Magic Bubbles

[live sand]

went out of town 3 months ago, came back and there were small bubbles on my coral & rocks when i came home. Not bubbles from the sump/skimmer or that are floating in the water, these are sitting ON the rocks. I use my baster to push them off with water pressure, magically they reappear after a few hours +/-. Water specs were good then my nitrates jumped to 5ppm a fe weeks ago. i have been dong 20g H20 changes (120g tank) weekly, Nitrates are not lowering. any ideas?

thanks

 

[geoj]

Are you getting a big temp swing?

 

[zoie2]

The same thing happened to me. I was afraid to knock them off, if it was buble algae I didn't want it all over my tank. I posted a pic here and it seems a couple people have had the same problem. They told me to just brush them off. I did and every now and then they come back, then disapear a while, then come back. Tiny clear bubbles.
It doesn't seem to bother the tank at all. I'll post a pic of mine. Do your look like this?

 

[live sand]

yes, looks just like that but a lot more. they tend to form in the same places every time, on certain coral, rocks & the overflow. I don't know if that is some sort of lead to algae or not.
the temp swings about 4 deg a day. durng the day t gets up to 78-79, & falls to 75-76 at night.

 

[live sand]

also,
the bubbles do not form overnite, only during the day when the light is on

 

[reef4girl]

I have those bubbles too They come right back after I blow them off. They seem to be where algae is on the rocks and back wall. I would like to know the answer to this one as well.

 

[live sand]

the light came on this morning, no bubbles, home from work now @ 4:45, bubbles......we'll see how long till theyre back

 

[john57]

A number of things will give off those bubbles, algae, cyano, the bacteria that's cycling your organics. Its part of the process. But I would check to see that your phosphates are not too high. That of course can trigger the first two I mentioned. And those bubbles can be oxygen or nitrogen depending on the producer.

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by john57
http:///forum/post/2985179
A number of things will give off those bubbles, algae, cyano, the bacteria that's cycling your organics. Its part of the process. But I would check to see that your phosphates are not too high. That of course can trigger the first two I mentioned. And those bubbles can be oxygen or nitrogen depending on the producer.
Yes. If you are getting a lot, then it's probably from or a sign of cyano. Otherwise, the occasional nitrogenous bubbles from denitrification are a-okay.

 

[geoj]

Originally Posted by john57
http:///forum/post/2985179
A number of things will give off those bubbles, algae, cyano, the bacteria that's cycling your organics. Its part of the process. But I would check to see that your phosphates are not too high. That of course can trigger the first two I mentioned. And those bubbles can be oxygen or nitrogen depending on the producer.
What John57 is saying here is more likely, then what I was thinking. Back when I would set up a new tank the first week or so I would get a big chill at night because of not having a heater set up yet and this would make bubbles all over the glass. Once the heater went in the bubbles cleared…

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by GeoJ
http:///forum/post/2985263
What John57 is saying here is more likely, then what I was thinking. Back when I would set up a new tank the first week or so I would get a big chill at night because of not having a heater set up yet and this would make bubbles all over the glass. Once the heater went in the bubbles cleared…
That could be it, but you're right, what John57 said fits a tad better.

 

[live sand]

yes I did post this over on reef tanks also, wanted to get as much info as possible. I appreciate your replys.
I'll start with the phosphates and the temperature. Tonite i will increase the temp on the thermostat so there is a 2 degree temp change when the lights go off. need to replenish my phosphate tester, i'll do this tonite also, i'll let you know the outcome in a few days.
last post was 4.45 today, checked the tank @ 6.30, they are back.

 

[john57]

One thing I forgot. If it is cyano, you should start seeing some reddish or brown slime that blows off easily with a baster. And high silicates can cause of bloom of this, as well as phosphates.
And keep up with the water changes for the nitrates. They will diminish if your filtration system is clean and working ok.
The thing that drives me nuts sometimes about this hobby is that nothing happens fast.
Good luck.

 

[live sand]

i did see some dark colored slime that i removed with my tools. have not seen it come back yet. at one time my anemone was blocking this particular coral from the light and touching it, it moved a few weeks ago, i thougth the anemone might have disturbed the balance on the coral. what is the best way to remove cyano....waterchanges? what actually is cyano?

 

[live sand]

i have also noticed that where the bubbles were on the coral, the coral had died off

 

[pezenfuego]

Originally Posted by Live Sand
http:///forum/post/2986997
i did see some dark colored slime that i removed with my tools. have not seen it come back yet. at one time my anemone was blocking this particular coral from the light and touching it, it moved a few weeks ago, i thougth the anemone might have disturbed the balance on the coral. what is the best way to remove cyano....waterchanges? what actually is cyano?
Cyanobacteria is a type of bacteria that commonly is blue-green (cyan-blue). It does however come in other colors, ie black, red, brown, etc. The redish morph is found in aquariums generally. Cyanobacteria is usually the first type of bacteria to inhabit an area after a disaster, etc. There is nothing really wrong with it, it is just unappealing and can get in the way. It is photosynthetic and will only appear when phosphates are out of whack.
Side note: just because your phosphate test reads 0, doesn't mean that phosphates aren't a problem. The cyano will be consuming the phosphates.

 

[john57]

The best way to get rid of cyano is frequent water changes with siphoning of any cyano you can get off the rocks. I use a turkey baster, blast it off and suck it up. Adding more flows helps. And trying to get phospates down as well as silicates. I think I've seen more people having a problem who used tap water, but I've always used RO and still battled with it. Don't use the chemical options, if you can avoid it. Red Slime Remover and others are on the market, but they would be my absolute last resort.