Arrrg!!!! Bubble Algae

[ebeez]

Suggestions on getting rid of it is appreciated!!! very stubborn so far!

 

[NewSaltWaterGuy]

Emerald crabs eat bubble algae.
I have heard manual removal is the best resolution but it looks like you have a bit more of an issue than you can take away with a swipe of a palm.
Usually people want to get the cause of the problem, which I suggest; do you have an issue with Nutrient Export? because I think that's the issue here.

 

[ebeez]

thanks for the quick reply. Nutrients haven't been an issue. Honestly it started up since I switched over to the Radion XR30 pro's a few weeks ago. I'm going to do some scrubbing in any case

 

[tdileo]

Well since its on a flat wall like that take a razor and just go scrape down. It will pop right off and then just scoop it out with a net. Should help a lot

 

[Scorpius]

Title of thread should be "I have 1 million bubbles" lol. I've never seen that many bubble algae. You do have nutrient issues as it's all tied up in bubbles.

 

[Dsnakes]

My emerald crab devours it. However, you may need a colony of them ;) I agree with scraping what you can to manually remove. Possible to pull any rock work out to scrub? Probably best done in a bucket of tank water to preserve bacteria.

 

[Dsnakes]

Title of thread should be "I have 1 million bubbles" lol. I've never seen that many bubble algae. You do have nutrient issues as it's all tied up in bubbles.

I agree. The nutrients may not show, as they are being consumed by the algae. Starve it out and remove.

 

[aquavista99]

It looks like the bubble algae has completely covered your overflow and live rock. If your reef is still somewhat new, it may be easier to drain the tank and start over. Once your reef is overtaken by bubble algae, it can smother out your corals and wreck havoc ...if you just had a little bubble algae, I would recommend manual removal without popping the bubbles, but in your case, it appears to be established.

I had a lot of bubble algae in a previous tank..my SPS corals were fine but the algae was definitely an eye sore and grows/spreads fast. It thrives well in the home aquarium if left unchecked.

I added various crabs and fish to help control it to no avail.

 

[ebeez]

thanks to all for the replies.. done scraping.. scrubbed the rocks as well. going to lighten the feeding as well to once a day. I was thinking of killing the lights for a few days as well. I think the pellet feeding in the morning is what is triggering it. Just realized I introduced that as well.. AFS .. outa site.. outa mind..

 

[harryball69]

Wow. U hav a mess on u hands. good luck.

 

[aquavista99]

Good luck! Been there before and hope you can turn things around soon.