how do u starve algae?

[timdam]

how do u starve algae? do u leave the lights off to starve algae?

 

[Chris27]

Remove phosphate and nitrate.....water changes, phosphate absorption media, protein skimming, husbandry, etc...

 

[Levito]

turning off the lights for a few days will help too if the tank is empty (other than the algae)

 

[timdam]

i'm just cycling. so leaving the lights off is no problem since nothing else is in the tank. can i leave the blue lights on though?

 

[Dlhirst]

Tim, the easy answer, of course, is "don't feed it". And Chris is correct - its the nitrogen and phosphates that the algae are feeding on. As long as you don't have any nitrogen or phosphate inputs, the cycle IS the starving of that algae.
Nitrogen generally comes from the fish, or decaying matter. It sounds like you don't yet have any livestock, so it just needs to cycle through the decay in your Live Rock. The phosphate source is likely tap water (which you should not use) or soapy hands. People have a tendency to wash their hands before sticking them in the tank. Not an unhealthy practice, but remember you need to rinse, rinse, rinse, to eliminate phosphates (soap) from your skin.

 

[Njkidd23]

^^^^ what he said