Algea problem?

[rrcoolj]

thanks for the concerns guys.

My tank is 55 gallon and I highly doubt filteration or water movement is the problem. I have an aquaclear 110 and an xp2 canister with a combined 850gph turnover rate with 10 cichlids currently in the tank. I feed sprinula flakes twice a day and do 50% water changes weekly. I have no idea how old the bulbs are because someone gave me the tank but it's been up for 2 years. I manged to finally scrub the stuff off and the tank looks crystal clear now. I run my lights for 12 hours a day. Although mbunas are grazers plecos are far better at cleaning algea but I don't use plecos anymore he's in my CA tank. I also don't use carbon in my filters. It's a waste of money...

I will see how the tank runs for the next couple of months and monitor and change things as needed but there are so many factors to algea that I really want to find the root cause.

 

[Muske]

Bulbs should be replaced every 6 months.

I am able to tell when my bulbs are begining to dim when the diatom algae comes to play...

 

[torbayguy]

Carbon certainly isnt a waste of money, it does wonders to tank water, taking out alot of impurities and nutrients, also taking out metals etc.

Again, lighting isnt the issue, its the water its self that causes algae.
High Nitrate levels, any phosphate, slow moving water, excess food, its these things that are the root cause of algae.