algea bubbles please help!!!

[lordviporscorpi]

We have an 80 gallon aquarium with lots of live rock and lots of corals. Its a nice tank and the only big problem is that it has lots of those bubbles of algea. When i say it has alot, i mean so much that i dont think there is a rock that is not completely covered in these ugly things.

my dad seems to think thell go away eventueally wiht water changes and a protien skimmers. he even bought a fish that is said to eat them.

me personaly i think he should just get new live rock.

what should we do to get rid of this ****.

 

[snapcrackler]

The Foxface and Emerald crab will eat bubble algae but they are not the most peaceful creatures from what I understand, and there can be some compatibility issues so research would be in order depending on what ya have in your tank.

For the bigger bubbles, there should be a hidden stem underneath the bubble where you can just remove the bubble carefully, don't let it pop!

This is strictly from what I have been reading in the past and haven't personally had bubble algae but thought it might help a little.

Also make sure your water parameters are good and there's isn't excessive nutrients going on that might be feeding algae.

Hope that helps a little.



Also maybe you could try removing each piece of LR and doing a SW scrub and rinse (mix a big tub of sw up to match your SG and then set up a siphon or lil pump up to provide a clean stream of water over the tub drain and rinse/scrub the bubbles off and go from there)

 

[Electrobes]

well emerald crabs are known as great bubble algae eaters... but many times they get eaten by something else in the tank... I want one for my tank they are cute.. also will be growing macro algae and marine plants.. thought the bubble algae looked kinda cool...

 

[Gauge]

I had a bubble algae in my 42 hex tank a few months ago and I ended up buying a ton of emerald crabs. They didn't really make a dent in the big ones. They kept the little tiny ones at bay, I guess. Never really saw them do any work, but the small ones kinda stopped cropping up.

To get rid of the big ones I simply picked up all the rock in my tank, looked it over real carefully, and if I saw bubble algae I removed it. If it was a big one, I would gently grab it and try to twist it until it let go. They're fairly sturdy and not as easy to pop as you'd thing. As for the little ones, I just popped them and tore them off cuz I couldn't get a grip on them. Anyway, I did this like twice and they didn't come back.

 

[Mr.5150]

I used to have a big problem with bubble algae as well...i know emeralds are known to eat them but i didn't have any at the time so i just took the rock out and used a toothbrush on it...scrubbed off all the bubble algae and next thing i knew they were a thing of the past...

 

[Electrobes]

Heh Ironically I am going to grow some, along with other macro algaes and possibly marine plants. I have 2.8 watts/gal of DIY compact flo's, and didn;t want to get into a reef tank, for some reason the freshwater in me loves the plants and all. Plus I think I am getting a puffer so the sea grass is something he/she will love

 

[Tierhog]

My emerald never lets the algae grow. The emerald caan get pretty big to. Mine is 2 yrs old and the main body is the size of a quarter. They are tough little eaters.

 

[mrmarine]

I had algea bubbles in my tank until i got my yellow eyed tang and then they were all gone. I never had the big ones though just a bunch of little ones.

 

[lordviporscorpi]

i had an emerald crab but in my smaller 15 gallon. in the 15 there was no bubble alge but the crab cept knocking over all the corals. hhehe so i tried to glue the coral to the rock but i suck a glueing.

Can you give me any pointers on how to keep the emerald crabs from knockin things over

 

[Electrobes]

hmm.. good luck.. I'd say if you could stick him in another tank or quaratine foe a while.. then glue it properl and not in a rush. My friend did the same.. but it took him like 2 hours to glue his newly aquired corals... he also used putty though I believe he is not that much of a fan..

 

[Tierhog]

Electrobes has a point. My LR is in BIG chunks 7 to 8 lbs and above. My emerald has a big butt, but not that big! The majority of my corals require current and sufficient light. The emerald will travel to the midline of the tank, but he is not a mountain climber. I suspect he is tumbling mid-level rock?