Can some one help ID..?

[Kona26]

it looks green in color....and its small bubbles of some sort. I will try and get some better pics

[James77]

Bubble algae?

[Kona26]

good or bad...I am having a hell of a time getting a better pic. :(

[Eashton123]

Bubble algae is bad remove without popping the bubbles.

[Aquarist007]

That is bubble algae. Each bubble carries hundreds of spores so you have to be careful when removing. If you can remove the rock do so and scrub/rinse.
If you can't remove the rock let them grow to the point where you can take tweezers and snip them off at the base.

[Kona26]

oooh...I'm on it. thank you ...!!!

[Aquarist007]

oooh...I'm on it. thank you ...!!!
Your welcome just take it slow

[Kona26]

another question on this...I can see very minimal on the rocks. How fast dose it grow..? also the rocks do have a lot of life on them...but no corals...should I take them out and kill every thing on them..? or just get a few emerald crabs to eat it..? I do not want this stuff to take over my tank...lol the most of what I see is in small holes in the rock...I cleaned as much as I could last night but am not sure if I got it all. Thank you for your suggestions.

[reepher315]

Id scrub it off if you dont want an epidemic. Crabs take a while to eat and reproduction of algae does not.

[Kona26]

Is there some kind of chemical I can treat the rock with..? as I am not sure if I am able to see it all...I would rather put the rock in a bin with something and kill it all...or is that not an option..?

[cloak]

Just remove as many as you can right before each water change. Don't worry about popping them. You could try an emerald crab if you want, but there's no guaranty that the crab will eat the bubble algae to begin with. It's basically hit & miss with these, and there have been reports of these crabs bothering corals such as zoanthids before.
As long as you keep at it from week to week, you should be able to beat them. GL.

[fishlife1]

If its just a little bit, I have had both blue legged hermit crabs and emerald crabs make quick work of it.

[Kona26]

Just so I am clear...and to make sure I gave all the info...(the rock it is on is 40lbs I got from a fellow reefer.) it dose have a lot of life and only been in my tank for about a week. I did not notice the bubble algae untill I put it in. but just so I know ... if I take it all out and put in fresh water or acid dip it will not kill it all...? or would be better just to leave the rock in the tank and work on it from there..? just ask because I just put the rock in the tank. sorry for all the questions.

[cloak]

An acid wash or a freshwater bath will definitely kill all of the life on/within the rock. I think you would be better off just working on the rock while it's in the tank. I'm not a big fan of emerald crabs, but try a few those before you do anything drastic with the rocks. GL.

[Kona26]

ok thank you...I really did / do not want to go that route...just do want my tank to get over run...I will get some emerald crabs and see if they work...other then that I will be manually removing. ---- another question...I export my water from my sump for water changes...would it be better to export from the tank it self to try and get as many spores and ditritus from the water.? I would assume so. just want to see if there is a difference.

[Kona26]

And again....thank you to all the posted on this thread...!! very helpfull in my course of action. Make sure to give your self a pat on the back :)

[reepher315]

If there are spores in the DT im sure they are in the sump too.

[Kona26]

even with the rock only being in the tank for a week..? dang..lol I am kicking my self right now for not just opting out and buying new rock from brs.

[shesacharmer]

I had a small amount of green bubble algae and a larger amount of red bubble algae though the red didn't seem to be growing much. I got one medium emerald crab and a small one spot foxface rabbitfish and they ate every stitch of bubble algae within a month. Your experience may differ.

[Mcgeezer]

Emerald crabs will munch bubble algae

[Aquarist007]

ok thank you...I really did / do not want to go that route...just do want my tank to get over run...I will get some emerald crabs and see if they work...other then that I will be manually removing. ---- another question...I export my water from my sump for water changes...would it be better to export from the tank it self to try and get as many spores and ditritus from the water.? I would assume so. just want to see if there is a difference.
No it's the same water column
Take the rock out pick the algae off rinse with tank water quickly put back in the tank. Your done without harming any organisms on the rock

[StuHoffman24]

http://www.saltwateraquariumlighting.com/bubble-algae/

Take a look and See if this helps Identifying at all. It's the closest think I could find. Let us know if it looks similar or different, and happy reefing.

[StuHoffman24]

I second Capn hylinur, also think about using a different beneficial Macroalgae to consume nutrition in the tank so it doesn't come back as fast. It's now seeded in your tank so reducing nitrates, and phosphates will impede its growth. Cheato in a sump or fuge, or in the back of the tank where its still easily clipped but not seen, could be a great start.

May your tank walls always be clean.

[Kona26]

So I spent most of the day cleaning all the bubble algae off the rock. There was n't much on it but I found the most I could. I also blasted my rocks to help with the algae. I will keep updated on how this pans out. wish me luck:fun4:

[Aquarist007]

So I spent most of the day cleaning all the bubble algae off the rock. There was n't much on it but I found the most I could. I also blasted my rocks to help with the algae. I will keep updated on how this pans out. wish me luck:fun4:

Good luck. Your tank looks free of algae