Is it ok to leave my tank lights off completely for 7 days?

jjohnson3

jjohnson3

Active Member
Algae is taking over in my tank. I have GHA and the green kind that sticks to everything. In addition to that the water is getting a greenish tint. All params read ok. Can I leave the tank lights off completely for 7 full days? Ive read somewhere that this will kill algae and clean the tank up. I have a few corals. They are euphyllias, shrooms, pagoda, and toadstool leather.

Me--> :whip: <--Algae

It would be hilarious to actuall whip the algae out of the tank!!!
 
corrado007

corrado007

Active Member
Wait for a few others to chime in on this but I'd think turning off the lights for a day or two would be okay but I'd be concerned much past that personally. If you're having algae problems it's likely a water quality issue. I realize you checked some parameters but I'd guess you missed something. Algae is very often a sign of poor water quality. Best of luck, we all have algae at some point or another.
 
jjohnson3

jjohnson3

Active Member
Thanks all. Ive been battling it for the past week and it just got worse today. My anemone got sucked to the filter sometime last night. I could not get it to let go so I threw the whole thing away, filter tube and anemone. Now the bottom of my filter is basically open for now. Any ideas on a quick fix?
 
AndtheBonus

AndtheBonus

Member
Two days would be the most for me that I would leave the lights off. I would suggest removing most of the hair algae by hand and frequent water changes. If you would like to add some more diversity to the tank you can purchase a sea hare which would mow down a lot of the algae by itself. The only problem with that is a lot of sea hare's will starve due to lack of food once all of the HA is removed. With that being said I would NOT suggest leaving the lights off for a week.

-Mitch
 
jjohnson3

jjohnson3

Active Member
Ok. I have heard the sme thing but I have also heard that sea hares can release toxins in the tank if they are stressed. Is it true???
 
jjohnson3

jjohnson3

Active Member
I did use tap water and after filling the tank up, with water, sand and rock, then I found that out. Maybe I can get it under control.
 
AndtheBonus

AndtheBonus

Member
Chances are then that the Tap water is your problem. Use only RO for now on and after a little while you will see very good results. As far as the Sea Hare goes, I think they will only release a toxin if they die. I wouldn't worry about it otherwise. I could be wrong though. But aside from that you need to start using RO water if you haven't already.
 
AndtheBonus

AndtheBonus

Member
If you take that route I would suggest only getting one. Once there is not enough algae they will all be fighting for food. What size tank do you have?
 
jjohnson3

jjohnson3

Active Member
Ok. Here are some pics

FTS

DSC00443.jpg


Hair algae shot

DSC00444.jpg


You know hair algae is out of control when your Maroon Clowns are actually HOSTING it!!!OMG this is hilarious!!!

DSC00445.jpg


Enjoy...
 
AndtheBonus

AndtheBonus

Member
Ok I think the best thing to start off doing is to remove as much HA as you can and do some frequent water changes. A nudibranch can probably help with the HA that you can't get too. Oh and NO MORE Tap Water!
 
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