The first thing I would do is check how long you are leaving your lights on. Try to cut back on the number of hours per day you use your light. If you are already down to 10 or so hours per day, check to see if there are natural light sources your tank is exposed to. Is the tank by or near a window or glass door? Sometimes when indirect light hits the tank, it ends up being plenty of sunlight to help that algae grow. If this is the probelm, you might be able to apply tinting to the windows/doors that are allowing the light in. We bought tint at Lowes or Home Depot.
If light does not seem to be your problem, check your phosphate level. High levels of phosphate in the tank can also contribute to this unsightly algae growth. If you do have high levels of phosphate, try removing the phosphate from the tank water by using phos-guard or something else. If I were you, I'd also check the tap water for phosphates to see if your tap water is contributing to the problem. If so, you might consider filtering the tap before putting it into the tank.
I would also invest in one of those scrub brushes to scrape the algae off the sides of the tank and then when you do a water change, much of that algae is taken out of the tank...
You can also invest in some sort of algae eating fish. There are some that are really good at it but I cannot remember which ones are the best. Someone else might have to help you with which fish will help you out the best.
As for chemicals, try everything else first before adding some chemical to your tank. And if you have live plants in your tank, these algae killers may not be an option for you at all; I'm not sure. Although algae killer should not harm your water or fish (in theory), it is a last resort.
Good luck! B)
Good luck!
