Green Bubble Algae

[Pat24601]

I tested my phosphate this last WC using the tear the packet this way suggested
by @Pat24601 above. It made it easier.
This is about as low as my phosphate level ever goes:
View attachment 42026
I didn't re-check after WC...no nitrates to measure tho. I feed flake food a lot.

Glad to hear that worked better! The other thing with the phosphate test is you really do have to shake the test tube for 2 full minutes after dumping the powder in. I've had times when I've shaken it for 1 minute being lazy and gotten a very different reading (higher). 2 minutes is kind of a long time. It feels like forever when you are doing it.

I'm not saying you didn't do that, just saying it's important to do.

I hate the 3 minute shut off timer on this test for that reason. It makes it a stressful race against time to get your test done.

Also, I'm not sure how accurate any phosphate test is at the hobby level, but it's the best we've got.

Anyway 0.08 doesn't strike me as bad. It's higher than I run and maybe bordering on the high side, but lower than I've seen a lot of others run. I've seen folks thrilled to get their tank down that low. Your tank looks great and that's the real test.

 

[DianaKay]

I always feel great about not seeing any GBA but I've been dealing with for so long now, I know it will never be totally gone. I even get my flashlight out after the corals close up at night to look for it. I go diving in the tank after a single tiny bubble of it , the stuff makes me a little OCD!! I've made up my mind that it will never defeat me.

 

[Pat24601]

... the stuff makes me a little OCD!! I've made up my mind that it will never defeat me.

This is one of the things that bugs me about it, actually. I'm OCD by nature and now when I look at my tank I'm constantly looking at the live rock to see if any GBA has sprouted up. Kind of lessens the enjoyment of the tank. Maybe I'll get used to it, though, if I don't get it out.

 

[Frankie]

Stop with the agreements! Non of you are OCD. Your reefers!

 

[DianaKay]

This is one of the things that bugs me about it, actually. I'm OCD by nature and now when I look at my tank I'm constantly looking at the live rock to see if any GBA has sprouted up. Kind of lessens the enjoyment of the tank. Maybe I'll get used to it, though, if I don't get it out.

We just have to like playing SEEK & DESTROY
I get on missions to find any hidden GBA bubbles

 

[Frankie]

 

[Pat24601]

Stop with the agreements! Non of you are OCD. Your reefers!

This is good point. Someone on here in my early days said when we all look at other peoples tanks, we see how awesome they look. When we look at our own, we see all the things "wrong" with it we need to work on.

That struck me as true then and true now.

 

[cracker]

On a lighter note. Perhaps we could create a new culinary craze, package the GBA and sell it to some fancy new wave restaurant. I've tried one or two in the past.They are not that bad. I dare Ya!

 

[Frankie]

I love you cracker

 

[DianaKay]

On a lighter note. Perhaps we could create a new culinary craze, package the GBA and sell it to some fancy new wave restaurant. I've tried one or two in the past.They are not that bad. I dare Ya!

What SCARES ME is: I have seen some tanks with enough of it to actually harvest it & to do that!!
There's a YouTube video of "how to remove" GBA that makes me think:
Why did you let it get THIS BAD???

 

[cracker]

Hey, The stuff is probably good for You! Give me a little while And I'll come up with a good sales pitch! LOL

 

[Frankie]

You do that and I'll start to harvest it. Better yet, we can exploit Patrick and Diana!

 

[cracker]

We need the little ones. The skins on the big fat ones are too chewy.

 

[Pat24601]

My tank is looking crystal clear right now with no sign of anything bad. Always puts me in a better mood...even if evil could be lurking somewhere.

 

[Frankie]

They just don't snap when bitten like the small ones. I agree!

 

[Pat24601]

I am definitely not posting that I haven't seen any GBA in a while because the last time I did that I found my wavemaker covered in it.

So, I'm totally not posting that.

But, fingers crossed.

 

[DianaKay]

It's an ongoing battle....I remove all I can see every week & then the next week, I find a little bit MORE

 

[Frankie]

Since finding it on a frag base a few months ago, scrapping it off and rinsing the base off intap water has completely removed any visual trace of it since

 

[Pat24601]

Since finding it on a frag base a few months ago, scrapping it off and rinsing the base off intap water has completely removed any visual trace of it since

I did this a couple months ago following your advice and it worked great. No GBA on that coral base at all. Actually, it was two corals.

 

[Jetmart]

This is my first and I was able to remove it in one piece last night.