IFoundNemo

and I put him in my tank
Location
Brooklyn
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Right now I am battling hair algae. I have been doing water changes every other day, and added my phosban about a week ago. When doing my water change, I got frustrated at how much hair algae is still thriving, although it its thinning a bit. I turned out my lights after the water change and decided to leave the lights out for a bit. How long can lights be off in a reef? I was thinking of going 2 days. I put a towel around the glass to keep outside light from fueling the algae.
The corals i have are frogspawns, torch, bubble, xenia, mushrooms, and some random zoas. How long can they go without becoming unhealthy?

And, does anyone know if oceanic sea salt has phosphates or anything else bad in it?
 

hijinks

Advanced Reefer
Location
Jersey City
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remember algae has a dormant period where it can still live without light.. you are better to battle the root cause of the issue and not try to kill it by turning the lights off.

oceanic claims NO nitrate, phosphate, or ammonia
 

Deanos

Old School Reefer
Location
Bronx, NY 10475
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Right now I am battling hair algae. I have been doing water changes every other day, and added my phosban about a week ago. When doing my water change, I got frustrated at how much hair algae is still thriving, although it its thinning a bit.

It took more than 1 week for your current situation to develop. It takes even longer to eradicate it. The lack of lighting will affect your corals before it affects the hair algae.
 

18oreefer

+270
Location
Franklin NJ
Rating - 100%
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Hair algea can live on very low level of nitrate and phos. You need to get thouse to 0 and your problem will go away. As was said before the algea will long outlive the corals. Are you using tap water for your changes?
 

hijinks

Advanced Reefer
Location
Jersey City
Rating - 100%
18   0   0
You could store rock in complete darkness for a week and the algae on the rock might look like its gone.. but it will be dormant and come right back.

target the root of the problem and the algae will be gone.. got me it was direct sunlight.
 

IFoundNemo

and I put him in my tank
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 100%
23   0   0
I am just trying to weaken the algae further than it already has been through frequent water changes and the phosban to hasten its demise. I know that keeping the lights off for a few days is not going to magically cure my problem. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to damage my corals by having the lights off for little while.
 
Location
Huntington
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
Oceanic isn't the greatest salt, it's been known to cause problems. Leaving the light off for a few days won't do anything. Algae is never the problem it is just a symptom of a larger issue. I would start by using a different salt and do your best to reduce the nutrient levels in the tank. There are any number of causes for algae, you just have to systematically reduce them and over time it will come under control. Liverock is like a chemical sponge it will absorb nutrients and as you reduce the levels in the water column it can leach out (high concentration to lower concentration) so keep your levels where they should be and you will eventually get it under control.
 

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