Bubble Algae - Critter vs. Manual labor?

[DeliciousFishus]

So I've read Foxface and emerald crab both MIGHT eat bubble algae (depending on personality of the individual critter).

 

I just noticed 3 tiny bubbles of algae on one of my small live rock pieces. My tank isn't quite finished week 3 of it's cycle so I've got nothing in it right now... not even a clean up crew.

 

Should I just pull the rock and scrub it outside of the tank? Or should I purchase an emerald crab and use this "young" problem to ensure I'm lucky enough to have a critter that eats it? Meaning... because it's not throughout my tank yet and only on 1 rock.... I could quarantine that rock WITH a new crab and see if the bubble algae is still there the next morning. Then scrub rock and add both to the tank. OR..... should I attack this IMMEDIATELY to try and save endless headaches in the future? ( I mean.. it's only a golf ball sized pc of rock... I could even throw it out for all I care).... BUT... being a reefing noob part of me thinks I should use it as a learning experience instead of just throwing it out... HOWEVER.... I'd hate to regret it in the long run. I'm GUESSING that there's already spores in my tank and no matter what I do with this rock..... I'll have it pop up everywhere in the future.... I actually LIKE the bubble algae but I do realize that it can choke out corals and such so it's gotta go.

 

DF

[brandon429]

what a critical point you are at in nano reef keeping

 

 

the fork in the road, the decision point.

 

there is no right way, but hindsight is a heck of a filter and this is what 1000 lost algae tank keepers thought-

 

what if id acted early

 

 

you have this budding urge to do something, never squelch that

 

one man beat his bubble algae by doing nothing, so he posted to leave things alone and let nature take its course and install some known eaters.

 

 

another man found phosphate scrubbing to work, so he posted attacking nutrients will kill valonia

 

but another man/woman did both of these and lost many tanks, the algae grew not died, so many options, so many outcomes. seems like you cant win except for luck, but this isnt the case.

 

So in the peroxide threads we distilled algae control down to an action, not a chemical. Every lost tank keeper was at this fork in the road, and chose the common option, let it ride.

 

 

but if they could rewind, only retain their disdain at their tank loss, how decisive would they be on that valonia you have? Well, they'd take out the rock and not only remove all of them, forever, even if the tank is 10 yrs old, and they might also use things like cig lighters (fire) or peroxide or mg paste etc to burn whatever trace might be left. if the valonia came back, they dont sit there and watch it take over, they are scrubbing again. You actually cant find valonia in their tanks, even though they have a problem with it, because its always hand removed.

 

so nothing gets taken over

 

 

but their posts are about reducing actions, not what to do about valonia that has wrecked my tank.

 

 

The accurate poster says "im removing valonia too often and its boring...how do we get it to stay gone>"

the unlucky poster tried something, it failed, they took no repeat action, and their tank is wrecked and they are asking 1. how to remove 2. how to prevent

 

 

this is a very unique way of preventing algae wrecked tanks that has nothing to do with phosphate or nitrate, this is something worthy to consider.

 

If there is ever a time you can photograph a potential invader in your tank, expect to prob lose out.

 

if you are showing us a pic of a bare rock where X used to be, and we can't see it because you did something decisive to it, then you are on the exact right track

 

nutrient control, GFO, refugiums, scrubbers, are preventers they are not for removing present algae. your hands, and some fire or peroxide do that much better, separate the two options for ultimate algae control. I only typed this much junk to speak about your future invasions of bryopsis, cyano, dinos etc we all went through it, 20% made it out with their tanks still clean after a few years.

 

 

sorry I couldnt give a standard answer I was reminiscing too much and some second person narrative seemed better

[glennr1978]

I would just throw out the rock. It's not worth the risk IMO. I'm in the process of tearing down a 3 year old SPS tank because of bubble algae. I'm not sure where it started in my tank but once it took hold it would never release it's death grip. Ditch the source before it gets out of control.

[brandon429]

that counts 100% as decisive action. eco friendly, no, but Im guilty

 

 

sorry to admit, but in the course of forcing my reef to run vs hoping it would, about 20 lbs of lr is probably in my dump. Im telling ya, after about 5-8 years of losing tanks you'll just get plain mean when it comes to any invader, mean. OP please try to envision yourself as a dejected and slightly less forgiving reefkeeper 5 yrs from now. take action

[gena]

OMG...I love these responses.

 

OP...throw it out!

[phoenix91]

I agree, throw the rock out. My tank has bubble algae and i manage it by removing it but it doesn't cure the problem. I've started over recently to get rid of pests and such.

[BulkRate]

if you don't want it in the tank, don't leave it in there now. Unless the piece in question is practically the Hope Diamond of live rock chunks it's just not worth your time & effort - especially if you can nip this in the bud. Be prepared to make snap decisions like this often in this hobby.

 

I'd avoid adding livestock to deal with other unwanted livestock... both critters you're contemplating are perfectly happy to switch diets and go after some corals either out of hunger or "just because" and may not opt to even bother with the pest algae in the first place..

 

As for Brandon's examples - case and point: I had bubble algae start in my tank, & it disappeared following the addition of several macroalgae specimens and judicious use of a syringe/rigid airline contraption to remove the bubbles before they popped. But I'll bet if conditions become favorable it'll be back.

[glennr1978]

But I'll bet if conditions become favorable it'll be back.

 

That's the problem with bubble algae...conditions are ALWAYS favorable. You can have the cleanest water in the world and if it's in your tank, it ain't going away on it's own. In fact, it will still spread just as fast as any other algae would in dirty water.

[BulkRate]

On a 9-gallon single-specimen mandarin tank? Just about every form of algae grows explosively... heck, I rely on the rampant hair algae to keep nitrates in check!

 

But for some strange reason the bubble algae never grew back after manual removal of the first few bits four months ago. Must've gotten lucky and scraped off the holdfast (or nuked it when I peroxide treated the affected rock).

 

OP - the point I attempted to make was that had I stocked a mithrax crab to deal with the bubble algae, it'd be contemplating menu changes long since and perhaps selected my zoas, palys or caulastrea's as fair game.

[vegasgundog]

Get rid of it now. I do t have bubble algae, but my first coral frag had this cool macro algae I thought I liked. Turns out this stuff is called dictoya and is pure evil. Six months later, it is in every nook and cranny in huge thick matts. The hold fasts are incredible making manual removal nothing more than mowing the lawn. So my personal opinion from KILL IT NOW.