Algae... How should I solve it?

Ok. I posted a similar question yesterday and I was told to get a RO/DI unit, but I really don't have the money to get that. I am using my tap water which does have a small ammount of phosphates but no nitrates at all. I upgrated my lighting from a single T8 bulb to a 2 T5 HO bulb fixture 2x39watts. My tank is 33 gallons. Tap water is all I can afford right now. I was thinking of getting a big cleanup crew, Snails, hermits etc. That way the algae is controlled and I can still use tap water. I do not overfeed my fish and actually might even underfeed them.... usually only feeding them once a day, twice a day every 3 days, so I can limit the ammount of food going into the tank. What do you guys think? Will getting a cleanup crew help the problem that way I can still use conditioned tap water? Oh and the tank is roughly 6 months old. 4 corals and 4 fish and 5 hermits. Thanks.

 

Are you decent at DIY and do you have a sump?

If so you can build an algae scrubber for as little as $50 that will help tremendously.

 

Do you have a store near you that sell has a water thing that is RO/DI water I used it for the first year of my last tank before I got a system. Normally it runs about .35 a gallon walmart, krogers, hyvee all those places have it. When you start using filtered water the diatoms from the Phosphates in your water column even if its 1ppm it can cause diatom bloom especially cause you got a awesome new light, but it will take a while once you switch. It will make having a reef tank so much easier IMO its very stressful to have diatoms cause we all want out tanks to look cyrstal clear lol. I hope that helps.

 

I'm also using tap water.

Despite all the haters, I picked up a $50 Odyssea UV sterilizer (not the silver one). My tank went from pea soup phyto bloom to CRYSTAL CLEAR in 24 hours, like, seriously, it looks like I just filled the tank with brand new water.

I connected it to my skimmer output and now have it on a timer to only run 2 hours a day now. I'm extremely happy that I got this thing, I wish I did it sooner ...

I still plan on getting a rodi unit though.

 

Reefs w/o RO are like airplanes without wings. Go to your nearest LFS that sells used gear. $40 says you can find an RO/DI unit that puts out sub 20 TDS numbers for $40. If that fails check craigslist or the marketplace on here.

 

The reason why your water is crystal clear is because the UV is killing off the microorganisms that contribute to the algae bloom but when you start moving more towards a reef tank if you do you may want to think about getting rid of the UV just IMO that are amazing for FO tanks cause the fish dont live off the microorganisms that live in the water column. You can also pick up a RO/DI unit from BRS for as little as $100 that does 75GPD