How to Get Rid of Bubble Algae in a Saltwater Tank

Increase the Water Quality

• 1

  Test the tank water regularly. The ideal parameters to keep bubble algae at bay are zero nitrates and very low phosphate levels.

• 2

  Install a protein skimmer to remove dissolved organic compounds (DOC), such as decaying organisms, excess fish food and fish wastes. DOCs are food sources for algae. Avoid overfeeding.

• 3

  Maintain a regular schedule, once every week or two, of tank maintenance, including partial changing (about 20 percent) of the water, gravel vacuuming and scraping some of the visible algae from the tank.

Manual Removal

• 4

  Grasp the bubble algae at the base, as close to where they are attached to the rock as possible. Avoid rough handling that could burst the bubble algae and release spores into the tank.

• 5

  Pull and twist the bubble algae gently until it releases from the rock. Remove any burst bubble sacks.

• 6

  Check the tank regularly for the appearance of new bubble algae. Remove them as soon as you discover them.

Changes in the Tank Community

• 7

  Add creatures that eat bubble algae, such as the emerald mithrax crab, Sally lightfoot crab, urchins and herbivorous (plant-eating) gastropods.

• 8

  Introduce scavengers into the tank. They reduce the amount of decaying organic matter, a food source for bubble algae. Remove dead fish and snails, and decaying plant matter.

• 9

  Reduce the availability of nutrients for bubble algae by adding calcareous green and red algae, or crustose coralline algae to the tank. Increase the amount of live plankton and nekton to give the calcerous and crustose coralline algae the energy to overtake the bubble algae.