Algae, Algae, every where help!!!!

[monsterm]

Hi everyone,
My tank has been set up for about 2 months now and im starting to get a major build up of green algae. I don't think its green hair algae because it does not look like grass and its hard to scrape off my coral skeletons and large conch shell that I have in my display. I have a yellow tang that is a little spoiled. He doesn't eat any of the green algae. I also have cleaning crew comprised of 24 blue leg hermits, twelve small snails, and a 2 inch hemit crab. My question today is, what can I add to a peaceful tank that will eat the green algae other than turbo snails? Also is there a way to get my tang to eat the algae?
PH=8.2
amm=0
Nitrite=0
nitrate=20
thanks,
Mo

 

[hnf2k]

what type of water are you using? also i do believe your nitrates are too high.

 

[cprdnick]

First off, how do you know for sure that your tang and cleanup crew hasn't been mowing your hair algae? He could just be leaving the base colony. Also, what kind of lighting are you running, in addition to the question HNF2K asked. I agree that your Nitrates are high, not necessarily too high, but it is enough to feed an algae bloom.

 

[monsterm]

thanks for yor reply.
I use DI water. I just changed my filter cartridges and air stone for my skimmer, will that help a little? Im going to try lowering the nitrate. I change about 5 gal of water a week but can't seem to get my nitrates down. Im going to try about 10 gals and see what happens. I don't know how many watts my lights are but standard floresent that came with my tank. Ive had it for 2 months. I run my lights for about 11-12 hrs a day. Are there any type of star fish that woud eat this agae you may recomend?
Thank,
Mo

 

[nickeleye]

You need to cut down on the amount of time your lights are on. 11- 12 hours a much to long. Try 8 hours for a start. Also, is your tank in direct sunlight ? That can cause a problem. A Lawn Mower Blenny should help get your tank back in order, plus they are fun to watch.

 

[dreeves]

Do you use crushed coral or sand? What are your phosphate levels like?

 

[monsterm]

I use bio active aragonite sand. There is no green algae on the sand, just on my coral skeletons which makes the tank look dirty. I don't have a test kit for phosphate, but I will look into getting one. I have about 7 fish in my tank now I did not want to over crowd the tank any more so I was looking for some thing small or a small invert to help with the algae. How big does a lawn more get? Thanks for the help
Mo