Orion October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 Removing bubble algae can be a pain. Emerald crabs can work, but I didn't want to add one to my tank. So I decided to try something different - kalk paste, and it works! So here is what I did.. I mixed up about a 1/2 tsp of kalkwasser, and 25ml of tank water which created a thin paste. I used the same small syringe that comes with Aiptasia-X, turned off all the pumps for 20 minutes, and applied the paste generously over any bubble algae I saw. The next day any BA that was kalk'd turned white. Two days later, and the algae starts to rot away. No new bubble algae has popped up where it was applied two weeks ago. Note: Do not get kalk paste on corals. They don't like it. Take your time with it as well, and don't go crazy. I'll post a couple of pics later.
bqq100 October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 I may have to try this in the near future. I have a little bit of red bubble algae i can't get rid of. Not a ton of it, and it's easy enough to keep in check with manual removal once every month or so, but it would be nice to get rid of it for good.
Jason Rhoads October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 Interesting! I have a bit of BA growing on a powerhead that I was planning on scraping off. Thanks for the tip.
matt October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 see any dramatic change in ph or other parameters when doing this?
Orion October 22, 2013 Author October 22, 2013 see any dramatic change in ph or other parameters when doing this? I used quite a bit of paste this last time. PH rose from 8.20 to 8.30 a couple hours afterwards. Everything else was fine. Just go slow
matt October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 interesting, I was thinking of making a kalk solution for some aptasia I want to nuke...different method of applicaiton though. glad you're winning the bubble algae battle
Djplus1 October 22, 2013 October 22, 2013 I managed my bubble algae problem (probably down 90+%) finally with a blue tuxedo urchin. Emeralds didn't work and manual removal did nothing. I have a couple small patches that the urchin doesn't seem to want to eat, so I may try that kalk idea to completely eradicate it.
YHSublime October 23, 2013 October 23, 2013 Cool experimentation. I like seeing this kind of stuff in this hobby!
Orion October 23, 2013 Author October 23, 2013 (edited) This used to be a nest of bubble algae... Bubble algae that were not treated lower left. Kalk nuked Algae, or what's left of it on the right Edited October 23, 2013 by Orion
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