Algae getting worse

so my nitrate levels are usually a little high but under 10, i figured the algae growth must be from phosphate, so i put chemi-pure elite in the HOB filter about 4-5 days ago and it was not the magic fix i was hoping for.

the algae gets air bubbles all over it that float up and disappear/pop with touched.

here are some pics of the problem, now its getting on the glass too...ugh.

i need to get the phosphate level tested (don't have a tester at home).
i guess i might need something stronger than chemi-pure

any ideas?

 

Here's my generic checklist.

Mark

 

need to decrease nutrients (feeding) and increase waste removal (skimming), there must be excess nitrates and phosphates to support that kind of algae growth, you can also try a 3 day blackout period (lights off and tank covered) and decrease your lighting schedule

 

Yes. What he said. K+ on the list.

 

yeah, the feeding thing is a tough one cause i gotta feed the mandarin frequently, i should try out that "mandarin diner" method, i wonder if he would eat the pellets.

ive got the skimmer running pretty wet trying to get as much junk out as possible.

would some chaeto in the tank be a good idea?

i have been running the 10k light only about 3 hours a day (or less) for about 5 days now. maybe i should try some total darkness for a day or two.

thanks for the list NASA!

 

Glad to help... if you don't have a refugium, yes, chaeto would help. Also, I know next to nothing about mandarin's... but I thought they liked all the criters and such that grow in fuges... that might help your mandarin as well.

M

 

Mandarins definitely like pods - that's their main diet.

You can get them to eat brine shrimp by putting them in the tank. After a while, you can put in pellets with the brine, and they'll eat the pellets too. The previous owner of my mandarin did that.

 

ive got the mandarin eating marine cuisine frozen food now, but yeah a fuge would be great, it would be nice to give him some pods too...i need to research that big time as i know absolutely nothing about them.

 

does anyone run a fuge with their small tank?
i just have a 20 gal (long)
i never even thought about it before as it is such a small tank

 

Having a mandarin in a 20g, you're almost required to have a fuge.