Experiences with black outs to reduce algae

[WallysWorld]

I'm considering covering the sides of the tank with wrapping paper and doing a complete black out for several days. Interested in anyone's experience that has tried this. If this doesn't help I think my next stop is an algaecide. Which I'd like to avoid for obvious reasons.

I have a 80 gallon 7 month old tank that is over taken by GHA. About 75% of the rockwork is covered with it. I had very high phosphates for several months when tank was new. GFO has had phosphate levels below 0.05 ppm for 2 months now. I've been sucking as much of the stuff out with each water change as possible. I took a toothbrush to the rock work a couple of weeks ago. The stuff just keeps coming back with a vengeance. Takes 4-5 days to be back at levels prior to sucking it out.

Current tank parameters for those interested:

Nitrate 0.5ppm (algae is consuming it)
Phosphate 0.01 ppm
PH 8.1
Alkalinity 7.5
Salinity 34 ppt
Calcium 430 ppm
Magnesium 1360 ppm
Temp 78.5 °F

Tank is stocked with 2 clowns, royal gramma, leopard wrasse, lawnmower blenny, fox face, fighting conch, 4 peppermint shrimp, tuxedo urchin, lots of snails. I feed a pinch of TDO pellets (autofeeder), 1 cube of Mysis and 30 ml of OceanMagik phyto per day

 

[Quietman]

So temp blackouts work good...but only temporarily. If used in concert with a longer term fix (installing ATS or Refugium - or upgrading nutrient revmoval) then I find it can really help get a jump on fixing the issue. But have reasonable expectations - you're not going to fix it overnight. After blackout, assuming you did something to fix the problem, it'll still bounce back, but should be less and hopefully continues that way. I've used blackouts a few times but always in concert with a longer term fix (ATS for GHA and UV install for dinos).

As for algaecide - my recommendation is to only use it if you're willing to potentially nuke your tank. That might be the right call though. I've been super frustrated with GHA and have giving in to easy fix and I ended up with dinos. I didn't have to do a restart, but looking back it probably would've been easier honestly. I got too wrapped up in 'no way am I going to lose and do a restart' then being smart with cost/time benefit analysis.

Good luck. Just make the best decision that's right for you and don't worry about about anyone else.

 

[Reefer Matt]

How many critters per gallon in your cuc? And are you sure it isn't byropsis?

 

[WallysWorld]

So temp blackouts work good...but only temporarily. If used in concert with a longer term fix (installing ATS or Refugium - or upgrading nutrient revmoval) then I find it can really help get a jump on fixing the issue. But have reasonable expectations - you're not going to fix it overnight. After blackout, assuming you did something to fix the problem, it'll still bounce back, but should be less and hopefully continues that way. I've used blackouts a few times but always in concert with a longer term fix (ATS for GHA and UV install for dinos).

As for algaecide - my recommendation is to only use it if you're willing to potentially nuke your tank. That might be the right call though. I've been super frustrated with GHA and have giving in to easy fix and I ended up with dinos. I didn't have to do a restart, but looking back it probably would've been easier honestly. I got too wrapped up in 'no way am I going to lose and do a restart' then being smart with cost/time benefit analysis.

Good luck. Just make the best decision that's right for you and don't worry about about anyone else.

Thanks for the information.

I put some Chaeto in my sump (refugium section) a little over a week ago. It started out tangled, became untangled, then slowly disappeared. I never had success with a refugium in my older tanks either.

I had an inexpensive UV filter in the sump for several months after the initial new tank bacteria bloom. I took it out to make room for the Chaeto.

You have me thinking about the task of a re-start.....

 

[Quietman]

Thanks for the information.

I put some Chaeto in my sump (refugium section) a little over a week ago. It started out tangled, became untangled, then slowly disappeared. I never had success with a refugium in my older tanks either.

I had an inexpensive UV filter in the sump for several months after the initial new tank bacteria bloom. I took it out to make room for the Chaeto.

You have me thinking about the task of a re-start.....

I try to avoid the "this works for me so you have to do it" statements, but look into Algae Scrubbers. It's been a miracle for me on GHA. I still have a few clumps (the rhisomes got into the rock) but they're easily removed with a simple manual removal -takes me 5 minutes. Review the research on Santa Monica Scrubbers...I won't have another tank without one (even put one on my freshwater tank). They outperform refugiums (on nutrient removal anyway) to the point with I haven't had a skimmer since I installed my ATO. Longer story is in my build thread.

 

[WallysWorld]

How many critters per gallon in your cuc? And are you sure it isn't byropsis?

About 1 critter per gallon. But not all critters are equal. This is my CUC:

~50 dwarf cerith snails
5 Astrea snails
5 Trocus snails
10 assorted hermits (murders!)
1 large florida fighting conch

Fairly certain (90%) that it is not bryopsis

 

[Reefer Matt]

About 1 critter per gallon. But not all critters are equal. This is my CUC:

~50 dwarf cerith snails
5 Astrea snails
5 Trocus snails
10 assorted hermits (murders!)
1 large florida fighting conch

Fairly certain (90%) that it is not bryopsis

I have alot of luck with the astreas from Reef Cleaners. I usually put about 100 in a 75 gallon every six months. They do get eaten by hermits though.