Bubble algae problems....can you help?

[arminkropp]

Here's the deal, last week I was doing a major water change on my tank cause it finished cycling. I had a bad hair algae problem so I did what some other people here did. I used a toothbrush and scrubbed it off.

Now I have a bit of hair algae(nothing a cleanup crew can take care of) but I have bubble algae on 2 or 3 pieces of LR. If I had to guess, about 15-30 bubbles of it. How can I get rid of this? any fish or inverts that eats this? anything else I can do. I'm guessing that when I brushed the hair algae off the other day I must have popped a bubble algae bubble and spread it.

HELP!

Thanx

 

[klam]

Emarld crabs are know to eat bubble algae but sometimes they don't.

If you can take the rock out and scrub it gently with a tooth brush would be best. Rinse rock with saltwater when done

 

[JPloman]

I swear to God I am going to write a book on how to get rid of pest algae! I love doing the research on this stuff!!!

I am going to do research on this tonight and tomorrow until I have a lits of things for you to do in order to get rid of it. So far all I know is that you need to get some Emrald Crabs, they like this stuff.

 

[arminkropp]

Keep me informed JP
arent emerald crabs big?

 

[JPloman]

You can get them when they are small, they do have the potential to get big, just like most crabs.

 

[X the Outsider]

I have an Emerald in my tank, and he's not very big. I've yet to see him eat any bubble algae. But I've been told to take the rock out, and scrub it off.

 

[*sharkbait*]

Great topic. Your posts are interesting and feasable if the bubble algea is stuck to the rock, but what do you do if it is stuck high on to the walls of the tank? Is there any other animal that will eat this stuff?
I had a bad bubble algea problem on the rocks and did get an emerald crab, it ate the stuff like mad, but it can not reach the higher stuff, and I do not dare scrape the other stuff of for risk of busting one of those evil bubbles!

 

[arminkropp]

I'll look into the emerald crab. Im thinking I might just have to pull the LR out and scrub it.

Crappy thing is one of the pieces of LR that I'll have to take out is one with the most Life on it.

 

[Phyl]

Your tank just finished cycling and you're already having severe algae problems? If that were me and it happened to a tank I started today I would empty my tank completely, wash everything off and start over with RO/DI (I started my first tank with tap but wouldn't do that again today either ). I can only imagine those problems getting worse as your tank progresses.

I say if I started today because I'm sure if it was my first tank I'd just try and fix whatever was wrong... but today? Scrap it and start over! Just my 2c though! I had a couple of pieced of bubble algae that came to my tank from another reefer and they just went away. My emeralds had zero interest in them. I've also heard that unless kept trimmed, a cleanup crew will not bother with the hair algae.

Good luck!

 

[BillyZ]

I leave my bubble algae alone... have for a couple years now and I only have a couple patches that moves from place to place. By move I mean they eventually get "old" and pop then that rock is clean and a few others appear somewhere else. I have a 55 gallon and have had bubble algae almost since the begining. I have never considered it an "outbreak" in the numbers. I think right now.. I might have 3 patches of them. each no more than 3 or 4 large bubbles... one right now is pretty big though LOL, it's probably 4-5 inches long and about 1-2 wide! it's funny... these things are around long enough that many have coraline growing on them... I kinda like them and they've never caused me any problems. I think, and this is just speculation, that those who have "problems" with them, are the ones who try so hard to remove them that they pop them all while they're prime and end up spreading them. I think if' they're allowed to mature and pop on their own, they don't release as many spores. But this is just speculation based on my own experience.

JMO

 

[klam]

IMO, bubble algae might be unsightly but it doesn't cause any major problems like how hair algae can smother your corals.

Unfortunatly i'm in the same boat as the bubble poppers and got a few too many in my tank.

Sharkbait - what size is your emarld crab? I've tried two small emarld crabs around the size of nickle$ and they don't touch the bubble algae.

 

[arminkropp]

Well, me thinks I'm going to scrub off some of the ones that are easy to get at.
As for the LR with all the life on it I'll leave that one for now.

any chemicals that target bubble algae? I know its bad but........

 

[wlam18]

Tried small and then big emarld crabs, it did not work. If you touch the bubble algae, you will find out how tough the skin is and no way the emarld crab can chew it. I pull the rock out, pull out the bubble slowly, Don't pop it. Raise the rock with clean salt-water. That works for me. Never see it again.

 

[No_Floaters]

If you can, take the LR out of the tank and pop the bubbles. Tear the bubble the rest of the way off and rinse. If you can't take the rock out, you'll have to pop the bubble while holding a siphon tube over it. Try to tear what's left of the bubble off the rock.