3 day black out hair algae

[connor.tuggle]

I’m looking into doing a 3 day black out to try and help with hair algae. I have corals and 1 anemone in the tank. Does blackout mean all lights off for 3 days or just on a low setting?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Your SPS won’t like a black out. You may have to do manual removal initially.

After that, stock up on snails and a tang or fox face.

 

[KrisReef]

Lights off completely.
Some people wrap their tank to exclude light

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m looking into doing a 3 day black out to try and help with hair algae. I have corals and 1 anemone in the tank. Does blackout mean all lights off for 3 days or just on a low setting?

Blackout often not the answer as the algae will get mushy during the blackout period. Reduce white intensity, yes but I would place rock in a container of tank water and pull off as much as you can by hand and scrub the rest with a firm toothbrush and some 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Return to tank, reduce white light intensity and number of hours of white lighting and add some snails such as :
Astrea
cerith
turbo grazer
trochus

A Pencil urchin

8-10 Caribbean blue leg hermits

Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your phosphate level?
Is tank at or near a window?

 

[Naekuh]

blackout means you cover the tank with trashbag or some plastic sheet to make it black out.

But the problem is, this stragity is mostly used on freshwater, and FOWLR systems.
There are some corals which will absolutely vent out on you and melt away and die if you do a blackout long enough to get rid of some algae.

Your anenome for one will get REALLY ticked OFF, and start moving around everywhere, possibly taking the entire tank with it as its looking for a spot.

 

[rizon25]

I tried a blackout for three days, didn’t work. Manual removal with a toothbrush weekly, along with weekly water changes of 25-30 percent and keeping nitrates and phosphates in check has been working for me.

 

[Lavey29]

That's a bandaid fix that won't solve underlying issues.

 

[slingfox]

Manual removal then reduce nutrient uptake.

This is a tool I use during my weekly cleanings. Works great for the area where the sand intersects the glass. Also great for scrubbing the weir as well as the rocks:

https://a.co/d/07AZjaML