Problems with algae control and water quality

[the flaming scallop]

Tank Specs:
46 gallon with bevel glass 2 40 watt bulbs -i leave the lights on for 10 hours a day.
water is 80 degres
nitrate,nitite,ammonia is all 0 ph is 8.4
we have been having a phosphate problem but i put a phosphate filter in it so its clearing up
I seem to have ALOT of algae in my tank that grows pretty fast. I have it on my glass,my lr, and on my sand. my cleaning crew consists of 4 emerald crabs, 15 snails, 10-20 hermits. these animals are new to my tank so they are pretty small and cannot keep up with the pace of the algae.
I ordered 2 brittle stars off this website, when i put them in my tank they dissapeared and i havent seen them since...not even at night time.
How do i get this algae situation under control??

 

[the flaming scallop]

i also have a question on positioning live rock...i heard youre supposed to stack it up so that the top is a little bit over the water line..is this true???? can you move live rock after you have placed it in your tank??

 

[finland]

If you can keep your nitrate and phosphate levels down near 0, just give your clean up crew time to grow. They will catch up with the algae growth. IMO snails seem to do the best job on the algae growth. I would have about 20-25 turbo snails in a 46 gal.Just my opinion.

 

[ed r]

Do not stack live rock above the water line! You want water dwelling creatures and algae to grow on it. It is ok if during a water change the water level drops enough to expose the rock, but don't leave any of it out of the water. Die-off of creatures causes ammonia, followed by nitrite spikes which can be deadly.
You can move live rock within the tank at your whim. You just need to be very careful that it is stable and will not fall over. It can crush corals or fish, or in extreme cases break the glass of your tank. I would avoid moving rocks from very strong light to very weak light and vice versa, because there could be some algae growth or death that you could avoid, but that is usually not serious.

 

[the flaming scallop]

what about different ways to stack lr up? ive seen some people stack it like a wall in the back of their tank (this is what i have done). and others have made a big mound of lr in the middle of the tank (this is what i am considering). opinions anyone anyone??

 

[lnarobbins]

well, its your tank and you can stack however you like, in my tank I have three piles stacked twards the back of the tank. its all up to how you want your tank to look, one thing though, once you have alot of rock in the tank "70lbs or more" you should not move it around alot once it is established, you will have a chance on killing fish and inverts by crushing them. Also give your cleaning crew a chance, in a few weeks if you still have the problem. try a water change or maybe add some more snals and hermit crabs
hope this helps
Alan

 

[falcon63]

lawnmower goby do a nice job

 

[rick58]

When placing your rock you may want to consider how the way you stack the rock will affect your lighting and current options when selecting corals.

 

[nm reef]

Here is a link to info on <a href="https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=009964" target="_blank">algae issues</a> contributed by a member here...it should help with your battles with algaes. As for the LR....definitely not above the water line! Any way that is pleasing to you will work...me I used a crow bar and cramed 110 lbs or so into a 55 gal...basically a wall along the back with as much open space on the front as possible.