Your bacteria system was a mess when you had Dino's. Dinox made it worse. Algae scrubber works. Just like a good fuge. Why? Just like in nature. Keeping things in balance. A fuge does more than just pull N&P out.
Tank Blackouts To Combat Algae: Have you been successful?
- QUESTION OF THE DAY
- Thread starter revhtree
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Nazarite01
Community Member
absolutly trust it. Make sure there is absolutely no light coming in to the tank for the three days. look at my thread for my experience.Hey let's talk about "blacking out" your reef aquarium to combat algae how about it! Just recently I started to get some different type of green film on my sand and rock and I don't want to wait until it's too late and taking over but I want to take action now. Of course you have to address the root of the issue, handle that and then you can conquer the algae issues.....until the next time at least!
Blacking out your tank is not turning on your lights or allowing any light to penetrate the water column for a period of time. (my definition)
For me I have ordered a new clean up crew, algae eating fish and sand stirring fish. I am also making sure my top off water is up to par and changing out some water. But I am going to implement a 3 day black out to kick start the fight!
So let me ask you a few things.
1. How many of you have had success with tank blackouts and was it short or long lived?
2. Do you feed your fish during a tank blackout and if so what does that look like?
3. Do you think a regularly scheduled black out is good for an aquarium?
image via @mello87
JPM San Diego
Active Member
Short term black out seemed to have no effect.
When I was upgrading from my 20 gallon "green hair algae farm" to my current 40 gallon tank I ran them connected together for a couple of months. Since I had the space I built a chamber out of black plastic that my son deemed the "algae killing box". It worked great, but took several weeks. And, yes I have been know to do crazy things.
When I was upgrading from my 20 gallon "green hair algae farm" to my current 40 gallon tank I ran them connected together for a couple of months. Since I had the space I built a chamber out of black plastic that my son deemed the "algae killing box". It worked great, but took several weeks. And, yes I have been know to do crazy things.
Attachments
shadow62672
Community Member
I had an outbreak of Algae long hair mainly. Tried the sea hare snail, kept dying. Put in a sea urchin! Amazing! Cleared up almost all of it! Best thing to date. It is a bulldozer, it kept knocking over any coral not glued down. But best thing to date!
(I have not read the previous posts on purpose today. I don’t want to say something that may be in direct contradiction to what someone else may have said.)
To me, a tank blackout, is attacking the symptoms and not the cause. I have, therefore, never done a tank blackout. IMHO what a reefer needs to do is get to the underlying cause of the problem, algae, poor water quality etc. and then work on fixing that. If that is done the the symptoms will go away and no “quick fix” will be needed.
To me, a tank blackout, is attacking the symptoms and not the cause. I have, therefore, never done a tank blackout. IMHO what a reefer needs to do is get to the underlying cause of the problem, algae, poor water quality etc. and then work on fixing that. If that is done the the symptoms will go away and no “quick fix” will be needed.
pasquale petrovia
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2018
- Messages
- 379
- Reaction score
- 299
I have battled dinos for a year now. I have done 3 day and 5 day blackouts. They keep coming back The 225 sps tank is almost 3 years old. Nothing will stop them. Rescued last of the fish last night. Killed all but 6 corals which I am afraid to put in new 105 rimless set up with 75 pounds of Gulf Live roc that cycled for a month and is primo. I spent hundreds of dollars on UV,pods, phyto, testing, CUP, countless hours researching and cleaning only to reoccur. The tank is getting bleached and the 300# of old live rock getting powerwashed and Heated to above 120 degrees, then bleached,finally dried before reboot will happen. They won't make me quit after 35 years in the salt water hobby, but they are a spirit and wallet breaker.
Mothys mixed reef
New Member
Had red cyno on sand kept room binds down( did not black out tank ) ,turned off tank lights dosed Dr Tim’s Refresh 3 time in 5 days . Great improvement 95% gone. Now dose small amount on my weekly water change .Alk 8.1-8.3, calc 430, mag1350. 7%water change weekly 340lte tank No Skimmer 2x canister filters 1x UV.Hey let's talk about "blacking out" your reef aquarium to combat algae how about it! Just recently I started to get some different type of green film on my sand and rock and I don't want to wait until it's too late and taking over but I want to take action now. Of course you have to address the root of the issue, handle that and then you can conquer the algae issues.....until the next time at least!
Blacking out your tank is not turning on your lights or allowing any light to penetrate the water column for a period of time. (my definition)
For me I have ordered a new clean up crew, algae eating fish and sand stirring fish. I am also making sure my top off water is up to par and changing out some water. But I am going to implement a 3 day black out to kick start the fight!
So let me ask you a few things.
1. How many of you have had success with tank blackouts and was it short or long lived?
2. Do you feed your fish during a tank blackout and if so what does that look like?
3. Do you think a regularly scheduled black out is good for an aquarium?
image via @mello87
living_tribunal
2500 Club Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2019
- Messages
- 4,198
- Reaction score
- 12,164
I’ve found tank blackouts to be wildly effective in the past. One thing people surprisingly don’t understand I think is that you have to export the excess nutrients leached by the dying algae once it’s complete. If you don’t, the algae will just come right back. They then proclaim, loud as ever, that it doesn’t work well.
Blackouts are like antibiotics, they are a near term solution to gain an edge but not a cure. Algae can become so bad that lowering your nutrients won’t stop the nutrient recycling by the dying algae. At this stage, you have to gain an edge and that’s exactly what a blackout does. To keep the algae away, you have to stop the cause.
Blackouts are like antibiotics, they are a near term solution to gain an edge but not a cure. Algae can become so bad that lowering your nutrients won’t stop the nutrient recycling by the dying algae. At this stage, you have to gain an edge and that’s exactly what a blackout does. To keep the algae away, you have to stop the cause.
I tried 3 and 5 day blackouts for dino. Didn't do a thing. Tank wrapped etc.
Never really tried it for algae but it would definitely work if done long enough.
Occasionally I'll have a piece of rock with algae that I want to nip in the bud. I take rock and just turn it over so algae is facing down. Algae dies off. I have not timed how long it takes but would be easy to find. I just flipped a rock yesterday so maybe I'll time it and report back if I can remember!
Never really tried it for algae but it would definitely work if done long enough.
Occasionally I'll have a piece of rock with algae that I want to nip in the bud. I take rock and just turn it over so algae is facing down. Algae dies off. I have not timed how long it takes but would be easy to find. I just flipped a rock yesterday so maybe I'll time it and report back if I can remember!
Clownfish_Boy
Well-Known Member
There ya go - let the algae blooms happen in the scrubber !
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
If you have more PAR in your refugium than in your display tank, the algae will grow there instead and out compete the algae in the display tank. It really is that simple. Its not rocket science. You will still need a few astrea snails, but not an army of them unless its to initially regain control. It doesnt have to be an expensive reef light either. The cheap red/blue LED grow lights made for house plants and hydroponics work great for chaeto and macro in the fuge. 2x5watt led grow lights over some chaeto is all I need in an over stocked 29 gallon tank to eliminate the need for water changes.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
My tank gets blacked out for 12 hours per day. I find this highly effective.
Coinzmans Reef
Active Member
Fighting Conch 1 per 2.5 feet of gravel bed. By far the best at cleaning the bottom. Be forewarned do not let them get behind rock if you are up against the back wall they will get stuck often. When I vacuum the bed algae grows back like crazy in three days. When the conches catch up cleaning the bed stays relatively clean period, only the few places they miss has any discernible algae.Hey let's talk about "blacking out" your reef aquarium to combat algae how about it! Just recently I started to get some different type of green film on my sand and rock and I don't want to wait until it's too late and taking over but I want to take action now. Of course you have to address the root of the issue, handle that and then you can conquer the algae issues.....until the next time at least!
Blacking out your tank is not turning on your lights or allowing any light to penetrate the water column for a period of time. (my definition)
For me I have ordered a new clean up crew, algae eating fish and sand stirring fish. I am also making sure my top off water is up to par and changing out some water. But I am going to implement a 3 day black out to kick start the fight!
So let me ask you a few things.
1. How many of you have had success with tank blackouts and was it short or long lived?
2. Do you feed your fish during a tank blackout and if so what does that look like?
3. Do you think a regularly scheduled black out is good for an aquarium?
image via @mello87
beaslbob
2500 Club Member
FWIW IMHO you shouldn't kill the lights, wait awhile then turn them on again. What you should do is to resume with 1/2 duration lights and adjust until desirable algae thrives and the nuisance algae dies off or stay away.
I am not sure if the question is in regards to short term success or long term success.
I did this about three times during the first 9 months of the Tank when it had no coral in it and another time with corals in sheer desperation.
Yes it works great in getting rid of most of the Algae and the water looks Gin clear afterwards. Then as expected as soon as I turned back on the lights the Algae very quickly started to grow again. So it's worthless in the long term! I suspect that the people who have had success are probably using chemicals in conjunction with the blackout. That is a non starter for me as most of those chemicals or Bacteria just create more long term issues than they fix.
As for blacking out a Tank with corals in it. Yes I tried that and it got rid of a lot of pesky algae and also a lot of corals. The Algae grew back, the corals did not.
Fish have no problems going three days without food so that is not an issue. I suspect if you start the light cycle on a low level and ramp up slowly over a few days you could possibly prevent the corals from dying but overall whats the point of doing it in the first place? It does nothing to fix the underlying issues and ends up just being visual relief that lasts about two weeks.
I did this about three times during the first 9 months of the Tank when it had no coral in it and another time with corals in sheer desperation.
Yes it works great in getting rid of most of the Algae and the water looks Gin clear afterwards. Then as expected as soon as I turned back on the lights the Algae very quickly started to grow again. So it's worthless in the long term! I suspect that the people who have had success are probably using chemicals in conjunction with the blackout. That is a non starter for me as most of those chemicals or Bacteria just create more long term issues than they fix.
As for blacking out a Tank with corals in it. Yes I tried that and it got rid of a lot of pesky algae and also a lot of corals. The Algae grew back, the corals did not.
Fish have no problems going three days without food so that is not an issue. I suspect if you start the light cycle on a low level and ramp up slowly over a few days you could possibly prevent the corals from dying but overall whats the point of doing it in the first place? It does nothing to fix the underlying issues and ends up just being visual relief that lasts about two weeks.
Surprising results. Normally with these I'm not not surprised as conventional wisdom usually wins out (as you'd expect). The number of folks who never tried a blackout is over 50%. Interesting...wonder if that's because less 50% of reefers have issues that respond to blackouts.
Similar threads
-
- Poll
-
- Poll
