SouthReef -- Bye bye Red Planet!

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

November 2014 FTS by J.L Photography, on Flickr

[hey]

that frogspawn is downright obscene

 

also where is the copious amounts of bubble algae, I was expecting it to dawrf the frogspawn the way you described your issues with it.

[mpsti05]

DAT FROGY!!! Looks great bro! Hopefully my new tank will start to color up soon

[ninjamyst]

i can totally see that frogspawn walking out of the tank at night and smacking you in your sleep for not feeding it...

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Hehe, pretty soon, ill be having to add another layer of disks to the base to help support the weight... its getting top heavy.

 

& if I got any closer, everyone would scream from the horror of bubbles, thats why its a far shot

Im undecided on:

A complete cleanup and refresh (start fresh, zero stock)

removal of single main bubble rock

leave as is

 

the problem is that there is one gigantic patch, then touches of one or two random bubbles here and there....

[brad908]

Check this one out I saw today at California Academy of Sciences

http://s3.photobucket.com/user/ObeyHK/media/6861BF0D-4FCF-4993-81BA-0AC474156653_zpstudj7apg.jpg.html'>

[xiaoxiy]

Check this one out I saw today at California Academy of Sciences

Gosh. How big is that?

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

So what would be the proper way to reboot an entire reef system?

 

Decalcify and everything...

[jedimasterben]

Drain it, throw away all rock and sand OR do a bleach soak for the rock and sand (separately), then soak the rock in a muriatic acid solution, and take the sand out of the bleach and leave it out to dry, the bleach will evaporate off.

 

Take the tank and fill with an acid solution, scrubbing everything. Do the same with all equipment.

 

Then refill with either new live rock and sand or replace with the old stuff, seeded with good quality fresh live rock, and you're done.

 

 

 

 

Now, why do you ask?

[1.0reef]

Gosh. How big is that?

Last month I went there it took up most of the tank, which I think is a 20+ inch cube.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Drain it, throw away all rock and sand OR do a bleach soak for the rock and sand (separately), then soak the rock in a muriatic acid solution, and take the sand out of the bleach and leave it out to dry, the bleach will evaporate off.

 

Take the tank and fill with an acid solution, scrubbing everything. Do the same with all equipment.

 

Then refill with either new live rock and sand or replace with the old stuff, seeded with good quality fresh live rock, and you're done.

 

 

 

 

Now, why do you ask?

Bubble algae has made itself stubbornly planted within several rocks. Keeps coming back. Thinking of keeping minimal frags at the store while i start over. Sometime after the new year.

[Cameron6796]

get rid of that frogspawn and ill smack u

[jedimasterben]

Bubble algae has made itself stubbornly planted within several rocks. Keeps coming back. Thinking of keeping minimal frags at the store while i start over. Sometime after the new year.

I wouldn't bother a reboot with bubble algae. Remember that it can grow on coral skeletons just as well as it can on/in rocks, so bringing your corals back in will just pull it back in.

 

Bubble algae really isn't that difficult. Manually remove as much as possible while dosing a bit of hydrogen peroxide after each removal (as it will release spores into the tank, the peroxide will help kill those). Get a small rabbitfish (liveaquaria has them all the time) and it will help biologically control what it can get to.

 

Spot treat with hydrogen peroxide. Don't be afraid of seemingly high doses, the only thing you'd need to worry about would be hosting anemones or Lysmata shrimp, those do not tolerate hydrogen peroxide. Use a small pipette (amazon sells 100x 3mL pipettes for like $3) and apply around 1-2mL per clump, making sure to release the peroxide very slowly and steadily, and try and release it underneath the algae so it has higher contact time. Within 48 hours the bubble algae it was applied to will turn clear and then be harmless. Rabbitfish seem to love the clear better than the green.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

QUESTION:

 

to start saving as many zoas as possible from the bubble algae, Im taking the zoas on the old plugs from the colonies and will be putting them into my daughters 4g.

 

If there are no bubbles on the plug, should i still take care to rinse with RO water or another method to ensure there are no spores that will cause an outbreak in that tank aswell

 

or

 

 

should i avoid this all together??

[Reefkid88]

I'd just peroxide dip the plugs for a few seconds (20-30) seconds,and if there is any zoa/paly's maybe dip them for 15-20 seconds before transferring them over to your daughters tank. I'm not 110% sure about the estimated times I just say,I've never had to treat my bubble algae,but I'm sure someone will chime in.

[GTi]

QUESTION:

 

to start saving as many zoas as possible from the bubble algae, Im taking the zoas on the old plugs from the colonies and will be putting them into my daughters 4g.

 

If there are no bubbles on the plug, should i still take care to rinse with RO water or another method to ensure there are no spores that will cause an outbreak in that tank aswell

 

or

 

 

should i avoid this all together??

I tried a fresh start and still managed to get plenty of (harmless) flatworms. I did avoid aiptaisia and vermetid worms thankfully.

 

I'm sure you want to keep some of your corals or at least frags of them - if you want to be really safe, you need to set up a QT so you don't spread any issues to your daughter's tank. Peroxide dip then QT for a good few weeks.

 

Is it worth trying some GFO or similar to try to get the bubble algae to waste away? Maybe that plus the peroxide Ben mentioned and some manual removal? Bit of a pain but not as much as a reboot, unless you're bored!

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

So the peroxide is mixed with water or just drop the rock with the zoas on there right into a bowl of peroxide?

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Yay... a new FTS.... puke..... the algae isn't obvious....

 

 

 

https://flic.kr/p/qgF4Y2'>https://flic.kr/p/qgF4Y2'>Screenshot_2014-12-01-16-48-30 by https://www.flickr.com/people/66620096@N02/'>J.L Photography, on Flickr

[Cameron6796]

Looking good that price on the back just won't stop encrusting. Wait is that sarcasm about the algae or am I blind

[aviator300]

I love Macanudo's... so consistent, smooth, delish... If I'm feeling more robust, I'll reach for a Cohiba... A little more umph after a nice steak and glass of wine...

Don Pepin Garcia and his son Jamie make the best cigars this side of Cuba in their Nicaragua factory.

http://www.myfathercigars.com/

[metrokat]

Hi Tron, tank looks good, that Euphy is amazeballs.

 

Thanks for the tip about using tulle for the screen top. My CAD arrived and I used their included clips to hold the screen that I made with black tulle. It's fabulous. I had a question though. The clips enable the screen to be flush with the rim, it's a great fit. But removing it requires inserting a little spatula to raise it. Any suggestions for an easier removal?

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

LOL, I've become proficient at snagging the lip of the framing and lifting it out, with your KAT like nails, should be a breeze

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Sooooo.... still getting tons of random green algae blotching around the tank, not quite sure but thinking its somehow related to the cheato, as it dies, then regrows, bunches up, then dies again, then one strand regrows into a ball....

 

Time to finally toss the CAD biopellet reactor in its place???

 

 

hmmm...

 

[hey]

meh, i have bubble algae here and there along with various other types. I look at them as symptoms of a newer tank. I figure once enough diversity is introduced an apex algae won't be able to outcompete all the other types of macros and other phosphate sucking stuff in the tank. Hopefully it works but right now it doesn't seem like it is getting any worse.

 

I don't have experience with bp reactors but vodka dose pretty regularly and overskim. Let us know if it has a positive effect giving it a try.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Im so up and down on it... Im not sure why I'm getting this random green algae, and i think its feeding on n03 and p04 (why it shows minimal on test kits)

 

the bubble algae i know came on a frag and exploded in the tank, i have no clue how to rid my tank of it, I've tried removing rocks and picking them off but they come back...