How to get rid of bubble algae from LR?

[newreefer03]

I am redoing my 20 gal fish only tank and have taken the LR out but a couple of big pieces have bubble algae on them. I have gotten off as much of the bubble algae off as I can but I don't want to deal with bubble algae whe I setup again. How can I best treat the LR? I was thinking of soaking the rock in boiling water then dipping it in dilute bleach then rinsing/soaking the rock and setting it outside for 1 week. Is that enough or too much?

 

[Michael Mota]

Not only will you kill the bubble algae but everything else too.

 

[newreefer03]

Yeah, that was the idea. I just want to start fresh by going to base rock. My main tank has a bubble algae problem too and the emerald crabs aren't doing the job.

 

[~Flighty~]

Wouldn't it die if you just kept it in a dark sump for a while? I don't know if that would work, but it wouldn't kill lots of the nice critters.

 

[Michael Mota]

Yeah, that was the idea. I just want to start fresh by going to base rock. My main tank has a bubble algae problem too and the emerald crabs aren't doing the job.

What i do is i remove the bubble algae being careful to not burst the bubble when being removed. i also use silicone air line tubing so if i do break the bubble then i can suck the algae spores from the water column. just what i do and it works for me.

 

[eSoteric]

valonia - i belive this is the bubble algae your talking about. if so then emerald crabs love it! just grab 2 or 3 and in a few days time you should be good, i use 3 in my reef and i havent seen any in a long time!

 

[meemoo]

One or both of the two Emerald crabs I have has taken care of all the bubble algae I used to have. If you want to try PM me.

 

[delta]

IME emeralds dont seem to bother if the bubbles are too large. i would just remove each piece of LR and pluck the bubble algea one by one outside of hte tank. i have had 100% success rate this way the few times i had bubble algea pop up. definately get it before it gets a foot hold.

 

[scavdog]

Foxface rabbit fish will eat valonia. Mike Roby kept one for years.

It is not really a viable option for such a small reef, but if you were to displace the rock in a larger system for cleansing it may work for you.

Scientific Name: Siganus vulpinus

Other Scientific Name(s): Amphacanthus vulpinus, Teuthis vulpina, Teuthis vulpinus, Lo vulpinus, Teuthis tubulosa

Common Name: Foxface

Distribution:

Diet: They need aquarium algea and frozen herbavore diet, but also eat flake food and like brine shrimp as well, they are very rubust eaters and are not picky but do need their greens to stay healthy
Temperament: Can be kept with community or agressive fish, they are real easy going and other agressive fish don't seem to bother them because of thier poisonous spines

Sexing:

Breeding:

Special Care:

Other Comments: The Fox-Face Rabbbit Fish are amongst the most sturdy, disease-free animals the hobby can get; they are generally the last in the tank to die from any given cause.

 

[jovreef]

Emerald crabs definatly wont touch it if its to big, they only eat the tiny stuff. If you have big bubbles you can try to remove each one..like someone else said though...have an airline tubing ready for syphoning in case you pop one. You get "infestations" when one pops and the spores are released. You can also take a syringe and suck the insides out of the bubbles.

Foxface do love bubble algea, so do zebrasoma dejardinii (red sea sailfin tang)

 

[newreefer03]

I have several emerald crabs but they seem more interested in eating the coralline off the rock than the valonia. I have tried to pickoff the valonia but I always seem to pop a few and end up with spores and even more valonia. Since I am starting over with this tank I thought I might just make the rock base rock and then reseed it to become live rock but I wanted to make sure I don't get any left over spores. Thanks all.

 

[Kevin McG]

We have a foxface just for that as noted by Scavdog