Bubble algae question

[basssnake]

I bought a tank yesterday that had around 30-50 pounds of live rock. There was a big clump of bubble algae growing on it and a little growing on some other pieces. I have a few questions on it.

1 Does bubble algae eat nitrates and phosphates?

2. Does it actually live inside the rock(does it come from the ocean already embedded in the rock) and then sprouts or is it like hair algae and just appears out of no where?

3. Would it be good for a fish only tank(that doesn't have any bubble algae now) or would it be best even in this situation to trash it?

4. Would it be best to use this rock in a fish only tank and not a new reef i am planning to setup in a couple months?

5. And depending on answers to above questions, do i need to treat this rock somehow if i need to get rid of the bubble algae?


I don't want to contaminate and ruin additional rock in my fish only tank, and for sure don't want to contaminate my new reef i am going to set up. thanks for any help........

 

[Bambalam]

OK, I'll give this a shot:

1. No

2. No. I believe it's superficial nuisance algae.

3, 4 + 5. Personally, I wouldn't trash the live rock if the only
thing wrong with it was BA. I would try to scrape all of
it off before cycling the tank, even if it is going to be a
fish-only tank. Some fish (esp Foxface) and crabs
(Mithrax) are reputed to eat BA, but not in every case.
HTH

 

[basssnake]

Well, the new tank i am going to setup will be a reef tank with corals. So, maybe i should just scrape it off and put it in my large aggressive tank that is fish and live rock only? I was also meaning on question 2 if bubble algae actually is a "hitchhiker" on live rock? or does it just come out of nowhere(like hair algae if you start a new tank with just base rock and no live rock?

 

[Bambalam]

Putting it in the FOWLR is probably a good idea. I guess you could say BA is a hitchhiker - I got it from a frag from someone at a frag swap, and I never had it before. Now I wish I never would have put it in my tank because if any bubbles float off when you try to manually harvest them, they usually reattach somewhere and start multiplying.

 

[reefergeorge]

I had the red BA take over my nano, but in my 90 my tang, and foxface eat it up. If I do get one getting large. I manually remove it, and the tang is always waiting for a snack. Good luck, and get it before it becomes a problem.

 

[basssnake]

Well i need some more live rock in my 150 fowlr and so i could just put it in there. I don't want a problem in my new 150 reef i am going to put together. I will have a few tangs in the new reef, but if they don't eat it, i will have problems. So, i guess there is no good from bubble algae, i wonder what it thrives on?

 

[zacharytrimble]

I think bubble algae is actually kinda pretty. Green emerald crabs will eat it...

 

[DNickell]

I had a serious problem with it seven or eight years ago. It got so bad that it would clog my overflow drain. I tried Emerald Crabs but I never saw one show any interest at all. I had had it in my tank for a long time with no problem, just a few pretty little bubbles. Then it just exploded. I have no idea what conditions changed to cause/allow the population explosion.

If you try to manually remove it be very careful to not burst it, as that only spreads it.

I have a few in my tank right now because they are so lodged into the rock that I can't get them loose without bursting them. Just last night my in-sump skimmer suddenly slowed to a trickle. I pulled it and took the powerhead apart, to find no problems. Then I found a small bubble algae clogging the intake hole on the Berlin skimmer. Easy fix, but a pain in the caboose.

I would not put bubble algae in the same nuisance category as hair algae or cyano, but it is a nuisance. My advice (based soley on anecdotal experience) is to use the rock, but remove as much of the bubble algae as possible before putting it in your tank, and then manually remove any bubbles you see as soon as you see them.

My approach now is to not panic or go into quick reaction mode if you see bubble algae (like I do when I see hair algae starting), but be diligent.

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Can you put it in a trash can and cure it for a bit with tank water, heater and powerhead? No light.

 

[basssnake]

Yeah, i have it in a rubbermaid tote right now with a couple powerheads and only light that is in the room, no light over the tub. Will that kill it out? I guess i need to remove all the pieces of bubble algae out of the tub. I saved it out of the tank because i didn't know if it would hurt a fowlr tank but i guess it is worse than i expected. Never had it before.