Green Algae Everywhere!

[mcreef]

I have a 55 gal. reef tank about 6 mos old. I went thru the diatoms already, now I'm having green algae all over the glass. I clean it off, do water changes, cranked up the skimmer and it comes back almost immediately! This morning I cleaned the glass with the magnet cleaner and with in 1 hour it was coating the glass again! Any ideas? I was thinking the lighting. I added metal halide to the pc's last month. But decreasing the light hasn't seemed to help any.

 

[melissa v.]

I get that too, i am curious about the answers as well
Melissa V.

 

[dreeves]

If it hair algea..which it sorta sounds like...simply scraping it off the glass is actually assisting it to grow further...micro algea are opportunistic feeders...they consume nutrients to grow...die off to create more nutrients to grow some more...
Also...the usage of tap water is often contributed to the growth of the micro's...particularly the nitrates, and/or phosphates...both in trace levels can spur growth.
Lighting is also a source of additional nutrients...as the lighting ages...it shifts to the red end of the spectrum...
Water changes with RO/DI water, cleanup crew...water quality and patience I think would be in order.