Bubble Algae Infestation

[JWright0291]

Hi everyone, hoping for some help on best path forward..

I have an IM Fusion 20 with a few pieces of coral and 2 clown fish and of course some CUC.
One of my pieces of coral must have had some bubble algae and I didn’t properly treat it prior to putting in my tank. Now I have bubble algae covering 3 out of 4 of my rocks. What is my best path forward to take care of this? I have Vibrant but I’m scared to use it. I tried Reef Flux but it didn’t have much of an impact. Worried about emerald crab won’t be able to keep up. Can I just scrub all of the rocks and then put them back in my tank without affecting my cycle? What if I add some Dr Times after I scrub the rocks and put them back in?
TIA!

 

[Jonify]

You can remove as much as you can manually, then put in an Emerald Crab to keep it at bay. I wouldn’t use Vibrant. You shouldn’t need to pull rocks out and scrub them, you can use a siphon hose like you would for water changes, and then just use a tool to scrape off the bubble algae and siphon it out. If you do decide to pull out rocks and scrub them, doing it in a bucket of tank water won’t affect your nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

 

[Natedogg1978]

Hi everyone, hoping for some help on best path forward..

I have an IM Fusion 20 with a few pieces of coral and 2 clown fish and of course some CUC.
One of my pieces of coral must have had some bubble algae and I didn’t properly treat it prior to putting in my tank. Now I have bubble algae covering 3 out of 4 of my rocks. What is my best path forward to take care of this? I have Vibrant but I’m scared to use it. I tried Reef Flux but it didn’t have much of an impact. Worried about emerald crab won’t be able to keep up. Can I just scrub all of the rocks and then put them back in my tank without affecting my cycle? What if I add some Dr Times after I scrub the rocks and put them back in?
TIA!

I just want to share my experience with a bubble algae outbreak. I just today dosed Brightwells Microbacter clean as well as Razor in combination per dosing instructions and am utterly shocked at how well this stuff works. I dosed these two today staggered roughly 2 hours apart (per directions). Came home early am ( I work nights) and proceeded to scrub my rocks with a stiff bristle toothbrush, each rock done in stages. I let all the free floating debris (bubbles and hair algae) float and suspend in the water column while I used my fish net to skim the debris out. Understanding I didn’t get everything I the net, much is going to be in my filter sock which I’m going to change to tomorrow.
Really should have taken before photo, but just check out the bubble algae in my trash can!
Dosing and reading directions is key to success I believe while using these products. Bubble algae just easily releases from the rock with minimal effort. It’s crazy how effective it is.

 

[BaliReefBox]

wow thats insane amount of bubbles.... well done

 

[NatsRams]

Has anybody tried this Brightwell combo for bubble algae since Nate dog mentioned his success?

 

[NicolasToro]

I treated my tank with razor and microbacter clean and it works. No bubble or hair algae left. Keep an eye on your refugium if you have one because it did affect chaeto in my tank.

 

[vtecintegra]

I used algae fix marine for a few weeks, then scraped the rocks. Made a huge impact.

 

[NatsRams]

I treated my tank with razor and microbacter clean and it works. No bubble or hair algae left. Keep an eye on your refugium if you have one because it did affect chaeto in my

Did it kill the chaeto? I have some in the sump.

 

[NicolasToro]

Did it kill the chaeto? I have some in the sump.

After the treatment i started to notice chaeto was getting weak and starting to desintegrate. So i stopped the mantainence dosis and helped the algae with some chaetogro from brightwell.
a little over a month since i used razor and chaeto is ok and growing well.

 

[Kongar]

Has anybody tried this Brightwell combo for bubble algae since Nate dog mentioned his success?

I tried razor and didn't have good results. Was rough on my tank, and killed a few corals. It killed the bubble algae, but didn't eliminate it completely. The bubble algae is actually making a comeback in my tank now. I had better luck with vibrant - your miles may vary.

Honestly, I've gotten to the point now where I've just learned to accept that no tank is completely pest and nuisance free. My tank has bryopsis, bubble algae, and vermetid snails. Chemicals always knock them back, and while you think it's gone - the problem children always return. That's why I redid my rockwork with a focus on making it easy to remove rocks, scrub them down with a toothbrush outside the tank, and ease manual removal.

I've also doubled down on a cleanup crew - most people would probably say there's too many critters in the tank. But I think it's a balance thing. If there's a lot of competition for food (high # of critters and sparse feeding), then they'll eat the things you want them too. Case in point - I've actually gotten my emerald crab to eat bryopsis. He's made a home next to a stubborn patch and he mows it down nightly. BRS TV told me to not believe the people selling clean up crews - that you don't need that many critters, and they just want to sell you too many animals that will eventually starve to death. I've learned (for at least my style of reef keeping and my particular tank) that the recommendations on those websites are just about right. Throw in an urchin for good measure and you'll only have minimal manual scrubbing to keep up with things.

 

[Bucs20fan]

I tried razor and didn't have good results. Was rough on my tank, and killed a few corals. It killed the bubble algae, but didn't eliminate it completely. The bubble algae is actually making a comeback in my tank now. I had better luck with vibrant - your miles may vary.

Honestly, I've gotten to the point now where I've just learned to accept that no tank is completely pest and nuisance free. My tank has bryopsis, bubble algae, and vermetid snails. Chemicals always knock them back, and while you think it's gone - the problem children always return. That's why I redid my rockwork with a focus on making it easy to remove rocks, scrub them down with a toothbrush outside the tank, and ease manual removal.

I've also doubled down on a cleanup crew - most people would probably say there's too many critters in the tank. But I think it's a balance thing. If there's a lot of competition for food (high # of critters and sparse feeding), then they'll eat the things you want them too. Case in point - I've actually gotten my emerald crab to eat bryopsis. He's made a home next to a stubborn patch and he mows it down nightly. BRS TV told me to not believe the people selling clean up crews - that you don't need that many critters, and they just want to sell you too many animals that will eventually starve to death. I've learned (for at least my style of reef keeping and my particular tank) that the recommendations on those websites are just about right. Throw in an urchin for good measure and you'll only have minimal manual scrubbing to keep up with things.

THIS, I have tons of little critters from starfish, to all kinds of darn snails, hermits etc. Everything eats and makes a world of difference.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I tried razor and didn't have good results. Was rough on my tank, and killed a few corals. It killed the bubble algae, but didn't eliminate it completely. The bubble algae is actually making a comeback in my tank now. I had better luck with vibrant - your miles may vary.

Honestly, I've gotten to the point now where I've just learned to accept that no tank is completely pest and nuisance free. My tank has bryopsis, bubble algae, and vermetid snails. Chemicals always knock them back, and while you think it's gone - the problem children always return. That's why I redid my rockwork with a focus on making it easy to remove rocks, scrub them down with a toothbrush outside the tank, and ease manual removal.

I've also doubled down on a cleanup crew - most people would probably say there's too many critters in the tank. But I think it's a balance thing. If there's a lot of competition for food (high # of critters and sparse feeding), then they'll eat the things you want them too. Case in point - I've actually gotten my emerald crab to eat bryopsis. He's made a home next to a stubborn patch and he mows it down nightly. BRS TV told me to not believe the people selling clean up crews - that you don't need that many critters, and they just want to sell you too many animals that will eventually starve to death. I've learned (for at least my style of reef keeping and my particular tank) that the recommendations on those websites are just about right. Throw in an urchin for good measure and you'll only have minimal manual scrubbing to keep up with things.

Chemical treatment such as vibrant rarely work and causes other issues as you have found with your chaeto. I take a small needle and have 3/8 tubing ready and attach to end of tubing with rubber band and pop each one and siphon at same time- You will have removed all spores and foreign material in area.
Had to do this in the past with birdsnest coral and was gone 100%.
Other option is to add pitho crabs or emerald crabs (which I do not trust) which will eat them

 

[Jason_MrFrags]

If your able to pull those 3 rocks, remove what you can, then dip in Hydrogen peroxide it will get you on your way. Emerald crabs will hopefully keep it under control for the future. Depending on tank size some tangs will also keep it knocked down as they pick at the rocks.

 

[Lavey29]

THIS, I have tons of little critters from starfish, to all kinds of darn snails, hermits etc. Everything eats and makes a world of difference.

So true. I just really bumped up my cleaner crew and hermits are eating bubble algae now.

Saltwateraquarium.com has great quality and size tank cleaners and their shipping quality is outstanding.