Use BOLD® Light Deprivation to Kill off Algae Growth in Your Aquaponic Tank
If you have exterior tanks, or tanks that are exposed to sunshine, you may be at risk of an algae infestation! According to an article published by Aquasabi, using a blackout treatment is a non-invasive, totally natural, and chemical free way to rid your tank of algae when it blooms. Though not particularly efficient against getting rid of red algae, this method is especially effective against blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) as well as most filamentous green algae/algaefilms.
How Light Deprivation Prevents and Eliminates Algae:
Since Algae is like most plants that thrive off sunshine, depriving them of light will prevent and/or eliminate its growth. The key is to completely shade the tank or aquarium from light for several days (A minimum of 4 day and a maximum of 7 days). Light can come from sources other than the sun, such as lamps, or water features, so it’s important to ensure that there is total darkness. Since living organisms are weakened with a lack of light, BOLD® reinforced black out light deprivation cover can be used to create this total blackout effect, needed to eliminate algae.
Things You Should Know Before You Begin Light Deprivation:
- Be sure that the water supply is well aerated and that you keep any organic load in the water down and feed sparingly.
- Before beginning the treatment, siphon out as much of the algae as you can before preparing for the blackout treatment.
- During the blackout treatment, also be sure to shut off any CO2 supply and abstain from adding liquid fertilizers. (Note: if you have algae eating aquarium animals, the process may be sped up significantly).
What Happens After The Light Deprivation Treatment?
Since Algae, like most plants, thrive under sun exposure (photosynthesis), depriving them of light will ensure that the algae can no longer live. Lack of light weakens all living organisms in the water, so using proper light deprivation will ensure that your algae will be gone! You must keep your tanks or aquariums completely shaded off against any sort of light for several days (4 days minimum, and 7 days maximum) – this includes turning off any lights that may be in your aquarium, tank, or water feature.
How Can You Prevent Algae Growth in the Future?
You may want to do a large water change, as some of the dying algae can still pollute your system. Algae forms when right conditions such as adequate nutrients (mostly phosphorus but nitrogen is important too), light levels, pH, temperature, etc are right. Generally the amount of phosphorus controls the amount of algae found in a freshwater supply. Other factors include direct sunlight, warm humid climates, etc. Algae reproduces very quickly and needs only sunlight (or another form of energy, like sugar), water, carbon dioxide and a few inorganic nutrients to grow. Also always remember that a black-out treatment will remove the algae rather easily, however, it does not remove the reason why the algae proliferated in the first place. It is really important to find out why this happened in the first place, and to take countermeasures, or else there may be another algae outbreak. Only you can determine how often you will want to repeat this method of blackout treating your water, depending on the size of your system.
To read the original article on using light deprivation for algae control, please click here.
Need More Information On BOLD®?
BOLD® light deprivation is string reinforced and ensures total blackout, ideal for a wide range of aquaponic applications and can be used indoors or outdoors. If you have any questions about light deprivation or would like to learn more about BOLD®, please contact our experts at 760-388-6294.
