Help please algae issues

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

To clarify a few points....this is my 55 gl tank. Running on a canister filter, no sump.

Whoops, sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. My post would apply mostly to your 180g. A canister can work for a 55 g, but would need a different approach, which is a whole another subject. But again, some good reading on the web on how to make that work, too.

[Myka]

With that amount of nutrients in the tank and the way it is set up (canister filter, no sump) it is really going to take a lot of time and elbow grease. The "real" numbers are much higher than the ones the test kits are showing you because the algae is sucking quite a bit out of the water column in order to be growing so well.

I would also consider removing the sand bed and then replacing it with a new shallow sand bed after the nutrients are under control again. This will help speed things along because usually in high nutrient systems there is a lot trapped and absorbed into the substrate (and live rock, but I doubt you want to replace that haha). If you do remove the sand bed, look into this before you start as it can be dangerous if you don't do it right.

Fyi, RowaPhos is GFO. GFO generally refers to any granular phosphate media that is reddish brown.