Bubble question

[Piro]

I think this may be a water quality issue. Yesterday, I notices little bubbles all over my rocks, I planned to siphon them out when I do a water change later today. But, this morning they are gone. Any ideas what is causing these bubbles to form and disappear?

 

Recently, I've had a bristle worm and pod population decrease, so some detritus is building up on the rocks. could this be a factor?

[The Propagator]

Brown slime algae and cyano bacteria is starting to form more then likely.

[SPS20]

Are they just bubbles, no film, or bubbles encased in a film?

 

Microbubbles can be very annoying to track down the cause of.

 

Common causes:

- your skimmer

- return pump was sucking air

- poorly sealed fittings in the plumbing (can create a venturi under pressure)

- cyanobacteria, as prop mentioned

- inadequately sized or baffled sump

 

The fact that you mentioned that you had some detritus buildup leads me to believe prop might be right, and they indicate that cyano has just begun to grow. Siphon off the detritus, do a water change, and keep an eye on it. You might want to increase water flow, as well. That tends to discourage detritus from accumulating, and thus help discourage cyano from taking hold.

[Piro]

thanks, I'll scrub the rocks when I do the water change monday and see if it solves the problem. But, the bubbles didn't return, they only showed up that one day...