3 days without light

[ren99]

I got an red carpet outbreak. Gonna try the 3 days without light approach. I have no corals
I have:
30 red hermit
100 small snails
2 turbo
1 sally light foot
2 clown
1 lawn mower blennie.
Question is will these things survive 3 days without light? especially the lawnmower blennie cuz he doesn't seem to come out with lights off.

 

[lion_crazz]

definitely will survive, but the lmb will be a little stressed out in there for the 3 days. What are your levels and what kind of water do you use?

 

[murph1455]

red slime outbreak isnt usually due to excess lights unless left on for more than 12 hours in a day.... most likely u have excess nutrients in your tank.... nitrates / amonia / phosphates... algae feeds off of these nutrients and will bloom with them present in your tank.... i would suggest checking your parameters and doing a 20% water change weekly until your levels stabalize.... lighting wont solve the problem alone

 

[ren99]

amonia 0, nitrite 0 , nitrate 0. sg .024, temp 79, using ro water.
skimmer picks up about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of dark brown stuff every week.
I feed only enough for the 2 clown to finish in about 2 min.
no corals, so MH only on for about 7 - 8 hours a day with actinic for another 4 hours.
Do water change 10% a week.
Water flow is 15x.
Can't figure out what my problem is.

 

[ren99]

do you suggest I get a phospate test kit although my nitrate is 0?

 

[murph1455]

yes.... my nitrates were also zero but when i tested my phospahtes they were at 2 ppm which is enough to cause an excess nuicsance algae bloom ... what size is your tank?? sorry if i overlooked it??
how are the rocks.... are they covered with the red algae also??
i used some red slime remover i got at my LFS when i had a red slime outbreak and it cleaered the stuff up within days.... doesnt hurt invert either worked really well

 

[ren99]

My tank is 90G.
Yup the rock is covered with them as well.
I would really like to get rid of my underlying problem that is causing these algae bloom. I have heard several people say that red slime remover is good now. but I will give this a try before using any chemicals.
just curious what is the name of hte product you used?

 

[ren99]

Hm now come to think of it, I have a few filter pads in my sump that catches the overflow water to reduce noise and bubble. I change them once a week. Can this cause a problem?

 

[murph1455]

i doubt it.... i figure that i have an elevated level phosphates due to overfeeding or overstocking of fish in my tank.... fish "crap" is basically manuere and has phosphates in it.... so if it gets in your sand bed and isnt properly cleaned it can build up causing the algae blooms.... its always hard to tell what exactly causes these issues... thats just what im thinking.... i dont think the lights will have an affect on the algae.... id get some kind of red slime remover or change some water and check for the phosphates.... i use di water and im tryin to fig out y i still have Po4's i even put a phos sponge in like 10 days ago and the water still has phosphates.... i added to my clean up crew the rocks look great the sand still gets some brown / red on it .... nothing crazy but just a tint by the end of the light cycle

 

[bigarn]

Originally Posted by ren99
Hm now come to think of it, I have a few filter pads in my sump that catches the overflow water to reduce noise and bubble. I change them once a week. Can this cause a problem?
If you change them weekly, it shouldn't be a problem. Make sure you have good waterflow in the areas of the cyanobacteria outbreak .... no dead spots.

 

[ren99]

How can you clean the sand bed? I don't get it. I have never done it.
I am planning to leave lights off for 3 days, it will starve abuot 90% of the red carpet. (remember I have a major outbreak) after that, I will syphon out as much as i can what I red stuff is left, clean up my equipment. and then do a water change. on the 4th day I will turn lights on.
during which time, I will feed my clown once a day what they can finish in 2 min.
changed my filter pads today.
If the red carpet comes back in full force by the 6th day then I will think about what to do. Maybe I have a serious problem with something I am doing.