As it is with most hobbies there are some things that are definitely undesirable. And although keeping a saltwater reef aquarium or saltwater fish only aquarium is a most fulfilling hobby, there are some irritating problems that can occur.
Four of these irritating problems that can occur are outbreaks of filamentous green algae, brown/black/red smear algae, glass anemones and bubble algae also known as sailor's eyeball algae. These irritating problems can develop into major headaches if proper action is not taken during the setting-up and the following care of the saltwater reef or saltwater fish aquarium.
A very annoying fact is that glass anemones and bubble algae can be decorative at firs, and for the unwary and inexperienced aquarist they might be very pleasing to the eye. The problems usually arrive with new corals, or rather on the rock the new corals are attached to, but live rock can also introduce them.
A major cause of algae problems in a saltwater reef aquarium is the low quality of water that is used, that is, water that has very high levels of nitrate and phosphate. It has been reported for some time now that filamentous green algae as well as smear algae, and glass anemones do well in the presence of nitrate and phosphate.
However, even if you have high quality water in your reef aquarium, bubble algae might actually do well there. So if they do appear in your saltwater reef aquarium, definitely take control action, but in the same time keep in mind that your reef tank water is good.
Bubble algae can be successfully conquered, whist with glass anemones, even if you think that the war is generally won you should occasionally do some control actions when another pops its unwelcome head up.
The answer to all of these problems however, is the proper setting up of your saltwater reef tank from the start and ongoing care and maintenance.
