I have read a lot about people getting rid of bubble algae with a siphon tube connected to a sharpened piece of rigid air line tubing. With this tool the bubbles are popped and their remains along with spores are sucked up in the siphon. Doing this as part of a scheduled water change seams like a good idea but if you have a lot of bubble algae the amount you are going to remove is limited by how much water you want to change. I was wondering if using a UV sterilizer in line with the siphon would be able to kill the algae spores so that the water could be returned to the tank? If this worked you could even connect a small pump in line and send the water directly back to your tank enabling you to suck bubble algae all day long to your hears content. I have absolutely no experience with VU sterilizers and I guess this idea would just break down if the sterilizer couldn't kill the spores on their first pass. Just looking to see what everyone thinks.
Idea for bubble algae removal tool
- Thread starter pskelton
- Start date
deviilsadvocate
New member
Or you can always borrow my hippo tang, he ate all my bubble algae... lol
deviilsadvocate
New member
Yeah if it was just on one rock that was your best bet... My hippo is a true fatty.. he eats anything and everything.. I'm suprised my other fish are still alive.. lol. Hope you got all the bubble algae off..
davelin315
10 & Over Club
Isn't the point of siphoning it out to remove the spores as the bubble algae is burst? You won't catch all of the spores with a filter sock unless it's got a really small micron rating, at which point it would probably clog before you got to it. For a UV sterilizer, I would think that you'd run into issues with this as you'd basically have to create suction through it and then when you run dry you'd have to turn it off right away or risk breaking something. Also, you typically don't want large particulate items going through it, so perhaps a combination of a filter sock and then through a sterilizer might do the trick, but then again, why not just drain out as much water as you wanted and then pump it back in through the UV?
solos2
New member
You could also try to connect an airline tubing to the air intake of your protein skimmer (remember to turn the water output from the skimmer to max so it won't overflow).
When submerged, the airline tubbing will suck water into your skimmer (but it'll also stop air being sucked in), so you can attach a rigid tubing at the end to burst the bubble algae and suck the algae + water into your skimmer directly.
However you must take the tubing out of water immediately after a patch of algae is sucked into the skimmer so there'll be air drawn back into the skimmer.
The idea is to do this in quick and repeated sessions, so any bubble algae spores will be trapped inside the skimmer and skimmed away.
You could clean a patch of bubble algae in this fashion, then wait say 5-10 minutes before attacking another patch, so that all spores are either skimmed already or at least attached to some micro bubbles in your skimmer and not leaking back into the sump.
I used this method to get rid of two Eunicid worms too, one is about 12 inches long, it went straight into the pump and turned into a minced paste I'd assume, then got skimmed away.
When submerged, the airline tubbing will suck water into your skimmer (but it'll also stop air being sucked in), so you can attach a rigid tubing at the end to burst the bubble algae and suck the algae + water into your skimmer directly.
However you must take the tubing out of water immediately after a patch of algae is sucked into the skimmer so there'll be air drawn back into the skimmer.
The idea is to do this in quick and repeated sessions, so any bubble algae spores will be trapped inside the skimmer and skimmed away.
You could clean a patch of bubble algae in this fashion, then wait say 5-10 minutes before attacking another patch, so that all spores are either skimmed already or at least attached to some micro bubbles in your skimmer and not leaking back into the sump.
I used this method to get rid of two Eunicid worms too, one is about 12 inches long, it went straight into the pump and turned into a minced paste I'd assume, then got skimmed away.
coralfarm123
New member
+1
A foxface is a great all around algae eater as long as your tank is large enough since they can get fairly big.
fatboyt123
New member
Emrald crabs work great, got rid of all the bubble algea in my sisters 55 and there was ALOT. We put about 5-6 in and in about 1-2 weeks it was mostly all gone.
PhantomLoneWolf
New member
I have had good luck with Emerald Crabs. Unfortuately, they don't seem to live long for me. They clear out the bubble algea and then disappear. When I see more bubble algea I have to buy new Emerald Crabs. It is hard for me to believe they starve, with other eatables in the tank, but maybe they do.
Lifefreak0007
New member
I have not had any luck with emerald crabs as of yet. I am thinking that one day i will see one eating on the bubble algae and not have to do the work by hand any more.
Flamehawk1221
In Memoriam
Emerald crabs may atke a while to realize bubble algea as food but eventually they do!
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