Crystal,
What algae? I've been peeking at your tank pics and I don't see any
REAL algae bloom.
I guess the kindest words I can give one on an algae bloom are, "This too shall pass.". Just like it starts out of nowhere, the bloom clears and disappears. This assumes that you run your skimmer, do the water changes etc. When your bed starts de-denitrifying it soon depletes the available nitrate that fuel the bloom. All this takes some time. The less nutrients in the water column going into the bloom, the shorter and less intense the bloom. If your ammonia level is consistently at zero you can add your first fish.
Fish get along very well with algae in the tank and most love to snack on it.
Daniel
PC's are coming in the next instalment. I plan to talk first about VHO, then PC and T5 will complete the section on fluorescent. Then it is on to MH.
