No Lights for 3 Days Every Couple of Months Works Wonders!

[chem-e]

I've turned off my lights for a day or two on occasion for different reasons. Usually it's because of algae such as HA or cyano because I think it gives my inverts a chance to catch up. I've also turned off lights when I introduce new fish to try and reduce tension. The last reason I turn off my lights is when my fish gets ich. If I see ich, I'll feed the fishes garlic soaked food, but I also leave the lights off because I think the fish is able to rest more and recover.

[HowardW]

Very interesting concept Aquabucket, and it appears your idea works very well for you judging by your beautiful tank pics.

I think doing this may also be a beneficial idea for people like myself who keep tanks with Florida aquacultured live rock which contains mostly filter feeder type life on it anyway. This rock is collected in the gulf and keys in fairly shallow water (about 20') however I am told the water is very turbid and many times the visibility is very poor and you can't see even a few feet in front of you, so I would imagine a pretty small percentage of sunlight actually reaches bottom where this rock thrives in the wild.

I already go some days with just running my 03 actinics, but I think I will now try going at least a couple days this week with lights out!

[triggerfreak]

I tried this on my 3 gallon picotope and it works great. No light for 3 days and all algae was gone. Thanks for the info.

[cristhiam]

Hey, my HA is looking weak after doing the 3 days, but I need another no lights session and see if I can finally WIN! great idea.

[flrman]

thanks for the info, i have a sea cucumber in the tank, will this 3 day dark period effect this guy. DOnt want him to nuke the tank.

Thanks

[flrman]

thanks for the info, i have a sea cucumber in the tank, will this 3 day dark period effect this guy. DOnt want him to nuke the tank.

Thanks

[Misled]

Originally posted by flrman
thanks for the info, i have a sea cucumber in the tank, will this 3 day dark period effect this guy. DOnt want him to nuke the tank.

Thanks

It won't affect the cuke. I have one in a tank without any lights and he does fine.

[Creade]

I normally give my tank 1 day per month of no lighting.
As Aquabucket said, polyp extension is amazing the next day, much like that of a water change.

I think it does wonders in general.

I dont normally leave them off for 3 days though.

[leeweber85]

hmm... My nano is having an algae problem... maybe I'll try this... the only thing is I don't have any inverts in there so I probably won't see any results...worth a shot though.

[saltman123]

Interesting idea.....Nice Tank!

[warr40]

when u guys did the lights out did u cover your tank or let ambient light(sunlight and room lights) shine threw

[Aquabucket]

My room gets plenty of ambient sunlight and the tank sits about 8 feet from a bay window.

[warr40]

so wen u do the lights out do u put a sheet over the tank?

[Aquabucket]

No. The fish remain active and are fed and some LPS corals do open up. There is light but very little PAR value I would think.

My tank sits at a 90 degree angle and does not get direct sunlight. Each individual's tanks here are going to have varied ambient light so take this into consideration when attempting to go a full 3 days. Its probably best for most of you to try one day first and work your way up to more if you think its going to be OK. Having the tank off for 3 days will have a more lasting effect from my experience though.

[warr40]

i just did a 2 day period with lights off and just now i put a sheet over the tank just to see the effects

[2fishy]

Are you seeing a lot of affects on diatom algae on the gravel? I seem to be fighting this from time to time and was thinking of giving this a shot to get rid of that.

[Aquabucket]

To kill off diatoms and keep them away for extended periods you will need to go the full 3 days. Diatoms are one of the reasons I started doing the 3 day thing. On my tank It takes about 2 months after a 3 day black out before a slight diatom ring begins to appear along low flow areas of my sand bed. Within days after they appear I start another 3 day black out. The period without diatoms is getting longer and longer in my case.

*Note every drop of water added to my tank has always had a reading of zero TDS since I use only a proven and tested brand of distilled water. I was always dumbfounded as to how I could still get diatoms from time to time. I am still trying to figure out were I am importing the silicates from.

[2fishy]

I seemed to have tried so many different things to the point of even using a coffee filter in a cup when thawing my frozen foods and then squeezing all of the juice out of the frozen foods before shaking the filter in the tank to feed the fish. Doing that or not doing that, really doesn't seem to make any difference.

Definately going to try the lights now!

[je_unc]

What brand of distilled water do you use, Aquabucket?

[Aquabucket]

Great Value ~ made in Chippewa Falls Wi. by Premium Waters INC. You can get it at wally world.

[MrPike]

Wonder if 3 days lights out would have any affect on those photosynthetic red flatworms Cool thread btw.

[2fishy]

Originally posted by Aquabucket
Great Value ~ made in Chippewa Falls Wi. by Premium Waters INC. You can get it at wally world.

I have some of this!! We use it in our humidifiers during the winter (electric heat really makes a house dry), and I top off my tank with it when the water level starts to get low. I usually use RO water for mixing saltwater.

Aquabucket, do you think that there could be a relation to diatoms and too much filter maintenance/cleaning of equipment? It might be a strange question, but after having surgery I couldn't do the regular tank maintenance that I had been doing, and went several weeks in between water changes and equipment maintenance compared to the regular weekly water changes & strict equipment maintenance I had been doing. It seemed that the diatoms actually got better due to the lack of, and now seem to be coming back worse now that I am doing it regularly. Just a thought.

[Aquabucket]

I do know first hand that diatoms love acrylic and other plastics. Whenever I put in a new coral rack at work the diatoms coat the rack in just a couple of days. After a few weeks the racks are diatom free.

[Kengaroo131]

this is a good idea im going to start it tomorow i think i might only try 2 days to start off.

[washingtond]

Did you monitor the PH and Oxygen levels in the tank during the dark period? If so did you see any drop? If not why do you think that they did not?