bubbles all over!

[reefNewbie]

I have had some red slime algae for some time now. I have been keeping my water params good ever since it started. It has still not disapeared yet, its been here for about 5 weeks. I have been syphoning my DSB to get this stuff off. Its slowly disapearing now.

I am getting what looks like clear bubbles on top of everything now, LR and all. It looks like the bubbles that are on top of the red slime, what should i do about them, syphon or blow them off?a a

 

[reefNewbie]

here

 

[reefNewbie]

pO4 s actually been at .2ppm and i have not been able to get it down. could phyto be adding po4 to my water? i use rodi water with 0 po4. i have a refugium as well and i just recently prunned back an ass load of caulpera. im going to start running the phosban again, but im just wondering whats causing the po4.

my main question is what to do with the bubbles tho.

 

[ChaoticReefer]

What is your turn over rate with your tank's flow (how many gph/how big of a tank?)? At what temperature do you keep your tank at? What lights do you use and how old are they? What size of water changes do you do and how often?

 

[reefNewbie]

turn over rate is about 1300 gph in a 90 gallon tank. tank temp varies from 78.5 to 80.5 F. I use 2 175w 10kk ab bulbs and 2 40w NO actinics. I do around 15 - 20 gallon water changes every 2 weeks.

 

[Kitta]

I had red slime algae and those green bubble ones too. My friend recommended me to use the Coralife Marine Clarifier. It worked. All the stuffs are gone now. You wouldn't know an immediate difference but it took about 4 to 6 week in my tank. I used about 2 16oz bottles. Now I haven't use the stuff for months and none of the stuff has come back. The only drawback is there is less algae on the glass for the fish to eat.

 

[reefNewbie]

my bubbles arent green, they are clear air bubbles....i would prefer to not use any chemicals however.

 

[ChaoticReefer]

Is your tank a reef or fish only? Seem like your flow rate is on low side for a reef tank. General rule for a reef tank the mininum turn over flow rate is 20x. You are below this. You might want to consider increasing your flow and have it universize, meaning there isn't flow only at top of the tank, you need strong flow down on bottom too. My flow rate in my 100 gal is 40x. I had the same problem as you did. It was two factors. 1) tank temperature, I dropped it from 82 to 78. 2) All my flow was at the top and too little flow rate.

What skimmer are you using? What pump are you running it with?

 

[Unarce]

reefNewbie,

It's kind of unusual that you're still getting a phosphate reading. Normally, an outbreak of cyano or hair algae would deplete phosphates completely. I'd rule out that your DSB is leaking phosphates because your tank is only 3 months old. A DSB would only cause that after a year or so. Since you did mention that you've siphoned some off your DSB, perhaps you do need to increase water flow to get rid of the stagnant areas at the bottom. Cyano will develop these air bubbles of trapped gas. I don't know if their toxic, but I'd be more concerned with the Cyano. I had one outbreak before and Chemi-clean took care of it in week. It had no effect on my SPS or clams and is even safe enough to use as a monthly preventative (I've never needed it again after that one time). Good luck.

 

[reefNewbie]

I honestly dont think i need more flow. I have a 1in sea swirl (connected to an OR3500 900gph) pushing water across the top of my tank and 3 maxijet 1200's pushing water all around my tank (900gph) and at the bottom. So actually i calculated that wrong, my gph is 1800 but then again when you calculate in head pressure on the OR its probably more like 1500 gph which on 85 gallons of water is a little under 20x. I feed once a day and only enough for the fish so that not too much extra is in the water column. and im using a euro reef cs6-1 skimmer.

wtf?

 

[Unarce]

I actually think your turnover rate is more than enough. I thought maybe you needed to redirect some of it. I guess it's not the case. Just look at all the possibilities and eliminate the source. Wrong spectrum of light, top-off water, flake or frozen food that's high in phosphate, etc. If you have no corals, heavy protein-skimming might take care of it in a few weeks.

Whether it came from a new tank addition, from blue-green cyano at the deepest parts of a DSB, or airborne, it's sometimes impossible to avoid.

 

[reefNewbie]

im just wondering what to do with the bubbles? syphon them, blow them off? The red hair algae is getting better like i said so im not too concered with it. just wondering where the po4 is comming from. not top off and not bulbs....maybe from the food, but even then i dont overfeed. :evil:

 

[baseman]

Reefnewbie - the bubbles are just oxygen. I wouldn't worry about them. If you don't like the looks of them, just blow them off.

 

[tigarc]

I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING THE SAME BUBBLE PROBLEM............MINE IS ACUALLY IN MY DSB BUBBLING UPAND IN THE WATER . ICAN SEE THE BUBBLES FORM JUST FROM THE WATER FLOWING INTO THE SUMP. I HAVE HEARD NOTHING IN THE PREVIOUS REPLIES TO EXPLAIN THIS....................STILL SEACHING FOR AN ANSWER.

 

[boris MAC]

Hmmm... picture is not clear but it look like some kind of "buble algae", Valonia spices. If it is , no big problem , only if they do not spreed fast. Check water for silicates, good qualyti test should measure no silicates .