Bubble Algae

[At Sea]

I just started getting bubble algae. Can anyone tell me why this is happening? What is it caused by and how to I get rid of it? How can I prevent it? my parm. are .. sp 1.023/ dkh 8 ph 8.4
temp 78


Thanks

[Avi]

The spores can come into the tank in any number of ways from the addition of a fish or invert....the smallest amount of water from any other tank....the addition of live rock, or the spore of the bubble algae that was already in the tank reaching a place where it can get the light it needs to mature and then spread. I have often found bubble algae on the rock base of various kinds of coral I bought for my reef. I remove the bubbles before I put the coral in the tank, or if I missed a bubble I remove it as soon as I see it.

If you do a search in the forums in RC, there are many discussions about bubble algae. I've seen it said that Emerald Crabs will eat it but I haven't seen that happen when I had Emerald Crabs, though I never had a serious problem with bubble algae.

You should remove it from your reef, being careful not to puncture or otherwise deflate the "bubbles" when in the tank. Use some kind of narrow, flat object to pry the bubbles out of their place....I've used a collar stay, which I found to be perfect for this. Once the bubble is free of its seating, romove it.

Bubble algae requires nutrients so keep your nitrates and phosphates down to the minimum you can. You don't mention much about your reef so if you don't already have one, get the very best protein skimmer you can afford. If necessary, start using RO/DI water and do water changes on a regular basis. But the biggest thing in your arsenal, right now, is to remove them manually from the reef.

[Chrisgriffith25]

I know they're controversial, but I picked up a emerald crab and he desimated my bubble algae problem in a week and has been a model citzen ever since.