Clean up Crew for a 5 gal nano?

[MonKei]

I've currently got a 5 gal nano goin, with a small cleanup crew, but am still growing algae like crazy... green hair algae, the slimyish brown algea that gets all over the acrylic tank, and the green circular algae that is growing on the back wall and a little on the sides...
my current clean up crew consists of:
3 red leg hermit crabs
3 blue leg hermit crabs
2 astra snails
3 bumble bee snails
and a couple of snot like snails that were hitchhikers on some frags I got.

I was wonderin what I should do to fight the algae, its startin to drive me crazy. the man at the LFS suggested that I get a serpent star to help and whatnot, but I dont know what else should go in there to help..

just FYI, Tank specs:
2x Coralife 10w 50/50 incandecent replacement PC bulbs
1x Hello Lights 13w 50/50 PC setup (custom hood on my mini bow to house lights)
-lights run usually from about noon to 11pm- give or take an hour
penguin biowheel 125
small powerhead with a custom tube for a column of water with holes for spread of water movement
bubbles from a small air pump for areation
25w sub, heater
5lb Live Rock
2 inch Sandbed

coral and fish stock
1x black tomato clown
1x frogspawn
3x small frags from the LFS, dunno what they are exactly

water test:

Salinity specific gravity 0.024
nitrite 0 ppm
ph 8.3
nitrate 0ppm
ammonia 0ppm
done with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Master Liquid test kit

Thanks in advance!

 

[Anonymous]

How long has the tank been set up?

The tank will go through an "Algee" Cycle as well as the normal Nitrogen cycle. I had an algea bloom that my snails could not keep up with, which then turned to diatomes, then disapeared, only to be replaced with a little bit of hair algea, which was promptly eaten by my hermits.

 

[MonKei]

the tank's been up in its present state for roughly 2 months, before that it was moved up from school (a 650 mile trip) and was up for 5 months or so before the move, so cumulative 6 or 7 months.. I am thinking that you are right with the algae cycle though. its just taking a while to complete.. could it be in part cause the weather here is soo hot and we dont have AC in my house? the tank temp is often going well above 83 degrees and I am not home to drop a bag of ice in it to keep the temp down...

 

[Anonymous]

DOH!

When the temp spikes that high (a couple of times even higher for me when the AC broke) I shut off the lites and blew a fan across the top of the water. that can drop the temprature rather quickly. Bags of Ice never worked as well as evaporation for me.

Right now, my nano is going through another part of the Algae cycle that I expected. Hair and Cyno. I posted a question in another thread as well.

My immediate reaction was to change 30% of the water, and use an activated carbon filter. Hopefully that will keep it from spreading. (cyno and hair)

I have been told that the algae cycle can last up to a year or longer. it will come and go. I had about a month and a half off from algae and got a little coroline growth during that time.

I use snails (nassarius and turbo) and hermits for cleanup, but am fishing for information on what else I may use. If I get some good advice, I will pass it along.

Good Luck