Bubble Algae

[Piper]

What's the best way of getting bubble algae off a reef. I have an outbreak beginning. Threw a dozen emerald crabs in there, doesn't seem to be enough. What eats the crap?

[Fishie]

foxface, tangs (hit or miss)

 

what are your nitrates?

 

can u turn the lights off ?

[ridetheducati]

Improve your water quality and clean the skimmer three times per week.  It will go away.  This will work if its not at plaque levels.

[Matt LeBaron]

If it really starts to become a problem then you basically have to manually remove as much as you can being careful to not break the bubbles (or better yet removing the rock, cleaning it, rinsing it off and then putting it back in) and doing it on a really regular basis to basically remove it faster than it can grow, eventually you can over come it for the most part. Having said that though you need to improve your parameters like ridetheducati outlined but I have found that even then it still manages to grow a bit. I have a real problem with it and have gotten it under control but it seems to grow when almost no other type of algae is growing in my tank. I guess it's better at nutrient uptake than other types or the available nutrients in my tank suit it better than others.

[Piper]

My water is ultra clean, nitrates 0. My skimmer is rated 3x my water column. I can't turn the lights off, but the bulbs are about end of life now, waiting for the new LED's to come in. I've been dosing a lot of vitamins lately. Might the high nutrient levels and possibly degrading spectrum in my lights be contributing? 

[Djplus1]

I used a combo of a one spot fox face and a blue tuxedo urchin. I had an incredible bubble issue and these two literally wiped out 90% of the issue in a month or so.

[gmerek2]

My dej sailfin tang eats it. But there are a ton places he can't reach and it's not his favorite food so he doesn't go out of his way to eat it. Turning lights off May kill some of it but I would think the spores would still be available to grow when the lights come back on. Unfortunately manual removal of BA and rocks is the way to go.

[sen5241b]

Had it and I removed much of it by hand and occasionally I broke one bubble open. My emeralds took care of the rest of it. It went away.