Is this bubble algae??

So, I didn't take care of my tank for about a month and I just found this on one of my liverock...

I think its bubble algae. It has a skinny stalk with a round, spherical top.






Its only on this one piece of live rock... Should I just brush them off in a separate container? Or should I just bake the rock and kill the whole thing. I don't want it to spread, now that I got my protein skimmer and refugium, and RO water....

 

Yes its bubble algae. Be careful not to break the bubbles. If you have plenty of live rock I would probably remove the rock and either bleach it or leave it out in the sun.

 

Thanks for the reply. What's the best and safest method?

Should I scrape them off and then leave it out in the sun? Or just leave it out in the sun.

 

I would try alternative methods first (emerald crab’s for example).

But also consider the source rather than trying to resolve the effect. If you bleach your rock you will kill the algae and all the beneficial factors of the rock including a fair amount of coralline – and you might be cycling again.

Nitrates and phosphates are something to look at – what are your parameters? Fix the water quality and solve the problem.

 

You can pull them off with your fingers trying not to pop them, its easy if you go slow -- then find the root cause and resolve it from there.

 

Im guessing the cause was phosphates. I didn't have a sump before and didn't use RO/DI water.