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i need suggestions on how to RID my system of this bubble algae !! it is really getting seriously OUT OF CONTROL here. i know that Emerald Crabs are good at helping to prevent it, but what have you guys heard about a serious outbreak ??
i am about ready to just empty all of the rock out of my tank and REPLACE it with stuff from the sump while i blow torch every square inch of the rock in the DT.
__________________ Bobby
"I glue animals to rocks" 125 gallon SPS reef, 3 x 40 breeder frag system.
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Well you could try to only use ambient light in the DT for a few days. If you did that, I'd do a water change (limit nutrients) and prune the macro (encourages growth) first. Then I'd plan on doing a water change afterwards using a small diameter tube as a siphon to get as much out as possible.
You might also want to get some caulerpa. I think it grows faster than cheato and might out-compete the BA for nutrients.
Of course, what do I know, every time I think I've beaten the HA in my 54 it comes back.
Let me know if you want some caulerpa. This time of the year I could mail it to you easily. I let it set in a soft cooler in my living room for 3 days just to see how it did and it looked the same then as when I took it out of my fuge.
The only thing you have to keep in mind when using mithrax or emerald crabs, is that when they eat the bubbles, they pop them in the process. Doing exactly what you don't want to do!!!!
I would replace your GFO if its over a month old and get some fresh stuff in there. Also, it seems that when you moved your rocks you probably did one of two things: popped a couple of them in the process or you might of had some accumulated organics in your rockwork and released them into the water column free to be eaten by those round little eyesores.
Manual removal, fresh GFO (do you have a reactor for it?), adding more macro algaes to use up the excess organics, cutting back your photperiod by a couple of hours, or as Carmie suggested for 2-3 days, and then a massive (10-25%) water change followed by smaller, weekly water changes. Attack it from as many angles as possible and it should start to recede.
you might want to replace your gfo every 2 weeks, as it might be getting saturated before that. Switch to Phosar HC. Also, reduce nitrates by adding caulpera and maybe trying some AZ-NO3. Manual remove until contained a bit, then you can place some epoxy puddy on the remaining SMALL patches when they crop up. Worked for me.
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