"3 Day Lights Out" and New Clam?

[Rovert]

I've been having a diatom problem and was wondering if a 3 day lights out treatment that's been successful for others might adversely impact a new 2" maxima that I just bought. Would it help if I dosed some Phytoplankton daily, or would you recommend I hold off and try a different method of remediation?

[kaserpick]

I know this might sound stupid, but what kind of clean up crew do you have?

[Rovert]

Heh... well, that's the other problem. Only one queen conch that's fairly small at the moment. I know I need a cleanup crew for this particular nuisance, but at the moment, my budget doesn't allow for it.

[kaserpick]

How new is the maxima to your system? Also, how small in the clam?

I would maybe try one day off at the beginning of the week, then shorten your photoperiod by a couple hours (assuming it's around 9 hours or so already) for the rest of the week. After that try one more day of lights off. I don't know if I would try three in a row.

[Rovert]

Kasey, the 3-day lights out treatment is that long to kill unwanted algae because as a lower, less complex life form, it can't survive that long without light. Reducing the photoperiod defeats the purpose, because the algae will still continue to survive if there's light.