hey so my green alage has become long and stringy on the bottem of my tank. is that bad? and what should i do? i also have small patches of alage that are black and some that are purple....help me out are these bad too? what could i put in my tank to help this out. with in the last twodays i have seen alot of baby fish in my tank...i think my clowns have laid eggs and they hatched...not sure though...could this have anything to do with my alage problem??I have a 55 gal. i have 4 hermit crabs, and 3 turbo snails and one blennie as my cleanup crew...should i have a bigger crew?
Congrats on the new additions! No, they have nothing to do with your algae. It's caused by nitrates, phosphates, and lighting. Here are some things you can do to help with it though:
1. Be sure to use RO/DI or distilled water only.
2. Do not use flake or pellet since they are loaded with phosphates
3. Turn up your skimmer so it produces a wet skimmate instead of a dry foam.
4. Dial back your lights - even a few hours can make a big difference
5. Rinse your frozen food really well with old SW before feeding
6. Increase the amount and frequency of your water changes
7. Add a phosphate binder
8. Consider changing your bulbs - most last around six months.