Blackouts

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

Well,
Through a combination of vacations and other things that have kept me away
from the tanks, I decided to revisit some of my own advice.

I figure I can always trim away anything I don't much care for as far as
algae and have routinely induced a number of species.
It's one thing to add Rhizoclonium to a well run tank but quite another to
have going in full bloom. I had trouble but I managed to be successful after
removing all of the algae eaters(most of the snails included) and lowered
the CO2 for awhile.

Next I over dosed by 3x everything then left for a week. Nice and hairy.
About 3-4 species of algae that bug folks and are often tough(Cladophora,
Rhizoclonium, Green spot, Green dust, a few diatoms, BGA etc.

I did the same old routine I tell folks to do.
Blackout for 3-5 days(6 in my case).
Remove some algae as best as I could(maybe 10 minutes worth)
Add extra flow(powerhead)
Turn off CO2/Lights

Came back, the plants are all fine, a bit leggy but nothing a trim and a
water change cannot solve.

Every trace of the algae is gone.
All species are no longer visible.

I took my own advice.
It still works.

I sell my own advice in a bottle BTW.
It goes for 9.99$ and last forever or until the owner expires.

It seems to cure most every species of problem algae takes about the same
time as most snake oils but actually works.

Now the nutrients and keeping the plants in good health is up to the owner.
But getting rid of even vile species of algae is no biggy.

Regards, 
Tom Barr