Hair algae taking over tank

[luvnlife]

Hello,

I'm having problems with a massive hair algae bloom throughout my tank. It's a 165g freshwater, NON-planted tank. I've tried reducing the amount of light, turned off lights for a week, etc. All advice that I seem to find is for planted tanks, so I'm trying to find some specific instructions for a non-planted tank. I've had small outbreaks before, but after a water change they cleared up. This one is different and I can't seem to stop it. I'm debating pulling all plastic plants and aquarium décor to soak in hydrogen peroxide, then thoroughly rinse for a day or two and redecorate after a few water changes?

I'm also wondering if I should do the 'blackout' method for 4-5 days or so before going to that extreme measure of taking everything out.

Any tips or advice?

 

[Alan79]

Peroxide will do the same job in a non planted tank. I would read up on the dosage recommendations and check if your fish are all going to cope with a full strength dose. I'd rehome anything that wouldn't handle it remove filtration (peroxide kills BB) and run it on your tank. It works better if the lights aren't on too supposedly.

 

[Mebbid]

Its 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per gallon. I've yet to hear of any fish that won't handle it, but some shrimp can have problems if you squirt it directly on them.

Hydrogen peroxide breaks down in light so you can turn the filters off and lights off. Squirt it directly on the problem areas, wait 15 minutes, and then turn everything back on.

 

[luvnlife]

Thanks for the advice. I will give that a try with a blackout as well just to see.