Bubble Algae on pumps -- Straight hydrogen peroxide dip?

[Rakie]

Just wondering here. I had bubble algae slowly take over due to my carelessness. My pumps are getting scrubbed clean every few days -- But it keeps growing back. Quickly.

Decided to put my pumps in a cup of straight 3% hydrogen peroxide to see if it'll kill off / melt any remnants of Bubble Algae on the case of the pump. My goal is to keep growth at bay, or at least slow it down dramatically...

I'm doing 20 minute dips with a scrub in RODI at the 10 minute mark.

Any thoughts here?

 

[mcarroll]

Dunno if you have a micron filter or UV filter you can put on duty, but either should help with the spreading while your tank recovers.

Propagules and protoplasts, man.

Either this is a new tank or something must have put a wallop on your microbial population. Do you know what happened?

 

[Rakie]

Introduced bubble algae, cleaned it all off (I thought) missed some and it slowly took over no matter how much manual removal I had done. I'm replacing my rock soon anyways, I just want to make sure there's nothing left on the powerheads when the new rock is in.

 

[mcarroll]

Introduced bubble algae, cleaned it all off (I thought) missed some and it slowly took over no matter how much manual removal I had done. I'm replacing my rock soon anyways, I just want to make sure there's nothing left on the powerheads when the new rock is in.

It's not the on-the-rock part you need to worry about. It's built like bryopsis in that it can spread by protoplasts – it's in the water.

The fact that this algae is popping up indicates that the area was ripe for settlement – which means that it wasn't already occupied by something else – which usually implies either a new tank or large disturbance to an older tank. mature, healthy tanks would have almost all surfaces populated with a living layer of microbes, including competitors and predators to the protoplasts.

If this algae is a problem, then putting up a UV or micron filter should keep the numbers of viable protoplasts in the water way down while you and the CUC deal with what's already grown...

2¢

 

[Rakie]

It's built like bryopsis in that it can spread by protoplasts – it's in the water.

I thought that was disproved awhile ago

 

[laverda]

Rinsing with RO/DI is not going to do anything. Scrub you pumps or rock then rinse with hydrogen peroxide. You can also add a little hp to the tank.

 

[Rakie]

Rinsing with RO/DI is not going to do anything. Scrub you pumps or rock then rinse with hydrogen peroxide. You can also add a little hp to the tank.

I said a 20 minute dip in hydrogen peroxide, intense scrubbing, THEN a rinse in RO/DI -- just for the pump. The rock is getting tossed in a few weeks.

 

[mcarroll]

I thought that was disproved awhile ago

Why did you think that?

 

[Rakie]

Why did you think that?

I wasn't reading carefully and thought I saw "spores"

 

[mcarroll]

I wasn't reading carefully and thought I saw "spores"

Almost the same thing to us laymen. Do you remember what you heard about that was disproved?

In case there's any remaining doubt....(since I already wrote this)

They're all chlorophytes....aka green algae.

Valonia

A Valonia species cultivated in an aquarium
Scientific classification
(unranked): Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Cladophorales
Family: Valoniaceae
Genus: Valonia
C.Agardh

Bryopsis

Bryopsis in a reef aquarium
Scientific classification
(unranked): Viridiplantae
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Ulvophyceae
Order: Bryopsidales
Family: Bryopsidaceae
Genus: Bryopsis
J.V. Lamouroux, 1809
Species[1]
See text

From the page on Chlorophyta:

All members of the clade have motile flagellated swimming cells.[10]

And survivable protoplasts (eg. those released via cell damage) are not unique to bryopsis, or even to algae, I've found. Even Chaeto, another Chlorophyte, can do it, only they don't grow into normal mature plants directly, they go through a "swarmer" stage first.

Check out:
Cytochemical and ultrastructural studies on protoplast formation from disintegrated cells of the marine alga Chaetomorpha aerea (Chlorophyta)
...and...
Development of the protoplasts induced from wound-response in fifteen marine green algae.)

 

[mfinn]

Just wondering here. I had bubble algae slowly take over due to my carelessness. My pumps are getting scrubbed clean every few days -- But it keeps growing back. Quickly.

Decided to put my pumps in a cup of straight 3% hydrogen peroxide to see if it'll kill off / melt any remnants of Bubble Algae on the case of the pump. My goal is to keep growth at bay, or at least slow it down dramatically...

I'm doing 20 minute dips with a scrub in RODI at the 10 minute mark.

Any thoughts here?

I would use bleach.

 

[SaracensRugby]

I have similar issue: set up a bigger, new tank and used rock from old tank (had small amounts of bubble algae) and "new" cycled rock. The new rock is growing more bubble algae than I want. I will be getting my first fox face here soon to help with this. I would go emerald crab but caught one picking at SPS in my old tank, so I will try the fox face. Good luck.

 

[ThunderGoose]

I would use bleach.

Bleach can potentially damage equipment. I soak my equipment in vinegar but I bet hydrogen peroxide works on algae.

 

[drawman]

Have you tried Vibrant? Works great for bubble algae but takes a couple of months.

 

[mfinn]

Bleach can potentially damage equipment. I soak my equipment in vinegar but I bet hydrogen peroxide works on algae.

I've been using bleach on various pumps to remove organic matter for decades and have seen zero harm.
I have a pair of Tunze 6055's that have been through a few bleach soaks in the 9 years I've had them.
Still running strong.