90 Gallon SPS

sahin said:
Very nice system! Loved watching the video. That Green Milli looks superb.

TrueBlackPerc is 100% correct with regards to Emeralds; buy them small and try to get females. They are easy to tell difference. You can ask the LFS to hold them upside down and you can easily tell.

This is what you look for:
Male:
crab_05.gif

Female:
crab_06.gif

Source: http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/biological/anatomy_crab.htm
Although the link is pics of a certain blue crab, the essentials is the same. :lolspin:

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Great info, thank you Sahin! I assume the females are better algae eaters than the males?
 
jdm1114 said:
Great info, thank you Sahin! I assume the females are better algae eaters than the males?
Click to expand...

For some reason yes, and stay smaller and less likely to start nibbling on softies or other corals. I've never had issues as I have always bought small females etc and they always worked for me at eradicating bubble algae.
 
I said I would report back about the emerald crabs, I picked up three females (I think they were females). Its been more than a month and I've seen them pick at the bubble algae here and there but not really do any damage. They seem to have trouble grasping/popping the bubbles.

I definitely have more bubble algae than a month ago. I've increased my water changes to six gallons on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 20 gallons on Fridays. I previously conducted five gallon water changes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. While my corals seem to benefit from the increased water change volume, the bubble algae continues its proliferation. Any suggestions?
 
jdm1114 said:
I said I would report back about the emerald crabs, I picked up three females (I think they were females). Its been more than a month and I've seen them pick at the bubble algae here and there but not really do any damage. They seem to have trouble grasping/popping the bubbles.

I definitely have more bubble algae than a month ago. I've increased my water changes to six gallons on Mondays and Wednesdays, and 20 gallons on Fridays. I previously conducted five gallon water changes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. While my corals seem to benefit from the increased water change volume, the bubble algae continues its proliferation. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Siphon out the bubble algae as much as possible during water changes. My buddies both had bubble algae problems and their tanks are like 99% clear...took MANY months though.

I'm going to see one of their tanks today, I'll report back later today as to whether the bubble algae is still clear or not, and try to take a pic of the emerald crab if I see it.

FWIW, Bubble algae will survive in ULNS conditions...sorry buddy, but the water changes wont help. I would spend a few hours each week siphoning out the way Mr SaltwaterTank guy does...this will put a serious dent in it. Once its down to lower levels, the Emerald crabs will eat the rest.

Manual removal and the crabs eating bubble algae is the only way.
 
My experience suggests that similar to aiptasia once you get its spores, you cannot eliminate bubble algae completely. As previous posters suggested mechanical removal is one of the surest way of removing the pest, providing that bubbles are not bursted during their removal. This article also reinforces the previous posters' points though the idea of using a female crab is new to me. Talking to experienced reef keepers, I learned that mitrax crabs turn to fish sooner or later. I guess if the females remain small, then it is a bonus.

Moreover, through observation I noticed that in my tank when phosphates are low bubble algae disappears from the display. For this reason, I am using bubble algae as a bio indicator for excess phosphate. As soon as I start to get a few colonising on my live rock, I resort to small amount of Rowa Phos, which controls their population. I then carefully remove them, but only when they get really big, :bum: i.e.

P1000955_zps6bd661f7.jpg


Finally, there are worse problems than bubble algae, such as AEFW. So, I would not become uptight about it.
 
sahin said:
Siphon out the bubble algae as much as possible during water changes. My buddies both had bubble algae problems and their tanks are like 99% clear...took MANY months though.

I'm going to see one of their tanks today, I'll report back later today as to whether the bubble algae is still clear or not, and try to take a pic of the emerald crab if I see it.

FWIW, Bubble algae will survive in ULNS conditions...sorry buddy, but the water changes wont help. I would spend a few hours each week siphoning out the way Mr SaltwaterTank guy does...this will put a serious dent in it. Once its down to lower levels, the Emerald crabs will eat the rest.

Manual removal and the crabs eating bubble algae is the only way.
Click to expand...

This issue great advice and he is correct water changes make no difference at all. Have you thought about possibly doing a carbon source additive to your tank ?
 
I really appreciate all the responses, very helpful!

I've dosed vinegar as a carbon source and used GFO in the past, but I really wanted to keep things simple. Sounds like I may have to add some GFO to my reactor and be more diligent about manual removal of the bubble algae.
 
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