Maybe My crab Hit It.?

later.

PelagicMagic · 08/25/2006, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by outy
bubble algea grows in perfect water

manual removal plus anything you can find to eat it helps, oh ya they break em to eat em

perfect water helps allot dont worry about breaking the bubbles the less you do the better but only the bigger one,s that look like corraline is on them have spores that reproduce. [so im told lol]

im wrong often

but do not put ro/di water on any part of your rock or livestock that has benificial bacteria your tank uses.

ive been fighten em for 7 years brought down the population 3 times. there is no cure all

good housekeeping goes a very long way, know your water

dzovi get your new tank water with 0 phos 0 nitrates alk 3.4 meq/lt ca 400 and then tell me how to get rid of em lol

dont follow me let me follow you

Thats the best and correct advice so far.

I have never seen a Fox Face eat Bubble Algae, Emerald crabs will but sometimes they don't especially if you feed a lot. The best way is to manually remove them. You can use a siphon hose and a tooth pick, pocket knife, or some sort of tool to pry them off the rock and suck them out. Doing extra water changes will not matter since the stuff grows in all conditions. You can also remove the rocks that have the worst growth and scrub them in a bucket of tank water.

Good luck

Stidd · 08/25/2006, 08:32 AM

What is inside the bubble that makes them spread when popped?

Guy

outy · 08/25/2006, 12:25 PM

spores

Merredeth · 08/25/2006, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PelagicMagic
Thats the best and correct advice so far.

I have never seen a Fox Face eat Bubble Algae, Emerald crabs will but sometimes they don't especially if you feed a lot. The best way is to manually remove them. You can use a siphon hose and a tooth pick, pocket knife, or some sort of tool to pry them off the rock and suck them out. Doing extra water changes will not matter since the stuff grows in all conditions. You can also remove the rocks that have the worst growth and scrub them in a bucket of tank water.

Good luck

We all learn something new everyday. So this time, I get to be the teacher and someone else is the student.

Yes, Foxfaces eat bubble algae. I've seen it personally and if you go to Fenner's website and do some research there you'll find he has confimed it.

Here is a link for reef central where someone else said it could help.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...oto=nextnewest

PelagicMagic · 08/25/2006, 12:55 PM

Well teacher, I said "I have never seen a foxface eat bubble algae" I never said that they don't so you really didnâ€™t "teach" me anything

I am sorry if I come off as rude but your teacher/student comment was a bit off and offensive

If you have any fish that eats the stuff you are very lucky. Not every Foxface that you will find at the LFS will be a bubble algae eater, its hit or miss just like the emerald crabs. Also I have seen foxface and other members of the family siganidae eat or nip at zoanthids and I personally don't want any fish or organism in my tank that will eat/nip zoanthids especially since they are so expensive right now. Now not all foxface or members of the family will eat zoanthids on an individual basis and the same might be true for bubble algae eating habits. Given that I see it as bad advice to give someone to buy a fish that may or may not eat the algae.

RudeBoy · 08/25/2006, 01:15 PM

Easy folks... nobody has ALL the answers here.
I've never heard of 'perfect water' either, but, I'm not shooting anybody down or their theories. I guess the best advice is to follow what you feel comfortable doing to get rid of it... whether it's a combination of various methods or whatever. Just tread lightly and don't try and kill it all at once.

Elim · 08/25/2006, 03:35 PM

Hey dzovi,

I had the same problem you had in my 30 as well. I started with 2 emeralds who didn't do much. I finally got a 3rd who did start eating them. I then ran across a friend of mine who was about to trade 3 more emeralds in and he gave me those. I think 2 out of those 3 ate them as well so its a hit/miss with them.

But they were slow and couldn't keep up. So even though my tanks small I did pickup a foxface and he just gobbled them up every day until they were practically gone (I picked out the big bunches and ones he couldn't eat). To get him started I pulled a couple small ones and let them float around him. Then he just started eating the rest.

Check O'street as I was there a couple days ago and they had 3 one of which might be ok for awhile in your tank.

Goodluck.

Merredeth · 08/28/2006, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PelagicMagic
Well teacher, I said "I have never seen a foxface eat bubble algae" I never said that they don't so you really didnâ€™t "teach" me anything

Everyone on this board at one time has been a student and didn't start teaching without learning something about saltwater fish.

Quote:

I am sorry if I come off as rude but your teacher/student comment was a bit off and offensive...

It wasn't meant to be rude or offensive, it is once again the simple fact that when each of us came into this hobby we had a lot to learn. It was only after EXPERIENCE did we each become a teacher to other newbies on the board.

Quote:

... Given that I see it as bad advice to give someone to buy a fish that may or may not eat the algae.

Please re-read my post, I stated his tank was not big enough to begin with.

Perhaps you have not seen a Foxface Rabbitfish eat bubble algae, but based on my experience, observations and others that have taken the advice previously recommended by me personally and others on other forums, getting a Foxface was successful for tanks that had bubble agae problem, I chose to bring up that option.

Yes, Emeralds can also help however, my own observations have been they didn't perform the task as well as the Foxface.

I'm sorry you felt offended. Nothing was intended to be offensive.

I'm always a student, and occasionally the teacher...

essexboy73 · 08/28/2006, 11:56 PM

not too sure if this makes any sense but i had a cheap PC unit over my 46 and i was constantly pulling the bubble stuff out week after week...really got me depressed...then i upgraded to a nice mh unit with two 150s and its gone away since...not too sure if they correlate or not

sir_dudeguy · 08/29/2006, 12:15 AM

yes, i've heard that when lighting is starting to go old/bad, that it gives off a different spectrum, which some algae grows under. Maybe your bulbs were just old or something, or maybe just low quality and gave poor spectrum...so when you switched to the metal halides, which like you say are better, they werent giving off that bad spectrum that supported it.

kass03 · 08/29/2006, 12:30 AM

I can tell you how I got rid of mine yrs ago.
I had a worse IMO kind of valonia as it was small oblong bubbles that grew in clumps. The big round ones you can at least pick off but the small ones were impossible to get every one as they grew in small cracks and crevices all over the rock.
I battled it for a long time and then decided to fill my whole tank with caulerpa. I put it on top of every rock with it on (which was most of the tank lol).
This was a long time ago and I don't remember how long it took but the caulerpa deprived it of light and nutrients and eventually it was all gone.
Now this would be more difficult if the tank is full of corals but it worked for me.
I then got a tang to eat the caulerpa (which you cant do in that small of a tank)
If you have a sump it might work to put some of the rock at a time in there with chaeto or something.

kass

outy · 08/29/2006, 02:18 AM

rudeboy check out the sps forum you got to have perfect water to play ball there lol

im not at that level but i do strive for it.

its not hard and what i mean for perfect water is

ph
sg
ca
alk
phos
nitrates

keeping these levels where there supposed to be. its not hard but keeping them there without change is art in itself. master this and you got the hobby nailed

08/24/2006, 11:10 AM	#1
dzovi Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sacramento, Ca Posts: 744	Best way to get rid of bubble alage?? I've been battling bubble algae in my 29g tank. Currently I just scrape off the bubble algae off the rock but that is just a temporary fix. I'm setting up a 55g in the near future and I don't want continue to have this problem in my 55g tank. I currently use RO/DI water, feed mostly with Ocean's Formula 1, and have a CPR Bak Pak skimmer. In the new 55g I've upgraded to a Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer to help get the excess nutrients out of the tank. I've also employed one emerald crab but I don't think he's doing his job. Any other suggestions?

08/24/2006, 11:20 AM	#2
RudeBoy Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Greece, NY Posts: 728	More agressive water changes... How often are you doing water changes now? Keep in mind that once fish start relieving themselves in the water... "it ain't RO water anymore!" __________________ "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind..." - Horace Mann Current Tank Info: 65g AGA RR, 20g long Sump, ASM G2 Skimmer, Closed Loop System w/ Mag 9.5 Return, 2 AI Prime HD LED Modules, Custom Stand/Canopy, Various residents

08/24/2006, 03:21 PM	#4
nmprisons Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,520	a green mitrhix crab may eat the stuff. __________________ 25gallon tank up and cycling since 7/29/06 Mostly LPS reef (lords, micros, duncans, etc.) with some ricordia florida and zoanthids. Current Tank Info: 25 gallon, 28lbs of Marshall Island and Kaelini Live Rock, 2x65 power compact lighting, IFS Protein Skimmer

08/24/2006, 05:10 PM	#6
RudeBoy Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Greece, NY Posts: 728	Emerald's are definitely hit or miss. I had one and it never worked for me either. Honestly, I took one night when I was gonna do a water change, I popped each bubble I found and just did a massive water change. It helped a lot... eventually, they went away. __________________ "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind..." - Horace Mann Current Tank Info: 65g AGA RR, 20g long Sump, ASM G2 Skimmer, Closed Loop System w/ Mag 9.5 Return, 2 AI Prime HD LED Modules, Custom Stand/Canopy, Various residents

08/24/2006, 10:34 PM	#7
Merredeth Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Iowa Posts: 48	I'd say get a Foxface but your tank is too small for it. You could take the rock out of the tank and submerse it fresh saltwater after taking off the bubbles yourself and put it back in the DT. The problem with just popping the bubbles is that they spread. At least if you do it in a container and rinse with RO or RO/DI water you will have a better chance of not making it spread further in your tank. Also, do more frequent water changes after you do this. A water change solves so many of aquarium problems and it is simple to do. Hope it helps you out... __________________ Cheers! Denise M. ____________________ "Don't let your mouth write a check to your LFS that your *** can't cover." - Denise M. Current Tank Info: reef and fish only with live rock tanks

08/24/2006, 02:58 PM	#3
dzovi Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sacramento, Ca Posts: 744	I'm too lax on the water changes. Iâ€™ll change my water about 20% once a month. My water parameters stay fine with low nitrates and no ammonia and nitrites. I think part of the problem is the Ocean's Formula 1. A lot of it dissolves in the water when I feed the fish.

08/24/2006, 03:27 PM	#5
dzovi Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sacramento, Ca Posts: 744	I've got one for the tank. It's a hit or miss kinda thing though. I think my emerald crab was a miss.

08/24/2006, 11:57 PM	#9
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	bubble algea grows in perfect water manual removal plus anything you can find to eat it helps, oh ya they break em to eat em perfect water helps allot dont worry about breaking the bubbles the less you do the better but only the bigger one,s that look like corraline is on them have spores that reproduce. [so im told lol] im wrong often but do not put ro/di water on any part of your rock or livestock that has benificial bacteria your tank uses. ive been fighten em for 7 years brought down the population 3 times. there is no cure all good housekeeping goes a very long way, know your water dzovi get your new tank water with 0 phos 0 nitrates alk 3.4 meq/lt ca 400 and then tell me how to get rid of em lol dont follow me let me follow you

08/25/2006, 05:45 AM	#10
NORTHBAY(707) Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: NORTE CALIFA$ Posts: 163	I had I few bubbles come on in with a rock that I got with some shrooms which is what I wanted. I got a emrald crab some hermits and some turbo snails. There all gone know, but that was only a couple of days ago. Maybe My crab Hit It.? later.

08/25/2006, 08:32 AM	#12
Stidd Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 286	What is inside the bubble that makes them spread when popped? Guy __________________ Be like a sponge when it comes to each new experience. If you want to be able to express it well, you must first be able to absorb it well. ~ Jim Rohn Current Tank Info: 30 Gallon All-Glass-Aquarium, Current USA Orbit 36" 2x96W with MoonLights. LifeReef Overflow into a Custom Compact Berlin Sump w/ VS2-24 Skimmer

08/25/2006, 12:25 PM	#13
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	spores

08/25/2006, 12:55 PM	#15
PelagicMagic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,671	Well teacher, I said "I have never seen a foxface eat bubble algae" I never said that they don't so you really didnâ€™t "teach" me anything I am sorry if I come off as rude but your teacher/student comment was a bit off and offensive If you have any fish that eats the stuff you are very lucky. Not every Foxface that you will find at the LFS will be a bubble algae eater, its hit or miss just like the emerald crabs. Also I have seen foxface and other members of the family siganidae eat or nip at zoanthids and I personally don't want any fish or organism in my tank that will eat/nip zoanthids especially since they are so expensive right now. Now not all foxface or members of the family will eat zoanthids on an individual basis and the same might be true for bubble algae eating habits. Given that I see it as bad advice to give someone to buy a fish that may or may not eat the algae.

08/25/2006, 01:15 PM	#16
RudeBoy Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Greece, NY Posts: 728	Easy folks... nobody has ALL the answers here. I've never heard of 'perfect water' either, but, I'm not shooting anybody down or their theories. I guess the best advice is to follow what you feel comfortable doing to get rid of it... whether it's a combination of various methods or whatever. Just tread lightly and don't try and kill it all at once. __________________ "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind..." - Horace Mann Current Tank Info: 65g AGA RR, 20g long Sump, ASM G2 Skimmer, Closed Loop System w/ Mag 9.5 Return, 2 AI Prime HD LED Modules, Custom Stand/Canopy, Various residents

08/25/2006, 03:35 PM	#17
Elim Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sac, Home of the Kings!! Posts: 366	Hey dzovi, I had the same problem you had in my 30 as well. I started with 2 emeralds who didn't do much. I finally got a 3rd who did start eating them. I then ran across a friend of mine who was about to trade 3 more emeralds in and he gave me those. I think 2 out of those 3 ate them as well so its a hit/miss with them. But they were slow and couldn't keep up. So even though my tanks small I did pickup a foxface and he just gobbled them up every day until they were practically gone (I picked out the big bunches and ones he couldn't eat). To get him started I pulled a couple small ones and let them float around him. Then he just started eating the rest. Check O'street as I was there a couple days ago and they had 3 one of which might be ok for awhile in your tank. Goodluck.

08/28/2006, 11:56 PM	#19
essexboy73 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: baltimore Posts: 51	not too sure if this makes any sense but i had a cheap PC unit over my 46 and i was constantly pulling the bubble stuff out week after week...really got me depressed...then i upgraded to a nice mh unit with two 150s and its gone away since...not too sure if they correlate or not

08/29/2006, 12:15 AM	#20
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	yes, i've heard that when lighting is starting to go old/bad, that it gives off a different spectrum, which some algae grows under. Maybe your bulbs were just old or something, or maybe just low quality and gave poor spectrum...so when you switched to the metal halides, which like you say are better, they werent giving off that bad spectrum that supported it. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

08/29/2006, 12:30 AM	#21
kass03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kaukauna, Wi Posts: 2,937	I can tell you how I got rid of mine yrs ago. I had a worse IMO kind of valonia as it was small oblong bubbles that grew in clumps. The big round ones you can at least pick off but the small ones were impossible to get every one as they grew in small cracks and crevices all over the rock. I battled it for a long time and then decided to fill my whole tank with caulerpa. I put it on top of every rock with it on (which was most of the tank lol). This was a long time ago and I don't remember how long it took but the caulerpa deprived it of light and nutrients and eventually it was all gone. Now this would be more difficult if the tank is full of corals but it worked for me. I then got a tang to eat the caulerpa (which you cant do in that small of a tank) If you have a sump it might work to put some of the rock at a time in there with chaeto or something. kass

08/29/2006, 02:18 AM	#22
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	rudeboy check out the sps forum you got to have perfect water to play ball there lol im not at that level but i do strive for it. its not hard and what i mean for perfect water is ph sg ca alk phos nitrates keeping these levels where there supposed to be. its not hard but keeping them there without change is art in itself. master this and you got the hobby nailed