black bubbles on live rock?

[lilygardn]

I am having some issues with my tank. I have recently been finding black bubbles emerging from my live rock. They look like marbles just sitting there but they will pop when touched. All of my snails have also died within three days. The water parameters are ammonia: 0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: 10. I have also had issues with some kalkwasser leaving deposits on the glass ( Not sure why, I did let it settle...could it be related?) Ph is 8.0.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Hop]

Nitrate is a little high. May need to check the rest of the parameters and post them such as phosphate, SG etc... Is it a reef or FOWLR.

As far as the bubbles, my guess is that it is bubble algae (Valonia). It can be green, black or any color in-between...

 

[SDguy]

Well, the bubbles sound like valonia sp. algae. Dark green maybe instead of black?

You're going to have to list more info for some educated guesses. Tank setup/equipment/age. Water parameters like temp/salinity/Ca/Alk/Mg. Kalk can be tricky to use, and could cause sudden changes in water parameters that can affect snails. Salinity and temp can also be problems if they change to drastically.

Here's some info on using kalk: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

Check this out for more helpful articles: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

hth

 

[Mighty Dread]

That sounds like a type of bubble algae to me. Try not to pop them because some are filled with spores and when popped they will spread everywhere in your tank. They should not be effecting the other inhabitants of your tank though....

 

[lilygardn]

Yes! I had never seen it before so it caught me off guard. I looked online for that and thats what it is!

I think I just need to dose the kalk a lot slower. I have had the tank up for approx 3 years and haven't had a problem with it until recently. When I dosed yesterday it put calcium spots on the sides of my tank.

Thank you so much!