Bubble algae explosion - 0 Nitrate

kozik · Sep 28, 2019

I have a bubble algae outbreak an I’m not sure why....

My parameters
Phosphate 0.05 (Hanna)
Nitrate 0 (Red Sea pro)
Calcium 400 (Red Sea)
Alkalinity 11.2 (Red sea)

I know 0 nitrates isn’t really 0 nitrates but it’s still really low... what’s the bubble algae feeding off of?

ive been purposely trying to keep the tank a little dirties because I read corals don’t generally like a 0 nutrient tank but as you can see even letting it go a bit the nutrients are still low...

any advice?

VKP01 · Sep 28, 2019

Could it be that you have excess nutrients being produced but the algae is immediately consuming it? So the algae is growing and your tank is nitrate free

Bret Brinkmann · Sep 29, 2019

Test kits can only detect inorganic sources not organic sources. So you really only have 0 ppm inorganic sources of nitrate. The measured amount still only is the excess amount not how much is getting used versus how much is getting generated.

I recommend dosing nitrates to help prevent a dino bloom. Bubble algae will be eaten by rabbit fish if your tank is big enough to house one. I have also heard Vibrant works but can sometimes take a few months.

kozik · Sep 29, 2019

Bret Brinkmann said:
Test kits can only detect inorganic sources not organic sources. So you really only have 0 ppm inorganic sources of nitrate. The measured amount still only is the excess amount not how much is getting used versus how much is getting generated.

I recommend dosing nitrates to help prevent a dino bloom. Bubble algae will be eaten by rabbit fish if your tank is big enough to house one. I have also heard Vibrant works but can sometimes take a few months.

wouldn’t dosing nitrates make my bubble algae problem worse?

VKP01 said:
Could it be that you have excess nutrients being produced but the algae is immediately consuming it? So the algae is growing and your tank is nitrate free

I’ve read mixed reports on this, people saying if the tank was running nitrate positive it would be impossible for the algae to completely use it.

Bret Brinkmann · Sep 30, 2019

The algae is using all the inorganic nitrates but there are probably still some organic nitrates which don't register on the tests. If those bottom out two, then you won't have to worry about bubble algae because you'll probably get dinos. I personally would rather deal with bubble algae, plus corals need nitrates too. Their symbiotic zooxanthelae algae (and other symbiotic organisms) that give them color will do better and make them more colorful.

Yes it will fuel other algae growth too. Again that is usually preferred over a dino bloom though. If your tank is big enough
you can get a rabbit fish which will eat it. Otherwise you can use Vibrant or fluconazole.

vetteguy53081 · Sep 30, 2019

Had great success getting rid of them with liquid Vibrant

kozik · Oct 1, 2019

Bought some nitrate and vibrant, hopefully all my problems will be solved lol

planning to while out the current problem with vibrant and then see what happens, if algae comes back and nitrates are still 0 will start dosing the nitrates.

wish me luck.

C. Eymann · Oct 1, 2019

valonia and boergesenia outbreaks will rarely be remedied with just nutrient control, they still can pose a problem in even a ULNS.

I have had luck with careful manual removal, emerald crabs, rabbitfish, some people report that for hard to reach mature bubbles CAREFUL injection of hydrogen peroxide can be used.

LagoonLounge · Oct 1, 2019

When my nitrate and phosphate was 0 all I done was turned off the skimmer and fed heavy for about 6 weeks 4-5 times a day frozen,pellets, flakes and my nitrate and phosphate started to rise, I'm currently at 10ppm nitrate and 0.05 phosphate

vetteguy53081 · Oct 1, 2019

kozik said:
Bought some nitrate and vibrant, hopefully all my problems will be solved lol

planning to while out the current problem with vibrant and then see what happens, if algae comes back and nitrates are still 0 will start dosing the nitrates.

wish me luck.

Vibrant wiped out my bubble algae. Just took a couple of weeks

Bret Brinkmann · Oct 2, 2019

C. Eymann said:
valonia and boergesenia outbreaks will rarely be remedied with just nutrient control, they still can pose a problem in even a ULNS....

I recommend the nutrient dosing to prevent dinos, not to treat bubble algae. I also recommended a rabbit fish or Vibrant for the bubbles.

LagoonLounge said:
When my nitrate and phosphate was 0 all I done was turned off the skimmer and fed heavy for about 6 weeks 4-5 times a day frozen,pellets, flakes and my nitrate and phosphate started to rise, I'm currently at 10ppm nitrate and 0.05 phosphate

If you don't already have dinos this can work, but food is more than just phosphates and nitrates. You are raising other things too, depending on the food, like Si, S, and C. These can cause other things to bloom as well like cyanobacteria.

Nick30G · Oct 2, 2019

What I have found is bubble algae will explode in any tank period. Bubble algae is one of those algaes that will thrive and grow even in ULN environments. The key to stopping it from spreading is to remove it before it gets a chance to multiply. I had bubble algae from a toadstool frag that went from 1 bubble to hundreds of bubbles within a few weeks, even with reef quality nutrient levels and no other algae present in the tank. Currently I am fighting a moderate bubble algae outbreak as well, I picked up vibrant and started dosing a month ago. Man has vibrant made a massive difference to get rid of the bubble algae. I would say half of my bubble algae is gone and none is growing anymore after a month of treatment so far. I also run 0 nitrates and dont have issues with dinos/other algae but I do keep my phosphate around 0.03 ppm.

Jamestown · Oct 2, 2019

Nick30G said:
What I have found is bubble algae will explode in any tank period. Bubble algae is one of those algaes that will thrive and grow even in ULN environments. The key to stopping it from spreading is to remove it before it gets a chance to multiply. I had bubble algae from a toadstool frag that went from 1 bubble to hundreds of bubbles within a few weeks, even with reef quality nutrient levels and no other algae present in the tank. Currently I am fighting a moderate bubble algae outbreak as well, I picked up vibrant and started dosing a month ago. Man has vibrant made a massive difference to get rid of the bubble algae. I would say half of my bubble algae is gone and none is growing anymore after a month of treatment so far. I also run 0 nitrates and dont have issues with dinos/other algae but I do keep my phosphate around 0.03 ppm.

Is Vibrant safe for SPS tanks? Dealing with bubbles myself. Massive headache

dugthefish · Oct 2, 2019

Bubble algae overrunning my 125 as well. Phosphate 0, nitrates <5, rabbitfish and a dozen emerald crabs have not made a difference. Manual removal seems to make it worse, and it is encroaching on corals in many places. At wits end, about to give Vibrant a try.

Will Vibrant damage my macro algae as well?

Jamestown · Oct 2, 2019

dugthefish said:
Bubble algae overrunning my 125 as well. Phosphate 0, nitrates <5, rabbitfish and a dozen emerald crabs have not made a difference. Manual removal seems to make it worse, and it is encroaching on corals in many places. At wits end, about to give Vibrant a try.

Will Vibrant damage my macro algae as well?

Hey your rocks look just like mine! Way too much to manually remove. Not even possible. Not sure how we got to this point

Nick30G · Oct 2, 2019

Jamestown said:
Is Vibrant safe for SPS tanks? Dealing with bubbles myself. Massive headache

Yes it is safe. Its not a chemical product. All it is a group of bacteria that breaks down/eats algae and outcompetes algae in your tank.

Nick30G · Oct 2, 2019

dugthefish said:
Bubble algae overrunning my 125 as well. Phosphate 0, nitrates <5, rabbitfish and a dozen emerald crabs have not made a difference. Manual removal seems to make it worse, and it is encroaching on corals in many places. At wits end, about to give Vibrant a try.

Will Vibrant damage my macro algae as well?

Yep looks like my tank about a month ago. I highly recommend using vibrant it works well against bubble algae. I have heard it may kill your macro algae. You will have to do some research on that via Google search

dugthefish · Oct 2, 2019

Nick30G said:
Yep looks like my tank about a month ago. I highly recommend using vibrant it works well against bubble algae. I have heard it may kill your macro algae. You will have to do some research on that via Google search

Just like everything on the web, *they* say both no and yes. Think I will pull some of the macro out into a separate tank and try to keep it alive until treatment is complete. Thanks for the response.

Jamestown · Oct 3, 2019

Nick30G said:
Yes it is safe. Its not a chemical product. All it is a group of bacteria that breaks down/eats algae and outcompetes algae in your tank.

Thanks. Do I have to keep a close eye on any nutrients while treating?