Red Bubble Algae is Taking Over

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FlaTidBit

Member
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
14
Location
Florida
HELP! Does anyone have a clue as to what eats or destroys RED bubble algae? My emerald crab handled the green but ignores the red-stuff. It is taking over my tank and would like to get it under control before it actually does. Thanks!
 
Can you post a picture of it? I would like to see it better. I'm just curioius about IDing it. It may be a Botryocladia sp.
 
I've already identified it as Botryocladia skottsbergii. And for my tank...

It's a 15-month old 30-gallon tank with 2-inches of crushed coral/shell substrate sitting on an air-powered undergravel filter (I know, I know... I'm getting rid of it ), an Emperor 400 (minus the bio-wheels), and 20+/- pounds of live rock. Lighting is one 96-watt 10K and one 96-watt blue actinic. In it I have a pair of true percula clowns, a long nose hawk, a red scooter blenny, lots of hermits, and a few snails.

I also have a 5-gallon slow-flow refugium that is filled with a 4-5 inch DSB, several red mangroves, several different types of macroalgaes, hermit crabs, snails, worms, asterina stars, amphipods, copepods, and probably many other things I'm not able to see.

SG is 1.023. My ammonia and nitrites are zero, pH is 8.2, nitrates are down to 5 (thanks to the wonderful advice I found here), and my calcium is 420. All test kits are Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.

I do bi-monthy water changes of about 33% while vacuuming the gravel and live rock.
 
I really think manual removal is going to be the way to go. When you perform your water changes, try and siphon out as much as you can.
 
i just read a forum that turning your lights off for three days does the trick. i'm gonna try when i get home. plan is on the first day let my pc actinics turn on. second day no lights. third day pc actinics. fourth day halides.
im going to leave my refugium lights on still, 12 hrs on 12 hrs off. reverse cycle style
 
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Thanks Apollo... I'll give that a try starting today and I'll post my results to let you know how sucessful it was for me.
 
my pvc piping to my chiller started leaking, had to go to lowes and didnt go to bed till 230am will try lighting schedule tonight, good luck
 
There was some shrinkage with the lights out for 3 days. I'll do it again in a week to see if it'll work more. Also, I already use RO/DI water in both my tanks.
 
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