72-Hour Blackout Cure for Algae is Rubbish

[blank]

Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
covers and:
thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.

So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and it
doesn't work.

[Tasslehoff Burrfoot]

Umm, not sure if you did your homework beforehand or just got bad advice
from someone, but it only works for about 95% of BGA's(Blue-green algae) and
greenwater type algae. It will probably not work for
brown(diatomic)/film/spot/fuzz/hair/thread/staghorn/BBA inc.(red types).

"blank" > wrote in message
...
> Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
> covers and:
> thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
> most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
> a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
>
> So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
> say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and it
> doesn't work.
>
>

[Dick]

On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 15:45:03 +1000, "blank" > wrote:

>Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
>covers and:
>thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
>most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
>a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
>
>So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
>say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and it
>doesn't work.
>
Reassuring to know fish can survive 72 hours without food isn't it?
I tried the darkness routine for only 48 hours to treat Ich. Didn't
work for that either, but I feel better about missing a couple of
feeding times.

dick

[blank]

"Dick" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 15:45:03 +1000, "blank" > wrote:
>
> >Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
> >covers and:
> >thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
> >most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
> >a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
> >
> >So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
> >say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and
it
> >doesn't work.
> >
> Reassuring to know fish can survive 72 hours without food isn't it?
> I tried the darkness routine for only 48 hours to treat Ich. Didn't
> work for that either, but I feel better about missing a couple of
> feeding times.
>
> dick

absolutely i have been biting my nails for 72 hours non-stop and my
wife has been even more uptight but all is well, which is very reassuring
except it doesnt kill the damn algae anyway it was an experiment i had to
try and thank god no harm has been done

[Cichlidiot]

In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants blank > wrote:
> absolutely i have been biting my nails for 72 hours non-stop and my
> wife has been even more uptight but all is well, which is very reassuring
> except it doesnt kill the damn algae anyway it was an experiment i had to
> try and thank god no harm has been done

Fish do perfectly fine for 3 days without feeding unless they are young or
already ailing. Mouthbrooding cichlids go weeks without eating while
holding a clutch of eggs for example. Anyways, since darkness did not work
for your algae, perhaps you should be reconsidering what kind of algae you
have. Of course, microscopic examination would probably be needed to made
an absolute ID, but if you could post pictures (overall tank shot and
closeups are good) to a webpage, perhaps more directed cleanup suggestions
could be given.

[[email protected]]

"blank" > wrote in message >...
> Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
> covers and:
> thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
> most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
> a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
>
> So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
> say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and it
> doesn't work.

For BGA is certainly does, I've never claimed it works with other
algae.
You did not do something right as far as my advice if you were trying
to cure BGA algae.

If you follow the advice it, does work.
If you do not, I cannot help you.

If 3 day blackout kills or otherwise harms plants, there would be no
mail order plant vendors.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[Mean_Chlorine]

Thusly "blank" > Spake Unto All:

>absolutely i have been biting my nails for 72 hours non-stop and my
>wife has been even more uptight

Pretty much any fish can handle a week without food without any ill
effects, most larger fish have no problem with two weeks without food.
The exception is very young fry - they need more constant access to
food.

[Dick]

On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 19:48:53 +1000, "blank" > wrote:

>
>"Dick" > wrote in message
...
>> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 15:45:03 +1000, "blank" > wrote:
>>
>> >Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
>> >covers and:
>> >thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
>> >most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
>> >a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
>> >
>> >So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
>> >say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and
>it
>> >doesn't work.
>> >
>> Reassuring to know fish can survive 72 hours without food isn't it?
>> I tried the darkness routine for only 48 hours to treat Ich. Didn't
>> work for that either, but I feel better about missing a couple of
>> feeding times.
>>
>> dick
>
>absolutely i have been biting my nails for 72 hours non-stop and my
>wife has been even more uptight but all is well, which is very reassuring
>except it doesnt kill the damn algae anyway it was an experiment i had to
>try and thank god no harm has been done
>

At least you tried. Algae takes lots of trying. There are many types
and causes. To get any useful suggestions you will have to post more
specific information about your tank, light schedule and power, fish
population, feeding habits, etc.

dick

[Nick Wise]

Dick > wrote in message >...
> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 19:48:53 +1000, "blank" > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Dick" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 15:45:03 +1000, "blank" > wrote:
> >>
> >> >Well, after 72 hours of total darkness in my 4' aquarium I removed the
> >> >covers and:
> >> >thankfully, the fish are all still alive,
> >> >most of the plants are fine (java moss has suffered),
> >> >a bit of the algae has gone, but most is alive and healthy.
> >> >
> >> >So to those advocating 72 hours of darkness as a guaranteed algae cure I
> >> >say: Nonsense, it is a myth. Don't bother even trying it. I did, and
> it
> >> >doesn't work.
> >> >
> >> Reassuring to know fish can survive 72 hours without food isn't it?
> >> I tried the darkness routine for only 48 hours to treat Ich. Didn't
> >> work for that either, but I feel better about missing a couple of
> >> feeding times.
> >>
> >> dick
> >
> >absolutely i have been biting my nails for 72 hours non-stop and my
> >wife has been even more uptight but all is well, which is very reassuring
> >except it doesnt kill the damn algae anyway it was an experiment i had to
> >try and thank god no harm has been done
> >
>
> At least you tried. Algae takes lots of trying. There are many types
> and causes. To get any useful suggestions you will have to post more
> specific information about your tank, light schedule and power, fish
> population, feeding habits, etc.
>
> dick

A blackout does no good if your tank's nutrients are still out of
balance. You need to get those in line, or the algae will never go
away. You have to treat the source.

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Nick Wise wrote:
> A blackout does no good if your tank's nutrients are still out of
> balance. You need to get those in line, or the algae will never go
> away. You have to treat the source.

I agree with this. I would've personally done some scrubbing on more built
areas, done a major water change and then tried the blackout. Probably
for longer than 3 days, whilst not feeding the fish. They'll pick up
any loose particles.

[Ali Day]

> Nick Wise wrote:
> > A blackout does no good if your tank's nutrients are still out of
> > balance. You need to get those in line, or the algae will never go
> > away. You have to treat the source.
>
> I agree with this. I would've personally done some scrubbing on more built
> areas, done a major water change and then tried the blackout. Probably
> for longer than 3 days, whilst not feeding the fish. They'll pick up
> any loose particles.


Always worked for me.

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Ali Day wrote:
>
> > Nick Wise wrote:
> > > A blackout does no good if your tank's nutrients are still out of
> > > balance. You need to get those in line, or the algae will never go
> > > away. You have to treat the source.
> >
> > I agree with this. I would've personally done some scrubbing on more built
> > areas, done a major water change and then tried the blackout. Probably
> > for longer than 3 days, whilst not feeding the fish. They'll pick up
> > any loose particles.
>
> Always worked for me.

On diatoms?

[Ali Day]

"Geezer From The Freezer" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Ali Day wrote:
> >
> > > Nick Wise wrote:
> > > > A blackout does no good if your tank's nutrients are still out of
> > > > balance. You need to get those in line, or the algae will never go
> > > > away. You have to treat the source.
> > >
> > > I agree with this. I would've personally done some scrubbing on more
built
> > > areas, done a major water change and then tried the blackout. Probably
> > > for longer than 3 days, whilst not feeding the fish. They'll pick up
> > > any loose particles.
> >
> > Always worked for me.
>
> On diatoms?

Yep on a 4 week old seeded tank, but whether it was the darkness that killed
it off, or the plants and filtration kicking in and using up the available
resources could be debated I suppose.

A

[Mr Happy]

The benefit of a 72-hour blackout is that for 72 hours you can't
see the mess

This is a symptom not a cause. The algae is there because there
is light and nutrients - Look on Google to check you have the
right lights for your tank/contents - I have seen people with
minature suns suspended over open top tanks - I needed sun
glasses god knows how the fish felt - Some corals and plants
need strong light - I can't think of any fish that do

Light is easy to play with until you get what you want. the
usual cause of algae is nutrient rich water. Usually water
changes will fix the problem sometimes, the base water supply
can be high in nitrate.

I suggest daily 10-15% water changes will see the problem go
away

Make sure your test kits are fairly new 4months or less since
opened as they lose their effectiveness with time

M

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