Bubble Algae EXPLOSION!!!

revhtree · Apr 21, 2008

WOW is all I have to say!

I have not had bubble algae in my new 120g and then all the sudden in like 2 weeks they are everywhere!

HOW and WHY? LOL! :sad3:

I checked my phosphates and they are about .5, really no nitrates to speak of.

I just ordered some emeralds, despite the bad reputation. What do you think?

Russellaqua · Apr 21, 2008

Sounds like the phosphates are doing it. Just about any amount can cause algae growth. Phosphate sponge and water changes with RO/DI should cure the problem all by itself. Organic matter in the water column can add to the problem too. It depends on your skimming efficiency. Emeralds will help, but I find they go for other types of algae and any left over food first. I'd just roll the algae off by hand.

revhtree · Apr 22, 2008

No way to remove it all now. It's in hard to get to places. I checked my RO water and it's like a .3 or so coming out, but my inline TDS meter is saying 0 for TDS. I just recently started using instant ocean when all this began as well.

chadfarmer · Apr 22, 2008

check the salt

surfn · Apr 22, 2008

0.5!! 0.3!!?? thats CRAZY high! should be 0 coming out of your RO/DI.

it may be the rock. i never had bubble algae for years until i got some small pieces of live rock that i need for zoas etc. then the bubble algae just grew rampid out of the new rock and spread all over the place. still all over the place a year later. can only try to keep it in check with emeralds.

revhtree · Apr 22, 2008

I did and I have a new batch mixing for 2 weeks. Seems that the Phosphates are lower in the new mixing water. The tank and the ro was a green and the new mixed water was dark yellow. The phosphates coming from my tap were just a little darker than the RO and Tank water....???

Russellaqua · Apr 22, 2008

Could very well be the rock leaching out phosphate. I use IO salt mix without any problem. Phosphate minerals are common in reef environments. It's possible your LR has some in them and the phosphate is leaching out from there. 0.3 for phosphates is very high for right out of the RO unit. You might want to consider adding a DI canister to remove them all.

revhtree · Apr 22, 2008

How could the RO water be higher coming out of the ro unit than the newly mixed saltwater?

surfn · Apr 22, 2008

revhtree said:
How could the RO water be higher coming out of the ro unit than the newly mixed saltwater?

so you are using just RO and not RO/DI?

reefboy · Apr 22, 2008

is that 0.05 and 0.03 or .5 and .3 if later that is high mine comes out of my RO at 0.03 and thats testing with a Hanna low range tester

KEEPERZ · Apr 22, 2008

I learned that eggcrate creates algae spike like a champ-did you add any?

Azurel · Apr 22, 2008

KEEPERZ said:
I learned that eggcrate creates algae spike like a champ-did you add any?

I hear that......I had almost all of the algea in my old system gone then I made a frag rack out of egg crate and that was the first place it started growing, then the rock, then frag plugs.....

Questin · Apr 22, 2008

There was a point in this hobby, both freshwater and salt, that I was ready to quit. I could not keep the algae under control and I did everything I could. Then one day a LFS told me to test the water coming directly out of my RO/DI unit, before it got into my holding tank.

My holding tank was leaching out phosphate. I went and got a brand new food grade container and my water has been in that ever since and I no longer have any of the problems I was, and I love this hobby more then ever.

Russellaqua · Apr 22, 2008

I've had amazing coralline algae growth on eggcrate but never green macroalgaes. That's the first I've heard of that. I'll keep it in mind though. Just started a new holding tank and will be adding a bunch of eggcrate soon. As far as mixed seawater testing lower than the RO water for phosphates, using IO you're adding 1.5 lbs of salt for every 5 gallons of water. Since their salt is phosphate-free this dilutes the phosphate in the mixed water a bit.

Questin · Apr 22, 2008

I have read up a little on the eggcrate, and it seems that the point was that if you get the cheap eggcrate, you could very well be helping out the algae in a tank. The cheap stuff was always a white eggcrate, and a lot of people that used black eggcrate never had a problem.

Hopkins · Apr 22, 2008

Marco Rock is known to leech phosphates.

coral88 · Apr 22, 2008

Questin said:
I have read up a little on the eggcrate, and it seems that the point was that if you get the cheap eggcrate, you could very well be helping out the algae in a tank. The cheap stuff was always a white eggcrate, and a lot of people that used black eggcrate never had a problem.

I have about six square feet of white egg crate in a 100g frag tank. Not only does it not grow algae. I can place a rock with hair algae on the egg crate and in a day or two the algae will start to turn yellow after a week or two it is no more. Iâ€™ve had it in several tanks and never had a problem.

But I would like to try the black egg crate where do you get it?

revhtree · Apr 22, 2008

No egg crate in the tank at the moment, and when it was there was no algae at all on the egg crate.

revhtree · Apr 22, 2008

I have a DI container but do not have it hooked up to the ro unit. Should I get some media for this and hook it up?

surfn · Apr 22, 2008

speaking of plastics. i've talked with a few people who do aquaculture type research, and they think its chemical plastisizers used to make the plastics which probably contain phosphates, and may leach them off the surface. they are in eggcrate, as well as PVC and PVC cement.