# 5 day black out strategy



## PuffNatic (Oct 5, 2005)

I did a three day blackout, but after three days it was still kinda green. I then decided to back off the light and used one 65 watt instead of two. Couple days later the water is clear again. Patience is key in the battle against algae.


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## intermision (Nov 7, 2005)

I have a slight case of brown alga and spot algea, and I am just going to black it out until I come home from our property saturday or sunday. Hopefully that will be enough to get rid of the algea.


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## akos (Oct 20, 2005)

I did a 5 day blackout and it worked very well for green water. I guess the hardest part would be to actually wait out the 5 days, but since I was away I wasn't tempted to mess with it. 

Here is what I did:

1-Do a water change.
2-Wrap a blanket around tank and completely cover so that it is dark.
3-Shut off CO2, Shut off Lights.
4-Wait 5 days.
5-Do another large water change.

I didn't feed the fish during the blackout and if I remember correctly I kept the air pump running during this time. 

Most of my plants suffered only minimal damage and recovered quickly after the blackout. Some people recommend doing water changes during the blackout, I found this wasn't necessary for me and luckily no fish died during this period.


If you search this forum, you will find many examples of blackout techniques.


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## Raphael (Nov 13, 2005)

Will the black out strategy get rid of hair algae on plants?


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

I'm at day 4 of my 5 day black out. I don't know what to expect tomorrow when I bring light back to my tank. Would green water reappear when I turn the light back on.


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## newshound (May 9, 2005)

no a 5 day black out will not work for thread/hair algae.
When i moved some of my plants had at least a week black out and boom hair algae like no tommorrow.


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## Raphael (Nov 13, 2005)

I would do a week but I can't because I have a brackish tank and brackish isn't the best for plants. No light would be even worse. Anyway, I bought myself a hair algae remover yesterday. Hopefully that will work.


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## aquabillpers (Nov 28, 2003)

The five day blackout procedure was popularized by Tom Barr as a way to get rid of BGA. It might work against some other algaes but not all, or most.

BTW, there is more to the "five day blackout" than just shutting off the lights and covering the tank for 5 days.

Bill


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

Personally I don't like the blackout. I just switch to one 65 watt bulb instead of two and reduce the photoperiod. Might take a few more days but it seems to make for healthier plants.


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## Fishingdood (Feb 9, 2005)

*Brown Alge : (*

I have brown alge everywhere ...it is killing my plants...

All my water paras are fine...

I have a DIY co2
No Ferts
20% change each week
96watts - 3.2 WPG

plants were doing fine untill the brown crap went everywhere : ( ...any help is appreciated


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## EricSilver (Feb 23, 2004)

Five days is probably too short. I had an unintentional two week blackout when my ballast burned out and I was awaiting delivery of a replacement. 

The green spot algae on my annubias was effectively wiped out, as were all other known types (on the glass and driftwood). The plants did remarkably well, with only three crypt leaves, and a few small java fern leaves, turning yellow and needing to be pruned. 

Problem is, the algae will inevitably return, at least in a small quantitiy.


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