Help me ID this algae please

Discussion in 'Algae' started by radgto, Dec 30, 2011.

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  1. radgto

    radgto Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2011
    Messages:
    32
    Location:
    Royal Oak, Michigan
    I have a green bubble type algae growing in my tank.

    This is not the normal bubble algae which is translucent , pops easily, super thin type.

    This stuff is making big bubbles, almost the size of a golf ball, it's more of an olive type color, very opaque, very hard bubbles and can easily be picked off rocks with my fingers... it even bounces a little if I drop it off a table.

    The picture is a crappy cell pic and it's with acentics only but as you can see the tiny metallic translucent dark green bubble algae, I'm trying to figure out what the large opaque ones are, not all are even round, some are oval or even tube shaped.

    It's not taking over my tank and looks pretty cool, I'm not even sure it's algae.

    I just want to know if I should try to pick it all off or just let it grow when I like it.

    Thanks for any help.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. NanoMano

    NanoMano Gigas Clam

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2011
    Messages:
    864
    Looks like green bubble algae. It's a pain in the a$$ what are your phosphate levels like and how much light per day, do you use ro/Di?
     
  4. Aqua_brian

    Aqua_brian Plankton

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    5
  5. radgto

    radgto Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2011
    Messages:
    32
    Location:
    Royal Oak, Michigan
    Phosphate is undetectible, Nitrate is less than 10 usually.

    I use RO/DI with 0 TDS, do about 20% water change bi weekly.

    Lights are acentics for 10 hours and daylight for 8 hours.

    These things don't look like any bubble algae I've ever seen, they're harder than grapes.

    I'm trying to get rid of the regular bubble algae in my tank using Emeralds but these I can easily pick off the rocks which I will do if they are just a different type of bubble algae.
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2011
  6. Aqua_brian

    Aqua_brian Plankton

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2011
    Messages:
    5
    Could it be grape caulerpa? Hard to tell from the pic. Can you post a few more or google grape caulerpa to see of it looks like that.
     
  7. SushiGirl

    SushiGirl Barracuda

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2010
    Messages:
    2,457
    Not grape caulerpa. All the bubble algae I've ever had was hard unless it was dying.