Bubble algae. Given my circumstances, what would YOU do?

[PirateLove]

Left the tank with some family members for a month while I was on vacation. During that time, they fed SUPER heavy and now my tank has bubble algae and diatoms. Bubble algae is in the overflow and pipes.

I recently moved, broke the tank down, and it is half full now with the live rock and fish. I lost two anemones during the move and all corals look horrible.

Should I spend the money for new rock, let the tank dry and start over? This will be expensive for new rock and will stress everything even more by putting them in a Brute trashcan for a month while the tank cycles.

OR

Should I set everything back up, skim and run GFO, and hope the bubble algae stays under control. Tank will be set up for another year until my lease runs out.

What would YOU do??

 

[djsmallz]

You could do #2 plus remove each piece of rock, scrub off the bubble algae then spray it with peroxide that should help.

 

[Bpb]

How big is this tank


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[ryeguyy84]

I had the same issue a few years back and I went with option 2 and let me tell you it was rough. Bubble algae IMO is like herpes it might go away and everything will looks good but one day bam it's back. If you're going to keep the rock you need to get rid of as much of it as possible and be on it when you do water changes. I used a piece of 3/8th rigid tubing cut to a point to suck them out for months.

That said I still get some here and there but I pick it out the second I see it. The overflow was my worst area. I know people say it needs light but I'm not so sure about that.

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[Neptune 555]

Option 2 - I don't think you can get rid of all the bubble algae in your system some will always be left in your pipes ets... so a lot of work/expense and not 100% for sure...

Keep tank parameters in check... and manually remove.... it will balance again.

 

[billdogg]

Manual removal for all that you can get to. Replace any plumbing if needed - it's cheap and easy. Once you have it cleaned up as much as possible, I would suggest trying Vibrant. Although I am not a proponent of mystery "additives", after about a year of doing battle with BA, I gave it a try - at double strength for the first few weeks - and after about a month, it just started going away. I'm now about 6 months BA free and have reduced the use of Vibrant to a single normal strength dose every other week with no sign of the BA returning.

hth

 

[alton]

Vibrant was the only way I finally got rid of bubble algae in my 180. I starved that tank and yet bubble algae continued. Follow the instructions carefully. Once you notice your bubble algae subsiding slow down and or stop using Vibrant. There are like 4 strains of bubble algae, some are easy to control, the one I had was not.

 

[IowaReefer]

I have always had luck reducing bubble algae to barely noticeable by stopping broadcast feeding and buying a few emerald crabs.

 

[Reefer Tom]

I used peroxide once and it worked well. Didn't affect the fish or corals. Use the search function.

 

[D-Nak]

I have both a Maculiceps tang and purple tang and one of them is eating bubble algae. I have some in my sump but absolutely none on my DT.

I would just manually remove and hope for the best. IME bubble algae may look bad but it really doesn't harm the tank unless it gets out of control.

 

[devimik]

I had a major bubble algae issue and tried Emerald Crabs - didn't make a dent. Then, I got a One-Spot Foxface - have very little Bubble Algae now. He loves the stuff.

 

[jmm]

I have had two tanks with bubble algae. In one tank the bubbles are about the size of marbles. A few would get maybe twice that size. It was lightly distributed and comes and goes. Currently there are none in there. Not even one.

The other tank had the smaller, bb sized variety. It was topless and my clownfish jumped out, so it had no fish. The bubble algae got worse and worse. It coated everything, even the snails and hermit crab shells. All of the zoanthids were threatened, even the bubble tip anemones, when they would close up a little for the night would find the rocks they were attached to would have bubble algae in the way when they tried to expand. The bubble algae was everywhere. Even on the bubble algae. Great clumps of it, as big as a golf ball, clusters of it blocking the return line, lumps of it causing the water level to rise because the overflow was blocked. So, I quit feeding the tank completely. After all, there were no fish and the zoa garden and anemones only needed light. Some macro algae, several varieties that had come in on the zoas, began to grow. I didn't really care about this tank anymore since it was so unsightly. I had other tanks.

Slowly, the bubble algae began to clump together, dislodge, and float to the top in heavy, hard clumps. I scooped them out with my hands and flushed them. The macro algae began to really grow. After a while all of the bubble algae had floated to the top and was netted out. I gave the tank with zoas, anemones, and macro algae to a friend. He was delighted with the macro algae and for the last 2 years, without any treatment he has not had any bubble algae. Once it was gone, it was gone for good.

My guess: without food (a low nutrient tank), the macro algae robbed the bubble algae of its fuel and killed it. Your mileage may vary.