Green Algae update

I had a some green hair algae that looked really nasty in my tank, so i cut the lights for two days. I turned them on today and alot of the algae is gone but there is some left. I have my actinics on now and am thinking of turning the daylights on for a few hours tonight. But should i, or should i leave them off for another day or so? Will doing this kill even more of the algae? I was going to take out the top rock and scrub it but if it goes away on its own, i would rather not disrupt the tank. I am going to decrease the amount of time the daylights are on in the tank, hoping it will prevent algae growth. I was thinking a light cycle??? What would you suggest?
I have alot of questions:-/:-X

 

It really depends on if you have corals. I think you can go about a week without a problem. But as soon as you go back to a full lighting schedule, the algae will return if you have not made any improvements in water quality. Even if you have, it will still take awhile to erradicate it. Mine took 3 mo.

 

K. I dont have any corals in there yet. I have a firefish and a Bicolor Blenny? My water quality is good. 0 amm, 0 nitrite, and very low nitrates. I am running chemi pure and Purigen in a media rack. What type of a light cycle should i be going for to combat this algae?

 

I had a real bad case and I never changed my lighting schedule. I just used a Sonic Scrubber to keep it down to a minimum on the rocks and let it run its course. It is my opinion that it will have to exhaust all the fuel in the rock before it will go away. Blow off the rock twice a week with a Turkey baster. Also run a Phosban reactor to keep phosphates low. Then just be patient. It will go away.

 

Since you don't have any fish, I would run acnics only while it's your tank viewing time. Your fish shouldn't mind much.

 

that is exactly what i was thinking mike. Just running the actinics. But will the GHA just come back when i go back to a light cycle of some sort?

 

What you need to do is run a reduced light cycle until the GHA dies off. You will then be able to get an honest reading on nitrates and phosphates without the algae in there eating it. Then you can take steps to get those numbers where they need to be. Then go back to normal lighting, and it shouldn't come back.

 

like how much of a light cycle? how many hours of daylight? how many hours of actincs?

 

I would do 4-6 hours of acnics only. This should keep your fish on some type of day night schedule, while limiting light for the algae to feed on.

Also be sure to limit feeding. Two times a week should be plenty.

 

thanks man. i am feeding very minimal amounts right now. My Bicolor blenny is eating the algae and the firefish is really not eating the pellets i drop in? So i havent really been feeding much at all. Should i be doing water changes during this time?