Three day no photo period...

Gdevine

Gdevine

Premium Member
So, who has done a 3-day no photo period lately? There's a huge thread in here where everyone says how beneficial it was to their tank...some even doing it every 3 months.

My 65g has been up and running for 28 months now and I have some minor nuisance algae and the sand could use it as well. I get decent secondary light from the far side of the room so the tank never goes "black" but no direct light either.

Talk to me gang; who had done it lately and tell me the results as I am seriously thinking of doing this starting Wednesday then WC on Saturday with actinic only Saturday and back to full strength Sunday.

Muchas!!!!
 
I did a 4-day blackout a while back to curb a dinoflagellate bloom (along with a pile of other dino-control procedures).

Worked like a charm.


My tank is currently having a cyano and bryopsis outbreak. My nutrient levels have always been low (even way before the algae) and I rarely feed the two fish (three times a week).

I just started a 4-day blackout and will see what happens.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14993987#post14993987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redfishsc
I did a 4-day blackout a while back to curb a dinoflagellate bloom (along with a pile of other dino-control procedures).

Worked like a charm.


My tank is currently having a cyano and bryopsis outbreak. My nutrient levels have always been low (even way before the algae) and I rarely feed the two fish (three times a week).

I just started a 4-day blackout and will see what happens.
Click to expand...

Thanks Red, keep me posted. Your response is exactly like others...interesting to see you go 4 days. How did your corals react?
 
I did a three day to see if I could get rid of something that I nor anyone could identify (possible algae bloom) and it worked great. All my corals looked great afterwords...All was good!!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14993987#post14993987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redfishsc
I did a 4-day blackout a while back to curb a dinoflagellate bloom (along with a pile of other dino-control procedures).

Worked like a charm.


My tank is currently having a cyano and bryopsis outbreak. My nutrient levels have always been low (even way before the algae) and I rarely feed the two fish (three times a week).

I just started a 4-day blackout and will see what happens.
Click to expand...

This I find interesting, because I haven't heard of it ever being successful in ridding dinoflagellae. I would attribute it more to the other methods used. I know it was originally brought into practice as a quick fix to fight cyanobacteria, and for that purpose it does work quite well. After I removed the light for 72 hours, the cyano was virtually gone. I had no luck with it treating diatoms or dinoflagellae, however, and from what I've read I'm fairly certain that it won't work on hair algae, bryopsis, or other nuisance algaes. It's a quick, cheap and easy method that can be effective, although it's not always the case. If you're in a pinch, I'd say it's worth a try.
 
Lights off does not solve cyano but you can improve it if you siphon off the cyano before doing the lights off.
 
i run lights out 3 days every few months or when the substrate needs a clean... I feed during this time.

I have a mixed reef including a BTA and no problems.

I first started doing this when I was getting cyano. It worked a treat, never had it again!
 
I do this but not intentially, usually only when my lights or timer malfunctions... which is oddly when i go out of town usually!
 
Lights off will not solve a GHA problem, unless you leave them off for like a month, but then you would have problems with your corals. To get rid of GHA you have to get rid of your phosphate and nitrate problems, trust me I know I had it horribly for like 2 yrs before I started a new tank witha proper skimmer and RO/DI water
 
I do it ever now and then and it helps with the sand and spots of cyano - I have never noticed the corals or clams caring.

i would only cover the glass in areas that might receive harsh sunlight at certain times of the day. There are no set rules. I like to have ambient room light for the fish - my thoughts too are that it is in no way natural to have complete blackness - the oceans never do (unless your down about a trillion feet) whereas they do have days at a time of clouds blocking the sun.

I think it is a good tool but certainly no substitute for otherwise practicing good husbandry. It does not fix your problems just lends a hand with nice results.
 
Well today is day 1 with no photo and with the exception of some Zoa's not opening fully and my beautiful Colt a little closed up...nothing out of the ordinary. I think the fish are a little amused but so far so good. Two more days, then a WC with new carbon on Saturday and we'll see how she looks.

Ya know, after more then two years up and running I think this will be very therapeutic for the tank in many many ways:)

Keep you posted.
 
I've done lights out several times to get a grip on algae issues.
It's just one of the steps that need to be taken depending on prob(so for HA I scrubbed rocks first, then lights out, cyano siphon first)
I did block all light by wrapping tank w/ a sheet.
I did feed a little during this period, like once in 3days.
After I increased my skimming and WC's
Algae issues need to be attacked at every angle, as well as finding source of excessive nutrients.
This was on mixed reef, sps and nems, no probs.
Of course I never take pics of tank looking ugly, so no before shots, plenty of after shots in gallery.
 
I do it every other month. I don't cover my tank, just keep the lights off. Some room light gets in, but nothing bright. It keeps some small algae spots in check and my corals(SPS-LPS-Softie), clam, and fish are unaffected. They stay closed most of the time, but man when the lights come back on it's like they are really popping. I think it replicates stormy overcast days. Aquabuckets thread is what got me started. I think he does his every 2-3 months with no negative effects. my .02
 
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