Using old rock with bubble algae

seanu13 · Mar 12, 2026

I am in the process of upgrading my tank which has rock originally from Tampa bay saltwater. I’d like to use the old rock in the sump of a new one because it’s so mature at this point. The problem is I went through a bit of a depression last year and neglected the tank to the point it was overrun with bubble algae.

I gotten out of my funk and have been making progress on removing the bubble algae between manual removal and pitho crabs (they’ve really put in some work), but I doubt I’m going to remove all traces of it from all crevices etc. When I break this tank down, I was thinking of scrubbing the rocks well to try to remove as much as I could and then save the rock to use in the new tank.

The question is, should I just not reuse this rock and risk an explosion of the bubble algae in a new tank? I just want the mature rock to help with a stable system but I also don’t want to bring its problems.

Thanks!

NeedAReef · Mar 12, 2026

unless you have high nutrients and light for most algae it does not grow, especially if the predator can keep it at bay. in the sump would be fine too. Real live rock there is nothing better

seanu13 · Mar 12, 2026

I’m surprised it had enough nutrients to grow while I was neglecting it tbh, but yeah I’m very on top of testing and nutrient control and plan to have a foxface in the new tank.

diverjm · Mar 15, 2026

I’m pretty sure bubble algae can survive in both high and low nutrients. Manual removal and natural predators like emerald crabs are your only hope at controlling it. Even if you start with new rock, all it takes is a spore to come in on a new frag and you’ll have the same issue.

IceNein · Mar 15, 2026

seanu13 said:
I’m surprised it had enough nutrients to grow while I was neglecting it tbh, but yeah I’m very on top of testing and nutrient control and plan to have a foxface in the new tank.

I have seen macroalgae that I thought I had eradicated completely spring up out of nowhere when the nutrient levels in my tank got high enough to support their growth. They're real good at hanging on by a thread.

Having said that I had a bubble algae problem and a mithrax completely eradicated it and I haven't seen it again.