Maintance

Question
I have a 55 gallon saltwater aquarium with 8 fish. I have had it set up since February or March and it has been doing great and have had only one fish die and that was at the beginning when I first started. The water quaility, temperature, and everything are fine but have recently had a sort of green mossy looking algae growing on the sand and rocks. Is there anything I can do to get rid of this?

Answer
Hi Rebecca,
Get out your gravel vac and get busy. The best way to get it under control is to manually remove as much as possible when you do a water change. Clean your filter and media a day or 2 after the water change vac day... and get yourself a clean up crew. Hermit crabs, turbo snails, cerith snails, nassarius snails, emerald crabs... there are lots to choose from. 6 to 8 snails and 6 to 8 hermits will make a huge difference in your system. They will help you cut back the algae and the detritus that is feeding it. Also reduce feedings(amount at each feeding, not the frequency of feedings) and your lighting period til you get the algae under control. Cut the lights to only 8 or 9 hours a day as opposed to the recommended 12 and you'll get ahold of your algae problem pretty quickly. Let me know how it goes and if you have any more questions.