I apologise in advance for posting this subject again, but I could really do with AC members experience with this, cos having done some research of my own, I`m really not sure what to do for the best.
I hope you are sitting comfortably cos I may rattle on a bit! LOL

As I`ve mentioned before, the tank has been running for over 3mnths, initially setup fishless for about a month to establish the good bacteria in my filters.
The tank is also planted, so I have lights on for 10 hrs a day, the tank is in the front room, so does get some sunlight thro the window during the day, but its not direct onto the tank.
My understanding of the ecosystem of a tank,and for my particular situation is to get the balance just right with the water you have to start with from the tap, I dont have bucks to spend on fancy equipment to go changing things, so I`ve tried to choose fish and plants to suit what I have to work with. The Ph is 7.5 and on the hard side, 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite around 10ppm for nitrate from the tap.
I get that having algae is a fairly good sign, cos it means algae is an organism, and need light, and dissolved nutrients to thrive, which they are doin in my tank! similar requirements my plants need. If I knock back the amount of hours my lights are on to reduce the algae, then my plants will suffer, if I remove the dissolved nutrients that are already present in my tapwater that I use to do water changes, phosphates, nitrate etc to `starve` the algae, then will that starve the plants too?
The filter media I have in the cannister filter are the bottom compatment has filter wool, then some biomax, 2nd compartment biomax, 3rd biomax and filter wool. I have asmall piece of sponge in the fluval intake cage to catch any debris before it reaches the cannister, with the debris caught outside it keeps the cannister alot cleaner where the bacteria thrive better in cleaner water flow. The cage sponge is rinsed only in aquarium water, 2 aweek.

I have tested nitrate, that is reading around 40ppm, so put simply, I start with 10ppm from tap and something is occurring in the tank to push the reading up. There are no decomposing plants/fish, I dont overfeed, if I was, would that not also lead to spikes in ammonia and nitrate? I syphon the gravel, now twice a week to remove this algae, which just wont go away.

I understand by doing frequent w/c I`m adding back in those nutrients that the algae need, but I cant syphon off the algae without sucking out the water too! and to be honest, when i do syphon it, it just hovers in the tube of the gravel vaccuum and doesnt suck it away! so when I`m all done it looks all clean, but next morning its all back on the surface again! Bummer!

I have a bristle nose catfish and some flying fox and some glass shrimp that I know like some algae, but clearly not this stuff!

The fish are all healthy, still spawning and displaying, but the algae is getting a bit out of hand now, and I dont know what I`m doing wrong, or what I need to do next?
Any help from you guys would really help

How many hours of light does your tank get? Also, where does the algae grow, on the sand, on the glass, on plant leaves etc?

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The lights are on for 10 hrs a day, the growth is on the sand substrate, just creeping up the glass where the sand meets, but nowhere else on the glass, a few patches on the lava rock, i`ve tried to show with pics but they dont show it very clearly.
I`m about to do watercahnge, do you recommend plunging the syphon thro the gravel to the glass bottom and leaving for a few seconds to suck the muck, or to move it side to side? it never seems to suck the algae away, just mixes in with the gravel, any ideas?

Have you tried picking up the algae? It might be easier than sucking it up. You could try reducing the amount of time the tank get, but 10 hours sounds fine to me.

Best bet would be to get some fish that will disturb the sand should stop the algae growth. Cories would be good but a pH of 7.5 is at the high end for them. Loaches would be another option, but they would eat your glass shrimp. There's quite a few smaller species of Botia, don't go for Clown loaches - they end up too big and sometimes nibble plants.

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Thanks rob,
Have adjusted the timer for the lights, not comin on at all during the morning only on from 3pm till 12pm, 9hrs, I`ll see how that goes for a few weeks. I`ve tried to scoop the algae out, but it just disintergrates when anything goes near it, slippery stuff!
I have algae eating residents in my tank, but how long is it safe to leave them without food that I give them? I feed my fish every other day, but they are always hungry, they follow me from one side of the tank to the other when I walk past! they make out like I never feed them!!! LOL

Try specialist plant forum if can't get answer's on AC

Try this perhaps, it's a great site for plant and algae info

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/index.php

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