2 day blackout algae attack

[MacDime]

So im gonna try and get rid of this pesky red slime algae problem ive been having with a 2 day black out period.

I recently added a refugium to my sump to help and also cut down on feeding.

I just added a GFO reactor to my tank today and did a water change (vacuumed as much of the algae as I could)

Tomorrow and the next day I plan on leaving the lights of and covering the tank

After the blackout period I will do another water change and change out GFO media.

Am I missing anything here? Do i feed my fish during this blackout period?

[Bent]

Will UV kill red slime?

[MacDime]

Will UV kill red slime?

negative. UV kills free floating bacteria i beleive

[slief]

Will UV kill red slime?

In my experience a good UV filter will help. I did a test recently and even started a thread here documenting the results. But... if you don't vacuum the sand well and increase flow in the problems areas nothing will help much. The 2 day black out will help for a day or two but it will come right back if you don't improve husbandry and flow. This is a guarantee. Cyano is a bacterial issue that feeds on excess nutrients and you have to remove those nutrients. The UV will help reduce some cyano bacteria in the water column which will help decrease its spread or population IMO but flow is key along with detritus removal.

[Bent]

negative. UV kills free floating bacteria i beleive

It sure worked wonders on an old pond of mine. Ran a big UV on it and it was clear after only 3 days.

[slief]

It sure worked wonders on an old pond of mine. Ran a big UV on it and it was clear after only 3 days.

Unlike many here, I am a proponent of running a good UV filter but you have to know what to expect and set them up properly as far as flow and sizing goes. In my opinion, they can be part of a bigger picture but also can be instrumental in helping to curtail and or inhibit certain things such as cyano. On the other hand, expecting a UV filter to eliminate things like Ich is not a reason to run one because it won't do that.

[Bent]

Unlike many here, I am a proponent of running a good UV filter but you have to know what to expect and set them up properly as far as flow and sizing goes. In my opinion, they can be part of a bigger picture but also can be instrumental in helping to curtail and or inhibit certain things such as cyano. On the other hand, expecting a UV filter to eliminate things like Ich is not a reason to run one because it won't do that.

Agreed.

I don't think people realize the sheer amount of power and exposure most micro-organisms need for UV to be effective.

[Lucky Lefty]

I just did a full 72 hour blackout. Snuck under the sheet and fed my puffer and dropped some nori for the sailfin each day.

After the 72 hours I pulled off the sheet and was amazed at how clean the tank was.
it's been about a week and a half and nothing has really come back. Maybe a small, tiny amount, but nothing like before.
I don't run UV sterilizer. I always figured it sterilized good stuff too, like copepods, which I need all the pods I could get with 2 mandarins.

[ncaldwell]

I tried a 3 day blackout for my hair algea, it didn't do anything for it but when the lights came back on all my corals looked amazing.

[Bent]

I just did a full 72 hour blackout. Snuck under the sheet and fed my puffer and dropped some nori for the sailfin each day.

After the 72 hours I pulled off the sheet and was amazed at how clean the tank was.
it's been about a week and a half and nothing has really come back. Maybe a small, tiny amount, but nothing like before.
I don't run UV sterilizer. I always figured it sterilized good stuff too, like copepods, which I need all the pods I could get with 2 mandarins.

It won't hurt the pods or anything complex. Only very small simple celled Prokaryotic organisms will be effected.

It might help to understand how UV works to know how best to implement it.

UV requires two things to be effective; intensity and exposure (read, wattage and slow flow.) While it is possible to destroy an organism with UV, the exposure time has to be long, and the wattage significantly higher than any that are commercially available to our application. The more complex the organism and the thicker the cell wall, the more exposure and intensity that will be required to irradicate it.

Now having said that, simple prokaryotes (cells that lack a cell wall) like bacteria require much less exposure for irradication. While this exposure does have the capability to physically destroy the nucleus, the main goal is to stop the cells reproduction.

UV is extremely effective at changing or destroying the DNA and RNA within the nucleus of almost all prokaryotic organisms. While it will not kill the organism, it will prevent it from reproducing. So typical methods to irradicate the organism will still need to be followed and the organisms inability to spread or reproduce will give the user a leg up on it.

Hope that helps some.