help my sand is yucky!!

[oodonnaoo]

Please help i have only had my tank since dec,2000 and it did well for the first few months.....but.....then i added too many damsels and a sick tang.........well to make a long story short i have a lots of set backs since april.
SET UP:>right now all i have is 1-star fish, 2-snales, 1-crab, 1-sailfin tang, & 1-cardinal. I have a canaster filter and a double water fall filter. little carbon on waterfall only. (want to get rid of waterfall not sure i can???) 55gal tank 1-live rock oh yeah living sand.
PROBLEM:>my sailfin tang has latteral line and my sand is turning green ......getting lg green bloches all over it looks yucky. did water change and came back quick. what can i do??????????????PLEASE HELP?????????
oodonnaoo@satx.rr.com

 

[mr . salty]

Algae outbreaks are usually caused by on,or all of the following conditions.#1,,Poor water quality.This can be anything from high nitrates(over 60ppm) Phosphates(any is too much)or overstocking the tank.#2,Over feeding will also cause algae due to an accumulation of nutrients in the water from wasted/uneaten food.#3, Poor lighting,or lights on too long each day.If your tank is next to a window,sunlight will also cause this....Do you have a skimmer??? If not you should look into getting one..WHAT ARE THE WATER READINGS NOW???Ammonia,nitrites,nitrates,Ph,and Phosphates??????

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I would never claim to know more than Mr. Salty - his advice has helped me as well. Water quality is a a struggle we all deal with. Looks like in short term you might think about adding alot more snails, and hermit crabs. the Snails will help the algae on the glass and the hermits - heck they eat anything - inlcuding uneaten food.
Brewski