algae in overflow

[motohead]

i have an algae prob in my overflow.some is cyano.other is some hair algae.what i have done is cut back on feeding and when i looked at it today i got a bright ,maybe stupid idea.i put a piece of cardboard over the top,cut to fit to block off the light coming from overhead via my vhos.then i taped aluminum foil around the sides of the tank to block ambient light from getting in the sides of the box.has anyone had this problem and how did you deal with it?also,how will the algae react?if,like i am hoping,it passes to the netherworld,can i expect negative effects on my water quality?what kind of imbalance can i expect?surely not some supercycle?lol.thanks for your time

[GaryP]

I'd just suggest cleaning your overflow. If its only growing in the overflow, what's the problem?

[motohead]

well i am thinking of cleaning it.the problem being that the red devil slime algae is starting to get out of control in there.i really dont mind the hair algae in there.but the cyano is creating those bubbles now and they are starting to flow through the tank.not micro bubbles but if you have seen cyano then you know the bubbles i am talking about.now i wish i had never looked in there.lmao :sick

[Tim Marvin]

Clean it....

[motohead]

its looking like that is what i got to do.i will leave the light blockers on for a couple days and see what happens.then ill just get unlazy and clean the stuff out.what a pain in the butt.lol

[jaded]

I had a little breakout but as soon as my nitrate zeroed out it slowly regresses to nothing but nice purple coraline... but these guys are probably right... clean it!!!

[cpreefguy]

yes, clean it before it clogs and you have an even bigger problem

[bigdscobra]

If you let/put some (turbo) snails in the overflow a couple times they will take care of the algae.... I do this about twice a month and havent had a problem...

[Thunderkat]

You can also buy overflow boxes that have the light blocker but I wouldn't worry about it either, just leave the cardboard.

The only problem you could have is if the cyano makes so many bubbles and if they all stay in there it might break the water seal. If your overflow box has an attachment for a vacuum pump then that is no problem either.

[GaryP]

Blocking the light will just cause the algae to take up knitting and wait you out. Worst case is that it will die and release all its nutrients back into the water and cause an algae bloom somewhere else that is even worse.

The bubbles you are worrying about is oxygen. Its not going to hurt anything. What few bubbles there are should float out or be absorbed in your sump. Besides, you're going to have a lot more air bubbles from the turbulence then you are going to get from the cyano. I sincerely doubt that is what is causing the bubble problem. You may need to look at installing a bubble trap in your sump. I just use a sock filter on the overflow line going to my sump. That seems to be just as effective as any permanently installed hardware.