The bubble algae battle rages on!

[AmatuerAuer]

I have a 120g Display, a 40b frag tank connected via my 40g sump. Mixed reef with all coral and fish thriving.

A few months ago my bubble algae story began. Small piece here and there - I should have removed it and nipped this thing but then we wouldn't get to talk..

Today, the bubble algae is in lots of nooks and crannies. Some spots are easy to get to others are not. It started to over take zoas and even threaten some Acans.

Manual removal, nutrient export and limited feeding are all ways to attack the problem. With such a large presence "don't break the bubble" becomes all but impossible to remove this amount. So I went the other way, scrape, grab, pinch pluck and scrub everything. Then turn the powerheads up, try to flush as much into the filter socks and skimmer as I can and do a water change. This has been helping. I also have emerald crabs.


Has anyone successfully won the battle with bubble algae on a large scale? If so, how and how long did it take?

 

[brandon429]

yes we have parted tanks out plenty of times, and blasted the areas with peroxide and hand scraping removal. repeated as necessary, and killed it out that way. it takes that much dedication at this point, the virulent strains you mention

nasty invader. I wouldn't waste time with anything but a custom job based on full tank shot, so that you can access every area in the tank (hard work Saturday coming) all without a recycle. accessing it all for the removal without causing a cycle is key imo

the key trick is this

nothing we are adding or doing is attacking the valonia in the tank. its attacking bare surfaces after you hand cleaned all of it, all at once, every bubble, the worst job you'll ever look back on doing. hours. you work with a clean tank, not an invaded one that's the key. all inferior methods involve leaving it in the tank, attacking existing mass by doing something to the water. nope.

 

[Tautog]

I think your going about it the right way. I don't have an algae problem, but I had rock Anemonies, bad ones that would cover the tank. I did the same, only I took a knife to scrape everything off. So far, all is good a month later.
Just like I any garden, like weeds, when in doubt......cut it out!

 

[AmatuerAuer]

Thanks all. Brandon - I am slowly taking the live rock from the main display and putting it in the shallower 40b so I can meticulously pick the bubble algae off over time without impacting the coral.

The issue is, some of the pieces of LR in the DT are so large that removal entirely is not an option. Also because some of the SPS are encrusted on the LR so taking it out could kill them. I am willing to accept some bubble algae in discreet out of the way places. Just not massive patches threatening to take over.

I think the scorched earth strategy will work in the long run just wanted to see if someone had another idea!

 

[brandon429]

its a hard darn choice agreed. valonia is just such an adaptive invader its holding strong in the top 3 worst due to potential. not that every tank is bad with them, but potential. you should consider UV irradiation for your special circumstances. again not a remover, a heckuva preventer given your limitations. ideal in fact. zero change to your biosystem/coral health but provides a chance of at least valonia zaps as you are cleaning.

 

[Thales]

Break the bubbles. The idea that there are spores in them doesn't have support. Scrub them with a tooth brush and keep doing what you are doing. I find that fox face and rabbit fish eat them pretty readily, as do some urchins.

 

[brandon429]

I would agree. mithrax eating them via popping doesn't spread, it removes I believe they are fragmenting more than anything. at least its a water transition phase/intercept ability w uv.

neomeris annulata by comparison is opposite, substrate transfer/popup moreso just to highlight difference per invader.

 

[brandon429]

a really practiced botanist long ago on the threads linked me to a work I cannot find, says that vacuole has spores in it only at breeding intervals and not all the time, mainly its fluid and various inclusions and not always reproductive units.

 

[Myka]

Break the bubbles. The idea that there are spores in them doesn't have support. Scrub them with a tooth brush and keep doing what you are doing. I find that fox face and rabbit fish eat them pretty readily, as do some urchins.

Rich, could you please name some species because I haven't had any luck with these methods so far. Naso seem to be hit or miss, Emerald Crabs hit or miss, and I've yet to get a Foxface/Rabbitfish or urchin to eat it. I'm guessing a Long Spine Urchin would be the best possibility, but so far no dice.

 

[runzwithscissors]

I found a little trick that works for me. I took a 3/8 tubing and zip tied a (don't laugh) turkey lacer onto the end. I let the end of the metal extend about a quarter inch from the end of the tubing. When it was time for a water change I would pop the bubble while siphoning and pull the remainder off at the same time. I had to scrape with the end at times, but overall it was a fairly simple process. Worked well on both the smaller and larger bubbles.

 

[Tyreef2016]

Emerald crabs ate mine. EDIT: sorry didn't see you had some already, if it helps it's my bigger emerald crab that does the work.