major algae build up

[topaz330]

recently i've been having major algae build up where its growing all over the glass and the live sand... its soo bad that basically everyday i have to scrub the tank clean... i have a 72g bow front... now i'm thinking its the lack of water movement/circulation in the tank... but if this is the problem i have no clue what to buy that can increase water movement in front of my glass and also on the tank floor where the live sand is... can anyone shead some info on this and what i can buy to help with this?

 

[dmjordan]

what type of water are you using?
how many gph do you have going through your tank right now?
how long do you leave your lights on?
what are your water parameters....including phosphate?
how much and often do you feed?
what is your water change schedule?

 

[cjml]

:happyfish We had a big algae problem and our phosphates were high, also too much feeding, not enough flow-so we started weekly water changes, tried to cut back some on feeding, added another power head, and it cleared up-now we have a problem with that darn purple algae starting-cyno?? -- probably from overfeeding-back to the drawing board!!!

Always a work in progress!!!!! :happyfish :happyfishoh yes-ro/di water a must -- imho....

 

[topaz330]

what type of water are you using?
RO
how many gph do you have going through your tank right now?
i honestly don't know
how long do you leave your lights on?
8hr a day
what are your water parameters....including phosphate?
0 nitrate
0 nitrite
PH 8.2
0 amonia
not sure about phosphates i don't have anything to test it... i'll have the lfs check it out for me
how much and often do you feed?
1once every 2 days
what is your water change schedule?
once a month

 

[spike_501]

how does water flow affect algae? i know it helps against the "red slime bacteria" but not the nuisance hairey algae

 

[topaz330]

i don't have the hairy algae problem but the buildup on the glass and the dark green thin layer on the live sand. also some slime on the top of the water as well

 

[dmjordan]

slime algae is not always red either.
what type of filter do you use and what type of powerheads and how many do you have?
hard to believe you have no trates with a algae problem.....you should really have your phosphates tested and have them test your trates as well just to get a second opinion (maybe a bad test kit)
algae could also be caused by you bulbs....maybe they need to be changed out for new ones.