leaving lights off to get rid of algea

[jong101]

I remember reading a thread quite a while ago about someone who left the lights off for several days to get rid of some nusince algae, I was wondering if it would get rid of green hair algae, and if there was any danger/guide lines for using this method

[svb57]

I tried that and it did reduce the amount but because I didnt change anything else when the lights came back so did the algae.

No matter what I tried i fought it for about 6 months until I found a thread where they were talking about ridding thier tanks form Hair Algae by raising the Mg in the tank by adding Kent Mg to a level over 1500. So I tried that and with me pulling clumps out and raising the Mg to 1500 over a week period and holding it there the algae went away and has stayed away.

Here is pic of my system. I always like to see someones tank that is "giving" advise...


http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj173/svb57/IMG_0048.jpg

[Toddrtrex]

Yea, if you don't change the underlying reason for the algae, turning off the lights will only be a band-aid.

Now, if you find the root cause, and fix it, it could help speed up getting rid of it.

[jong101]

well, it happenned because I did not have enough flow and I am running BB, I just uped my flow about 7x so I fixed the problem of detrius getting built up in corners and base of rocks, I also added a power head to my sump, so it's just a matter of getting rid of it now. I find it really hard to pull off as well

[jong101]

thanks for the help guys