Need ideas for controlling bubble Algae

[ShadowACE]

Hi Folks

For the past year or so I have had an outbreak of bubble algae in my mixed reef. Kind of neat but becoming a nuisance.

I know enough to not pop them since this releases spores and compounds the problem. Every week I spend some time carefully plucking them and then let the kids squirt them at each other in the yard.

I do have a 25 w UV running 24/7. I have minimal micro algae thanks to my cheato in the refug. Tank looks great.

How does one rid the green grapes of reef wrath.

 

[afsportsguy000]

There is a certain type of crab out there that takes care of it. I cant remember off the top of my head but I know there has been other threads out there with this answer

 

[frank180reef]

Emerald, I dont know if it actually works though

 

[Ill Will]

Emerald crabs loves that stuff get about 2 to 3 of them no more then that.

 

[reeferpj]

yup its the emerald crab. and you can suck them out when you do your WCs. how big is the tank? how bad is the algae. EC are a good add to any CUC to there good for all algae

 

[wrassefan]

I think I read somewhere the orange spotted rabbitfish will eat bubble algae...fwiw, my emeralds never touched the stuff. Manual removal with siphon hose was only thing I've seen work

 

[FinsUp!]

Bubble algae is like caviar to emerald crabs. Mine was so excited to finally find one lonely bubble in the tank last night They also do a good job on other types of algae.

 

[animal877]

yea emerald crab is your best bet. i personally think there cool little crabs to i have one in my small tank

 

[ShadowACE]

Well I had one emerald but it did take to it. So today I went and got three more. One female is egg heavy.

My tank is a mixed reef 90g. Some day I will post some pics. I need to do some fragging first.

Thanks folks I will post the progress.

 

[mchartier]

Keep an eye on the emeralds they have a hendancy of going after corals also. I had BA bad in my 90 gal and tried the emeralds had a little bit of success with them but they ended up eating some SPS.

 

[Burkef1]

My emerald crab did a great just on my bubble algae. but it did turn on my hermit crabs and some corals when it was done. I had one in a fairly infested 50 galllon tank and it took the crab a month to pretty much clean the whole problem up.

 

[RadReefer]

I had a terrible bubble algae outbreak, it covered all surfaces and it crowded out all my corals. Emeralds didn't even make a dent. I bought a rabbit fish, gold spotted rabbit to be specific, and within a month it had eaten every bubble in the entire tank. I would highly recommend one.

 

[ShadowACE]

Well so far the E.C.s do not like caviar. I may look into a golden spot Rabbit. Petco Leominster has one in their 120G FOWLR.

 

[Ruge13]

My emerald crab did a great just on my bubble algae. but it did turn on my hermit crabs and some corals when it was done. I had one in a fairly infested 50 galllon tank and it took the crab a month to pretty much clean the whole problem up.

I have 1 emerald in a 130 and I never see bubbles. I did see a few, which is why I got him, and since then... nada. The above statement are words to live by for any crab IMHO! They all turn nasty, even the "algae eaters" when they run out of food. Keep one crab and have the patience to let him do his job over time is far better than a few crabs that when done soon start dismantling your reef to find food.

 

[ShadowACE]

I agree

Four crabs for now unless I see no improve then I will catch them with trap and move them to the refugium or the nano.

 

[FinsUp!]

It can take them a while to find the BA, especially in a bigger tank or one with lots of rocks and crevices. But once my EC found a bubble, he scuttled over to it claws wagging a mile a minute. Mine also usually only comes out at night, so I don't often get to see him at work.

 

[Ellabug]

Mr. Saltwater Tank's instructions for removing bubble algae!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeqtPe3XukM

 

[RadReefer]

If you have an epic outbreak like I had then the above method won't be effective, I tried it myself after seeing this video. If you can find a gold spot and accommodate him in the tank then that will probably be the most effective and hassle free way to go. Plus tey are awesome fish and change color constNtly depending on mood. Really shy at first and extremely peaceful. Emeralds weren't effective for me either and started to pull polyps off of my coral.

 

[ShadowACE]

Well - coincidentally my Leominster Petco just got in a Gold spot. Waiting a few days to see how it is eating and if bubbles start going down. I was also told that low KH can be a contributing factor. I tested and it is down to 6. I guess even RO/DI water and Coral Reef Pro salt needs a booster. My auto top off tank contains kalwasser but I guess it is still not enough. I increased it to about 10 over the weekend we shall see.

 

[RadReefer]

Pull out a couple bubbles and float them in the water, I bet he will eat them. Mine pooped bubble algae shells for 2 months, then all the bubbles were gone. I considered breaking my tank down it was so discouraging until I found that fish, worth it's weight in gold.