MasonHoff Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 (edited) So i have one of my three peices of live rock that have a few spots of bubble algae. what the best plan of action before i go in there and make it worse because i failed to plan? i also have had some purple twig looking growth on that same peice of live rock. what is it? and what do you recomend i do? take it out and scub it down? Just realized i spelled question wrong in the title! Edited April 28, 2011 by JamesL Fixed title :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Well! I've nevver evver messpelled anaything in any of my possts! The purple twiggy stuff is a pretty cool coraline algae if the rest of the tank inhabitants leave it alone. I've seen tanks over run with Valonia sp. bubble algae but I've never had what I'd consider a problem with it like I have had with Xenia, Green Star Polyp or Bubble Tip Anemonies. I'm sure you'll get feedback on other ways to deal with the Bubble algae but what I do is syphon it off when I do a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 the purple twig looking stuff could be Gelidium http://reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=81 What are your water parameters and CUC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 yeah i saw mr saltwater tv do a video on it! should i just take the rock out and get the algae off then, so that i dont risk popping them in my tank? and then rinsethe rock with fresh salt water? Well! I've nevver evver messpelled anaything in any of my possts! The purple twiggy stuff is a pretty cool coraline algae if the rest of the tank inhabitants leave it alone. I've seen tanks over run with Valonia sp. bubble algae but I've never had what I'd consider a problem with it like I have had with Xenia, Green Star Polyp or Bubble Tip Anemonies. I'm sure you'll get feedback on other ways to deal with the Bubble algae but what I do is syphon it off when I do a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 The one time I saw it my tank, it was on the rock of a coral I got, I pulled it out of the water, pulled all the bubbles off, and put it back in the water. Haven't seen any since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Some comes off easily and disappears forever. However, I once had a coral with some bubble algae on the base. I took the coral out and scrapped the area down to the skeleton, dipped/rinsed it, and it still came back. I must have done that about six times before it finally disappeared permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Manual removal of the bubble algae helps remove the bigger ones. Emerald crabs almost always eat the small ones and eradicate it totally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 any good sugesstions on what to do that will eradicate the Gelidium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 anybody think taking the rock and and putting a torch to the gelidium and bubble algae a bad idea? any good sugesstions on what to do that will eradicate the Gelidium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa1tx Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Not sure I would do that. If I was going to do something that extreme I would just take the rock out and leave it in the sun for a couple weeks. Doing that really does not fix what is causing the issue. What do your water parameters look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I am a little confushed as to why you would buy live rock and then try to kill the stuff on it. Given time without grazing, you will find many neat things on it. However, if you want a sterile look, then light it up with a toarch. Personally, I thought buble algae loooked cool. I have had it get excessive one time. Emerald Crabs did the trick to control it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 From your description the twiggy stuff could be Gelidium or a coraline algea. If it's brittle it's a coraline where Gelidium will be plyable. Either one I wouldn't worry about if it was my tank. The bubble algae if you want to pull out the rock and dip it be sure to get the holdfast or there's a good chance it will grow back like PBNJ said. In 23 years of saltwater I've never had what I'd consider a problem with Valonia in any of my tanks. The times I've seen tanks over run with it it's been a secondary problem triggered by some other catastrophe or just poor tank hygene. Right now the one tank I have some in it's only surviving where the urchins can't get to it and the Xenia isn't choking it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted April 29, 2011 Author Share Posted April 29, 2011 well my tank is 2months old! 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates dkh 10.5 calcium 550 phosphates 1250 mag. and im still dosing TLC every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Maloney Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 "gelidium" in the hobby doesnt really refer to a species or even the genus really, but to any branching creeping wiry red algae. (rather than a turf of creeping red algae). what will eat any particular "gelidium" will come down to the thickness of it usually, it isnt that they are inedible it is just that most cleaners dont have the cutting power to eat them. Larger turbos, urchins, emerald crabs and sea hares are likely to work, but it is a little hit or miss still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) after several days off research last month! i heard geliduim is almost unstoppable! and got hooked on a thread from last year on a different forum about fire blasting the gelidium. i thought no way ill do that! after no other good ways of eradication and a ton of research and my nerves settled i put a bic wind resistant lighter to the gelidium to barley singe it for a sec or two! and after a month of my hermits and emerald crab eating the dead twigs! i have 0 signs on gelidium and had no parameter swings in water AT ALL! this guy has been doing this for years on diffrent live rocks for years for all types of things (valonia, gelidium, aptisia) during research and SWEARS BY IT! so i tried it, cause i sure as heck wasn't letting it over run my tank! my rock is 100% purple and have had no areas of my rock that has even changed color! IM SOLD! I have pics to prove it if you guys wanna see the purple twig looking stuff could be Gelidium http://reefcleaners....id=54&Itemid=81 What are your water parameters and CUC? Edited May 26, 2011 by MasonHoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 after looking at the old pic i cant even belive it is %100 percent gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.