Bubble Algae, Cyano, or just bubbles?

[reverendmaynard]

In this pic you can see some of the many small bubbles I have accumulating on my LR, to the upper left and right of the anemone. Sorry, but I haven't taken any pictures specifically of the bubbles. I've been looking at pictures of bubble algae, and they all seem to be some shade of green, but these bubbles are basically clear, and shiny, looking like little jewels all over the rock. I've seen similar looking bubbles in pics of cyano mats, but there is no red mat of algae around these bubbles. When distrubed even slightly (like, say, from a cleaner shrimps antanae touching it), the bubbles release and float to the surface.

My tank has been running about 3 months, and I use DI for all water needs. PO4 is undetectable, NO3 <5ppm. Lighting is 4 x 160w VHO, with 1 actinic blue and a 50/50 on for 10 hours, and a 50/50 and a tri-chromatic on for 8 hours. I have 10x flow in the tank, but will be finishing my closed loop to double that shortly.

So, bubble algae, cyano, bubbles, or something else? Any suggestions for getting rid of it? Need any more info, just ask.

TIA,
Maynard.

 

[Bathel]

Re: Bubble Algae, Cyano, or just bubbles?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7013453#post7013453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reverendmaynard

In this pic you can see some of the many small bubbles I have accumulating on my LR, to the upper left and right of the anemone. Sorry, but I haven't taken any pictures specifically of the bubbles. I've been looking at pictures of bubble algae, and they all seem to be some shade of green, but these bubbles are basically clear, and shiny, looking like little jewels all over the rock. I've seen similar looking bubbles in pics of cyano mats, but there is no red mat of algae around these bubbles. When distrubed even slightly (like, say, from a cleaner shrimps antanae touching it), the bubbles release and float to the surface.

My tank has been running about 3 months, and I use DI for all water needs. PO4 is undetectable, NO3 <5ppm. Lighting is 4 x 160w VHO, with 1 actinic blue and a 50/50 on for 10 hours, and a 50/50 and a tri-chromatic on for 8 hours. I have 10x flow in the tank, but will be finishing my closed loop to double that shortly.

So, bubble algae, cyano, bubbles, or something else? Any suggestions for getting rid of it? Need any more info, just ask.

TIA,
Maynard.

Just plain air bubbles

 

[Elorian]

Looks like O2 bubbles from the green algae on the rocks (created during photosynthesis).

 

[reverendmaynard]

Thanks for the input, guys. Is this a common problem? Anything I can do about them?

 

[Elorian]

It shouldn't hurt anything, and may actually add some O2 to the water, but it does mean that your algae is photosynthesizing (and therefore probably growing and thriving...). If this is the tank set up on 1/1/06, things are probably still settling in- you'll most likely see (or have already seen) several algae blooms come and go. Keep up with good maintenance/husbandry and they'll likely subside (barring high nutrient levels in the water). I'd definitely recommend testing for nitrate and phosphate regularly for a while and working to eliminate them if they are present.

HTH

 

[reverendmaynard]

Yup, that's the tank.

I bought the tank used, and the LR is all from the original setup. It's been in the tank for like 10 years of more. I did use new sand, lots of new water, and lots of new equipment, so I did expect to see some algae blooms. I'm really not stressing most of it, but these bubbles are kind of annoying.

I started the tank out with about 50% old water from the original setup, and I didn't test it first. The first time I tested, after about a week of running, I had 30-40ppm nitrates and .5ppm phosphates! I never saw an amm cycle, so I can only assume that most of this came from the old water. Well, I've been pretty diligent about doing 10-15% wcs weekly, and all of my export mechanisms (dsb, rdsb, skimmer, macro, etc.) have been either added or are now cycled, so the last month or so I've seen a steady decline and am now down to <5ppm nitrate. I use a GFO phosphate remover and carbon, and have no detectable phosphates.

Like I said, I'm not really stressing over it, like seem people do. Hopefully it'll go away eventually. I just wanted to see if it was bubble algae, because, from what I hear, if you let that go unchecked, it'll really take over. I've got a foxface in qt coming out this weekend. Hopefully he'll be a better grazer than my yellow tang. I've also got those small snails from IPSF.com that reproduce in the tank, and I think a population explosion is imminent.

 

[Elorian]

Sounds like you've got things pretty well in hand .

 

[reverendmaynard]

Yeah, I *think* so too. But I'm still a newbie, if a well read one, and it's what you don't know you don't know that'll get ya.