grape algae?

[newbe22]

had this tank set up for over a year and been doing everything the local fish store guy has told me. i got these grey/ green bubbles going all over my live rock and on some of my brain coral. was told emerald crabs would get rid of it but they haven't done a thing. now my tank is filled! what caused this and how do i get rid of it once and for all?

 

[JohnNLuc]

your first mistake was listening to the LFS :| What you have is bubble algae and although emerald crabs have been known to eat it to each crab there own. Your best bet is to manually remove the algae with caution to not breaking the bubble.

 

[Fluff]

It's called valonia, or bubble algae. It feeds on excessive nutrients in your tank. The problem with this algae is that the bubble is full of algae spores and as soon as one gets popped, it spreads. The best way I know of to get rid of it is to manually remove it. Carefully twisting the bubble will pop it off. Doing this outside the tank is best incase one should pop and have a bucket of tank water ready for rinsing the rock. HTH.

 

[Fluff]

lol John beat me to it.

 

[JohnNLuc]

nananana I answered first lol. When its a sunday and you have nothing to do and you have sat on the boards all day i guess I would beat someone to the punch