Air bubbles in my tank

[PIOTR]

Hi everyone. Have a qestion regarding bubbles in my tank.It is 75 G rr tank that recently was overgrowing with nasty algae.Nothing was growing in the tank besides algae.My tank had one of two 175 MH bulbs out for like 5 weeks. I invested $ in new lights last week. Now I have two 250 MH over the tank and it looks like algae slowly dies but my whole tank is covered with many air bubbles.Is that light to strong?Please help.

 

[tangmaniac]

it's probably buble algea , check your phrostates .

 

[JonnyJ]

when you say that your tank is covered in air bubbles you need to be more specific. Do you have any pictures? is your return pump in your sump pumping bubbles back in the tank?

Are they free floating bubbles that move?
or
stationary bubbles that are attached to a rock?

 

[dacaptain78]

Sounds like it could be cyanobacteria, which can be caused by a number of sources. Check out this thread:

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/69344-getting-know-cyano.html

 

[jaa1456]

Pictures would help a ton, It may have nothing to do with the lights.

 

[OGGISPORTS]

pic s

 

[PIOTR]

There are no bubbles pumped in from a return pump. There are some bubbles from skimer return but I had that for ever. Will get you some pics.

 

[PIOTR]

four pics

 

[2slo4me]

ooooo man .... Good Luck!!!

 

[Awibrandy]

Green Bubble Algae



If you haven't had to deal with the algae we're about to discuss consider yourself lucky. Green Bubble Algae usually comes in on the live rock and it can be difficult to keep your saltwater aquarium setup free of it once established. There are several different varieties that you might get but they are supposed to all have similar needs and requirements for their growth. So we'll treat them the same for the purposes of this intro article on bubble algae.
Bubble Algae Varieties
Valonia macrophysa - smaller clustered elongated bubbles
Boergesenia - clustered, though less dense in numbers and elongated bubble shapes
Ventricaria ventricosa - can get quite large (around and inch) and grows in clusters and in singles</I>
Dictosphaeria ocellata - usually smaller grouping slimey looking bubbles, can be a lighter shade of green</I>
Dictosphaeria cavernosa - encrusting like growth forms with pitted looking bubbles


Some think this bubble algae looks unsightly and if left unchecked it may make your tank look a little odd. The other problem is that they can overgrow neighboring corals in your reef tank setup and you don't want that right?
The variety we've seen the most crop up in our tanks is the Ventricaria ventricosa and is the one pictured on this page. It came in on a piece of live rock as a single tiny bubble. Over several months that single bubble turned into several smaller bubbles. It didn't look too bad so we let it be. Fast forward a couple of weeks and we now had rock covered in these bubbles that were getting larger. A couple even looked deflated which is an indication that they have released thousands of tiny spores into the tank so that more bubble algae can get a foot hold and grow. Time to do something.

Some pictures ...
​

Tank Water Conditions
Supposedly this algae, like most others, needs nitrates to grow. Phosphates may play a role too along with a mix of others. Keeping these levels as low as possible means that algae in general should have a hard time growing. We usually run our tanks with 0 nitrates and undetectable levels of phosphates (using a phosban reactor) according to our salifert aquarium test kits. Partial water changes with reverse osmosis water are performed weekly. We also run an attached refugium that is used to grow the macro algae chaetomorpha so this bubble algae shouldn't be growing as fast as it is! But, sigh, it does.
Getting Rid of Bubble Algae
So what do you do when see this stuff in your tank? You have a few options:

• Make sure your water parameters are in line, i.e. 0 nitrates and very low levels of phosphates. Run a protein skimmer if you're not already and keep up with those regular partial water changes.
• Manual Removal - very carefully grab the bubble algae towards the base and use a gentle pulling and twisting motion to free it from the rock without breaking the bubble. Ventricaria ventricosa feels like large rubber marbles and they can burst thereby releasing thousands of new bubble algae cells into your tank. If they've already burst remove the bubble sack anyway. Don't let them get too big or you run the risk of them releasing the spores before you can remove them. Keep the upper hand here.
• The Emerald Crab is reported to eat bubble algae, which variety we don't know. They didn't touch Ventricaria ventricosa it in our tanks. Perhaps it's not the first thing they are interested in consuming. If there is plenty of other stuff in the tank for them to eat you are out of luck.
• Rabbitfish and some Tangs may eat them. I've noticed our Yellow Tang nibbling at the deflated bubble sacs but not going after the growing bubbles.
• Some species of sea urchins (Diadema) may eat bubble algae. They may wreak havoc on your rock work and coralline algae too though.

Those are some of the ways to help deal with this algae. The bad news is that once you get it in your tank you may have a regular battle keeping it at bay. We've resorted to removing it anytime we see it starting to crop up. I don't want to remove the rock (as some suggest) and starting over. That would be more of a pain than just simply removing the bubbles by hand.
​

Aquarium Algae Control

So you have had your aquarium set up for some time now and you notice algae growing on the glass, rocks and ornaments in the tank. Why is this happening and what are some of the methods we can use to control algae growth in the aquarium?​

First, algae is not necessarily a bad thing. Algae grows very easily when give the right conditions and some day we all may be singing the praises of algae. There is research going on even as you read this article for using algae as an alternative energy source. Cool stuff indeed. But an abundance of algae growth in the aquarium usually means that something is out of whack. Overstocking, not performing enough partial water changes, overfeeding or feeding improperly, not changing out filter cartridges and not using pure water are usually the prime suspects.
Once it starts to overgrow plants, corals and decorations it does make the tank look dirty and can distract from the beauty of your aquarium. Let's talk about the things algae needs to grow and how to eliminate or reduce these things so we are not constantly scrubbing the tank walls and having to clean the tank instead of viewing our fish, plants and inverts! You can use the info in this algae control article for both freshwater aquarium setups and saltwater aquarium setups.
Phosphate
Get a Phosphate Test Kit

. This might be considered one of the most important nutrients for many kinds of algae growth. Phosphate (PO4) can enter the aquarium from tap water, fish food and supplements. One of the first things you should look at is how much you are feeding the tank. Are you overfeeding? Only give your fish as much food as they will eat in a minute or two. Are you defrosting and draining the juice from the frozen foods you use? These juices could be loaded with phosphates. Are you using food that are low in phosphates? Test them to see for yourself. At minimum, use a bowl to feed frozen foods and tilt the bowl at an angle so the juices drain to the low side and then spoon feed the chunks to the fish. Dispose of the frozen fish food juices down the drain.
Activated carbon should be mentioned here too. Some brands have been reported to leach phosphates into the tank. Place a few pieces of activated carbon and pure water into a test vial, wait about 20 minutes to an hour and then test the water for phosphates. If that brand of carbon leaches phosphates try a different brand. Replace activated carbon on a regular basis, like every couple of weeks or so.
Are you using pure water for your aquarium? Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Deionization (DI) units can work wonders on algae problems, including reducing the amount of phosphate that enters the aquarium. Many consider RO and RO/DI units to be too expensive to be practical. But if you have several tanks or one large one or a reef tank setup one of these water purification devices are wonderful additions. You can even use RO water for drinking water and some actually prefer the taste of RO water over tap water. Ideally, you want PO4 to be undetectable with standard test kits.
Nitrate
Get a Nitrate Test Kit

. Nitrate (NO3) is something else that algae utilizes for growth. Nitrate accumulates over time in the aquarium. It's also used as a rough indicator of dissolved organics. To keep your nitrate levels in check:

• make sure your tank is not overstocked
• use purified water (RO or RO/DI) for water changes and top-offs
• stay on top of gravel and sand vacuuming (unless you have a deep sand bed)
• performing regularly scheduled partial water changes with pure water. Just performing water changes could be pointless if your tap water is loaded with nitrates. Test everything.
• in saltwater tanks you can try adding more high quality live rock (the more porous, the better)
• using macro algae (saltwater tanks) or live plants in freshwater aquariums. These will compete with algae for nitrates.
• saltwater tridacnid clams can process nitrates
• change out or rinse mechanical filter cartridges as often as possible. As the trapped particles break down in the filter they contribute to the bio load on the tank and provide food for algae.

Carbon Dioxide
Limiting carbon dioxide (CO2) can help too. If you have a heavily planted tank, obviously, limiting CO2 isn't all that desirable. But in fish only freshwater and saltwater tanks you can increase the surface agitation while keeping the tank under stocked and dissolved oxygen levels should stay near saturation. Most of the time the flow rate in our tanks is inadequate, especially in saltwater tanks. Use common sense here. The goal here is to keep particles in suspension so they get picked up by the mechanical filter or protein skimmer, rather than breaking down inside the tank. If your power heads are preventing the fish from swimming properly or if there is a constant sand storm in your tank, you may have too much flow.

Silicates
Get a Silicate Test Kit

. Do you have a brown dusting on the glass every couple of days? Most like these are diatoms that can be the result of silicates in tap water. They (supposedly) can also be leached from silicate based sand. Some authors claim that RO and RO/DI units are only effective for a short period of time at removing silicates from source water. What to do? There are products that have decent reputations on the market for silicate removal. Rowaphos

and PhosBan

are two that come to mind. As you might have guessed from the name of these products they also remove phosphates. You can purchase an inexpensive reactor for using this type of filtration called the PhosBan Reactor

. It hangs on the back of the tank or in the sump. If you think you have a silicate problem one of these devices may be worth looking into.
More things to do...
Get a protein skimmer
For saltwater tanks a protein skimmer can be crucial to keeping algae growth at bay. Skimmers are loved by hobbyists because they completely remove dissolved organics and other proteins from the system via the collection cup. These are great tools for nutrient export. Once these items are removed they are no longer a source for algae growth. Keep your skimmer cleaned and maintain it regularly for best results. And don't try to skimp on the skimmer. You usually get what you pay for.
Clean that power filter
Hang on power filters and canister filters can do a fantastic job keeping your tank water appear clean and polished. But if you don't routinely clean out and rinse your aquarium filter media you are just providing foods for the algae to grow out of control. As the trapped particles in the mechanical filter mineralize (i.e. breakdown, decompose) they are providing energy sources for the algae. If you don't clean out your filter on a regular basis it could become a nitrate factory.
Vacuum the substrate and perform partial water changes
One of the coolest and useful aquarium products is the python aquarium vacuum

. This piece of equipment hooks up to a faucet and lets you easily vacuum the tank with the waste water going down the drain instead of having to lug buckets around. To refill freshwater tanks you can reverse the flow and add fresh water back into the tank. Add the proper amount of dechlorinator into the clean water flow as it goes back into the tank. This is assuming that your tap water is good to go as far as nitrates and phosphates are concerned.
Saltwater keepers can use this tool too even though you should be using premade saltwater for water changes. For saltwater aquariums you will only be able to use the tank water removal part on this type of vacuum. You will still have to use that 5 gallon bucket or whatever you use to pre-mix the saltwater.
Scrub down the glass and then do a water change right afterwards. Vacuum the gravel or top layers of the sand to remove any detritus. If you have a saltwater tank and you have a bubble algae problem, now is a good time to carefully pull them from the rock work. Create a set schedule, say once a week and then stick to it. You really will enjoy your tank much more when it looks clean. The day after a water change and tank cleaning is a great time to take pictures too.
Get a refugium
A refugium can be a great place to keep competing macro algae or plants. Although primarily saltwater hobbyists utilize refugiums there really is no reason why freshwater hobbyists couldn't use a refugium setup as well. You can go cheap here too. Form a simple aquaclear hang on power filter, to a bucket, to a plastic tote, all make decent refugiums as long as you can easily hook them up to your display tank. Saltwater aquarium keepers often use fast growing chaetomorpha in the refugium to help compete against algae growing in the main tank. Once the chaeto reaches a large size you can prune some of it thereby exporting nutrients from the system. Freshwater aquarium keepers could use fast growing plants to provide a similar service. The plants and macro algae will compete with any algae trying to grow in the main tank and make it harder for algae to grow.
Replace your aging lights
Has it been awhile since you've replaced your flourescents or metal halide aquarium lighting? As bulbs age they can emit a very different color temperature, frequently emitting light in the spectrum that many species of algae favor. Replace your bulbs every year or so can be a good guideline or even better, follow the manufacturer's recommended replacement schedule.
Ultraviolet (UV) Sterilizer
Some use a sterilizer to fight disease outbreaks in the their tanks but they are better at destroying algae. There are hang on the tank models that are really easy to install too. Get a powerhead for pumping water into and through the unit and that's it, you're in the business of uv sterilization. Sounds far out doesn't it? Pond keepers may be familiar with the pond UV Sterilizers. These sterilizers are on the expensive side but if you have really expensive fish or corals in your tank they may be worth researching. Also, like all aquarium products, some are better than others. More info on aquarium uv sterilizer.
Aquarium Blackout
Hobbyists will sometimes run their tanks with no lights for several days to combat algae problems. This is sometimes referred to as a tank blackout. Obviously, if you have photosynthetic plants, corals or inverts (clams) you don't want to try this. Cyanobacteria, often called red slime algae, is a problem often found in marine tanks. This stuff is a mess and can cause many a headache. Hobbyists will try anything to get rid of this unsightly bacteria that can quickly cover large parts of the tank. Doing a partial water change and vacuuming out as much of the cyanobacteria as possible and then doing a tank blackout for several days may work. But why did the red slime algae take hold in the first place? Lack of flow, no protein skimmer, overfeeding, overstocked tank, etc. are the usual culprits. Fix these and then see if the problem clears up before performing a tank blackout.
Algaecides, supplements and other products
There are many different products available that will make quick work of ridding the tank of algae. These are usually just short term fixes though. If you don't fix the original problem you will be spending a lot of money on these products. Use them with extreme caution, if at all. For example, many hobbyists on forums all over the net talk about some of the red slime removers and getting no adverse effects from using them. Indeed, they usually clear up the slime algae over a period of days. But, some of these products could potentially wreak havoc with the bio-filtration in the tank so research them thoroughly before trying them. I'm not saying that they will destroy your bio-filter, just that the hobbyists needs to doing the legwork on any products and/or supplements they use on their tanks. The main thing to keep in mind though is did you fix the original problems causing the algae growth? If not, the algae will come back eventually.
There are also tons of supplements, vitamins and cure-alls available to hobbyists too. Are they really worth it? That is for you to decide, but be cautious about adding anything to your tank that you can't test the side effects of using. For example, do you have a strontium or molybdenum test kit? Neither do I and that is why I don't use those supplements in my saltwater aquariums, relying instead on regular partial water changes to replenish these trace elements. Some of these products are useful (buffer, calcium additives, plant foods, etc) but be a smart consumer and research these products before using them in your tanks.
To sum up: under stock, feed appropriately, use purified water when your tap water is suspect, perform regular partial water changes, maintain the filter and vacuum that substrate to help limit the amount of foods available to the algae. Keep your water parameters in line with what you are keeping too. For example, saltwater aquarium keepers should try to keep pH in a range of 8.2 - 8.5, sg at around 1.024 - 1.025, calcium at around 420 ppm and alkalinity at around 2.5 meq/L. If you still have a problem with algae growth test the nitrate and phosphate levels. Figure out why these levels are elevated and then fix them. Even after doing all of the above you will still have algae growth in your tank, but it should be much less than before and more easily maintained.
Hopefully this article was helpful. If you have more ideas, tips or advice on contending with algae growth in the aquarium you can use the link below to post your comments and we will post them here on this page. Thanks for reading,
Mike

Green Bubble Algae​

 

[Orca1]

I don't think that's bubble algae. Looks more like a trapped gas.

 

[dacaptain78]

I do not think that is Green Bubble Algae, but I could be wrong. If the bubble are hard to the touch then yes, you have Green Bubble Algae. However, from the pictures it seems that you have a combination of Hair Algae and Cyanobacteria that are trapping air bubbles.

What livestock do you currenlty have in your tank? Also what equipment do you have running on the tank?

 

[Orca1]

i do not think that is green bubble algae, but i could be wrong. If the bubble are hard to the touch then yes, you have green bubble algae. However, from the pictures it seems that you have a combination of hair algae and cyanobacteria that are trapping air bubbles.

What livestock do you currenlty have in your tank? Also what equipment do you have running on the tank?

+1.

 

[PIOTR]

livestock pair of tomato clowns and one royal gramma.Aquipment skimer sucks a lot of staff foam trap on sump under the tank grabs e lot of staff that goes down with water too. Sump with two mangrowes growing slowly but all my caulerpa in the sump died and I do not know why. I got a phosphate reactor yeasterday and will put it on tomorow.That staff flows to the top if only tuched by my fish so I do not think it is green bubble algae.But why did it started to form so fast and it all started next day after I started useing my new lights.

 

[dacaptain78]

if you do not have corals then you can turn your lights off for a few days and syphon the algae and cyano off of your rocks. You can either do this while making water changes, or syphon the water into a filter sock that is in a bucket. The filter sock will capture most of the bad stuff and then you can pour the water into the tank. Also, check to see if any hair algae made it to your sump. Remove it from there as well if it did.

Removing all that you can see coupled with the lights being off for 4-5 days should rid your tank of the algae and cyano. Just be aware that it will come back if the initial source of the problem is not addressed.

 

[PIOTR]

I have three kenya tree corals, some hairy mashrums and some button polyps. Will these survive 5 days with out lights.

 

[OGGISPORTS]

good luck

 

[Awibrandy]

Bubble Algae Varieties

1) Valonia macrophysa - smaller clustered elongated bubbles

2) Boergesenia - clustered, though less dense in numbers and elongated bubble shapes

3) Ventricaria ventricosa - can get quite large (around and inch) and grows in clusters and in singles</I>

4) Dictosphaeria ocellata - usually smaller grouping slimey looking bubbles, can be a lighter shade of green</I>

5) Dictosphaeria cavernosa - encrusting like growth forms with pitted looking bubbles

 

[jaa1456]

From the pics it looks like your tank might have cycled again. Have you been testing your water lately? And the bubbles are trapped gas from the organisms and bacteria living in the sand. They expel gases just like any other living thing. Test your water and one product out there will get rid of that in 24-48 hours it is called red-slime. It is about 14 bucks a bottle but it will work. You need an air pump and air stone with it. One that pumps a lot of air not a small cheap one.

 

[dacaptain78]

I have three kenya tree corals, some hairy mashrums and some button polyps. Will these survive 5 days with out lights.

If you have corals I would shut the lights off for 3 days max.