tank black out?

[evil Nick]

Ive been using algea fix for a bit and it "seems" to be helping my situation. I run a phos reactor and have a much bigger skimmer than needed for my tank. I unfortunately dont have a phos test kit so I cant give those numbers but my nitrates are very low (tho I use my fresh water kit as I Dont have a marine one yet, money has been a bit tight).

Anyway I want to expedite this hair algea issue by trying a tank black out. My buddy did it to his and after a few days his tank seems almost rid of the GHA. The difference is his tank has very minimal stock. Mine has a few fish, very small tho. I am hesitant of how this will affect my poor fish. I know the corals will be fine for a couple (3) days but the thought of my poor fish in complete darkness scares me.

When you do your black outs do you cover the entire tank, just turn off your overhead lights and let ambient in or cover the sides and leave the top open?

Could I cover the entire tank but put a tiny led under the cover just for something for them?

I know this is a band aid fix until I get my phos issues fixed, which I honestly think is just my rocks leeching since my tank is fairly new but at least if I can get whats there gone I can hopefully keep it more in check. I also figure as the algae fix kills off whats there the dead stuff is probably just going back into the column anyway causing more nutrients to be in the water so Id like to try and kill it all in one fell swoop then do a massive water change and siphon. .

Thanks

 

[Brookster123]

Hey Nick, I'm about to do a 4 day black out myself, have some pesky spots that just won't quit. I'm going away anyways. One less tank for wifey to worry about. The sky can be cloudy for a week? Can't see the fish minding all that much maybe leave a break for some ambient light to get it?

 

[Sniperhank]

A black out won't have any harmful effect on a fish.

 

[evil Nick]

Thanks guys were going away for 3 days this weekend for our annual Halloween trip so maybe I'll just do it then

 

[Brookster123]

My coral looked pissed last night when I got home, toadstool was laying over, birdsnest was skinny.. hopefully they bounce back.. algae didn't come back which is huge!

 

[evil Nick]

My coral looked pissed last night when I got home, toadstool was laying over, birdsnest was skinny.. hopefully they bounce back.. algae didn't come back which is huge!

I just got back today and untarped the tank. I notice a reduction and my skimmer is clogged with hair algae but it's not so gone. My corals don't look great.
I was thinking of running the atinic lights for a while for my tank today for the corals then maybe just going lights out with no cover for a couple more days to hopefully get rid of the rest.

This sound like a good or bad idea? It's pretty cloudy here lately and drapes are down so ambient light is pretty nil. I'm worried about my corals doing more than 3 days covered

 

[Sniperhank]

Remove any and all algae that you can and let things sit for a week to settle. Don't want you to loose any livestock.
Do a water change to get rid of more nutrients and try it again in a week. This time remove as much algae as you can first so nothing gets clogged up.

 

[Brookster123]

Nick, they came back! My rtba moved and stung the sh.... out of some sps but all is well. Do you have any kind of filter sock/catch all in place?

 

[evil Nick]

Just my skimmer and reactor. I would have honestly thought this would have gotten rid of more than it did.
Wouldn't going back to using the light for a few weeks just rebound what's left?

 

[Brookster123]

I don't know really? If you do some wcs and get nutrients in check?? I'll let you know how mine goes. I did a major scrape down before the black out. I'd get some kind of filter to catch the floating debris and algae. I sent a small net over my sump intake with filter floss, change it every few days. Should see all the scum it catches

 

[Sniperhank]

There is always algae in our tanks. Giving light back isn't about the algae, it's about the coral.
The brass tacks here is you still have nutrients in the system. Brookster hit the nail on the head, to include the importance of filter floss or socks.

 

[evil Nick]

I don't know really? If you do some wcs and get nutrients in check?? I'll let you know how mine goes. I did a major scrape down before the black out. I'd get some kind of filter to catch the floating debris and algae. I sent a small net over my sump intake with filter floss, change it every few days. Should see all the scum it catches

I was thinking of putting my reactor pump in a filter sock or doing something with that to catch the debri

 

[Sniperhank]

If you have filtration at the intake of your sump you shouldn't need anything since it'll catch it all before it gets to the different areas of the sump.