Bubble Algae. 3 years. Done all kinds of things. Give me all you have.

[Ferrell]

I have one emerald now had two when I had bubble algae. Did a great job beating it back to a controllable level

 

[w2inc]

Anyone had experience with this kind of bubble algae? It looks a lot like certain forms of Byropsis when it is not a bubble.
https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0405+0665

http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/efsa/algae_revealed/pdf/Derbesia_marina,_Halicystis_ovalis.pdf

This guy is super excited about watching it take over his tank.
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/12/aafeature

I think it is what I have and why it has been so hard to beat. The branching stage looks like some of the algae that grows with my Cheato.

 

[Orm Embar]

I had a large outbreak; using fluconazole at 4x the Bryopsis dose, my tank was clear of bubbles for several months (it took days for the most light exposed Valonia to start to turn clear and die; up to 30+ days for the most shaded to die). Several months later, I have a few spots of bubble algae that I am removing with tweezers or simply popping (on the assumption that small bubbles don't have spores which would be why herbivores don't spread Valonia; one poster in the past simply popped everything and, over time, fewer and fewer appeared until he was Valonia free).

Since I had no issues with fluconazole besides possibly 2 urchins, I would go back to that if I had a large outbreak. I did use a quite large dose (as above, 4x the usual Bryopsis dose).

I have read that some people have good results with Vibrant but it will outcompete and kill macroalgae, which I didn't want to do in my tank.

Good luck!

 

[w2inc]

If I actually have Derbesia rather than Valonia, it connects the dots for me as to why my 3 year battle with bubble algae is still going on. Growing derbesia in the filamentous form along with my Cheato helps protect the supply. Between all the herbivores I have in the tank, the filamentous form of it doesn't stand a chance in the main display. I never see bubbles in the sump or I remove them when I do. Since I never see the two together so I didn't connect it.

I remembered from keeping a reef in the 90's that, what I thought was Valonia had a two stage life cycle. I realize now why I hadn't been able to find a reference on it it since I started up again. I am glad I read the article about Fluconazole and took the time to look up derbesia rather than lumping it in the GHA term. I am feeling a lot more optimistic about being able to get rid of it.

 

[w2inc]

I had no luck with emeralds eating the bubble algae, until I started ordering them from @reefcleaners

John guarantees his emerald crabs will eat bubble algae and they absolutely do.

I emailed John @reefcleaners late last night about my emerald crabs as well as the health of a couple animals in that shipment. It was more of an inquiry than anything and I wasn't expecting much because of how long it had been. He replied within minutes. Asked for some photos of my tank. When I woke up this morning I had a notice from PayPal that I had received a deposit from Reef cleaners.

I couldn't be happier! Finding online vendors who have integrity is just awesome! I hope everyone will spread the news that John @reefcleaners stands behind his product. He has some great Clean up Crew that I have been very happy with.

 

[Mike N]

I emailed John @reefcleaners late last night about my emerald crabs as well as the health of a couple animals in that shipment. It was more of an inquiry than anything and I wasn't expecting much because of how long it had been. He replied within minutes. Asked for some photos of my tank. When I woke up this morning I had a notice from PayPal that I had received a deposit from Reef cleaners.

I couldn't be happier! Finding online vendors who have integrity is just awesome! I hope everyone will spread the news that John @reefcleaners stands behind his product. He has some great Clean up Crew that I have been very happy with.

John is the man. I'm glad he took care of you!

 

[Reefcowboy]

In a previous tank Ive had emerald crabs and although they take out the algae, remember they pop the bubbles and spores flow to come back later with a vengeance.

In my current set up, Ive noticed if I run my ATS longer than normal, and my nitrates dip below 1ppm, bubble algae shrinks and dissapears. IMO the only way to get it off the system is to reduce what they feed on, but to very low levels.

Best way to fight algae is through competition using other types of algae. Chaeto can work too im sure, but Ive never had luck with it long term. The algae that grows in ATS are some gnarly aggressive type ones that outcompetes anything out there as long as you give it enough light. Any mechanical removal will just be a band aid solution.

 

[w2inc]

In a previous tank Ive had emerald crabs and although they take out the algae, remember they pop the bubbles and spores flow to come back later with a vengeance.

In my current set up, Ive noticed if I run my ATS longer than normal, and my nitrates dip below 1ppm, bubble algae shrinks and dissapears. IMO the only way to get it off the system is to reduce what they feed on, but to very low levels.

Best way to fight algae is through competition using other types of algae. Chaeto can work too im sure, but Ive never had luck with it long term. The algae that grows in ATS are some gnarly aggressive type ones that outcompetes anything out there as long as you give it enough light. Any mechanical removal will just be a band aid solution.

Thanks for taking some time to pitch in. Everything helps me piece the puzzle together and hopefully it will help someone else later on. Were you able to completely eradicate it? I am a big fan of ATS and am totally willing to go there.

Right now I am waiting for my LFS to get me a fox face. One las try with herbivores.

I light my fuge with 150 watt pink (dope grower) LED. Cheato is the majority of my algae. I also grow Ulva and what looks like Derbesia in the branching stage. I have been told that is what a lot of people call GHA.

I was really leaning toward the idea that the bubbles might be Derbesia rather than Valonia and that even when they are almost gone in the display that they were healthy and living in the sump in the non bubble form. It has been keeping me away from the ATS, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to build one and stick it on. I am not educated with algae enough to tell what I am growing for sure. I am planning to try treating a sample rock with fluconazole and see if that kills it.

I am a little hesitant to keep my nutrients low for a long term because I see a pretty negative impact on my SPS when it gets too close to zero. Right now my po4 is really high and I think that is what caused the bubble growth that made me start this thread.

Thanks again. It really helps me to hear what has worked for people.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Thanks for taking some time to pitch in. Everything helps me piece the puzzle together and hopefully it will help someone else later on. Were you able to completely eradicate it? I am a big fan of ATS and am totally willing to go there.

Right now I am waiting for my LFS to get me a fox face. One las try with herbivores.

I light my fuge with 150 watt pink (dope grower) LED. Cheato is the majority of my algae. I also grow Ulva and what looks like Derbesia in the branching stage. I have been told that is what a lot of people call GHA.

I was really leaning toward the idea that the bubbles might be Derbesia rather than Valonia and that even when they are almost gone in the display that they were healthy and living in the sump in the non bubble form. It has been keeping me away from the ATS, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to build one and stick it on. I am not educated with algae enough to tell what I am growing for sure. I am planning to try treating a sample rock with fluconazole and see if that kills it.

I am a little hesitant to keep my nutrients low for a long term because I see a pretty negative impact on my SPS when it gets too close to zero. Right now my po4 is really high and I think that is what caused the bubble growth that made me start this thread.

Thanks again. It really helps me to hear what has worked for people.

Out of all pests, bubble algae is the one I hate most. My tank is about a year old now and I promised would quarantine corals to avoid getting bubble algae in. I got a large zoa frag and it had some bubbles under the polyps so I couldn't see. 3 to 4 months later I saw them pop up in three spots in the tank.

I didnt try removing them because they were inside a rock crevice. I was running my ATS 8 hrs a night, so I extended lighting there to 10 then 12 hours and slowly brought down my nitrates from 4ppm to 0.5

I looked at those bubbles every day and noticed they became smaller and vanished. This was around 4 months ago, never saw them again. I slowly reduced the lighting schedule in the ats and my no3 came back to 4ppm.

I also keep mainly sps, and if you go a few months low nutrients it should be fine. Dose a bit of aminos and watch them closely.

I have a foxface and it didnt seem to have interest for BA when they were in my tank. It is a hit or miss as fish can be so different one from another.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[mrstu]

Aptasia X. It works.

 

[mrstu]

.

 

[ctpeasy]

I lucked out on a sailfin that eats it like groceries.

 

[Crimsonphoenix]

I’ve had 6 different small female emerald crabs in my 36 bow and eventually every crab decided he/she liked eating my acans, montipora, and lobos more than the bubble algae. (One crab in tank at a time).

 

[Dlogan]

Sailfin tang took care of mine

 

[saltyhog]

I have a Gold Rim tang that is an algae eating machine. I have tons of bubble algae in my over flow and some in my refugium but the only bubble algae you see in the DT is very small bubbles tucked in crevices that the tang can't get to. I added some emerald crabs from Reef Cleaners and they almost have the crevices cleaned out. Slower than the tang but they are working.

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

Emerald crabs are the best. Need a lot of them. Also put them in my sump. No more bobble algae.

 

[SelimSeven]

My blonde naso tang used to clean them. And my friend used Fritz Algae Clean Out and got rid of them.

 

[SelimSeven]

My Blonde Naso used to eat them. And my friend used Fritz Algae Clean Out to get rid of them. It worked too.

 

[w2inc]

Out of all pests, bubble algae is the one I hate most. My tank is about a year old now and I promised would quarantine corals to avoid getting bubble algae in. I got a large zoa frag and it had some bubbles under the polyps so I couldn't see. 3 to 4 months later I saw them pop up in three spots in the tank.

I didnt try removing them because they were inside a rock crevice. I was running my ATS 8 hrs a night, so I extended lighting there to 10 then 12 hours and slowly brought down my nitrates from 4ppm to 0.5

I looked at those bubbles every day and noticed they became smaller and vanished. This was around 4 months ago, never saw them again. I slowly reduced the lighting schedule in the ats and my no3 came back to 4ppm.

I also keep mainly sps, and if you go a few months low nutrients it should be fine. Dose a bit of aminos and watch them closely.

I have a foxface and it didnt seem to have interest for BA when they were in my tank. It is a hit or miss as fish can be so different one from another.

Good luck and keep us posted

Great feedback. I really appreciate it. Thanks for the detail.

 

[DAPG8GT]

Vibrant worked for me also. Had every "animal" including foxface said to eat it and after 5 years dealing with it I went with vibrant .No sign of it after treatment .1+ years ago

 

[w2inc]

Aptasia X. It works.

works for bubble algae?