150watt HQI metal halide..how long should lights be left on for 30 gallon tank?

I'm running a 150 watt HQI metal halide on for about 9 hours per day. I've had my tank up and running for over 3 weeks and I have quite a bit of yelow/greenish film algae (which I heard was quite normal early on). Is there a way to minimize this algae, I currently have 4 turbo snails but they aren't working that well. Could my fish food be contributing to the problem (phosphates in food), keep in mind I only feed every other day. Any input is appreciated thanks

 

I thought I should give a few quick relevant details, the tank is about 30 gallons. with 3 fish and 4 turbo snails. A few assorted corals but everything seems to be going well, just that darn yellow/greenish film algae.

 

thorvald8

3 weeks , with 3 fish and some corals, is likely to be where your problems are arising from

unless you started this tank with water, sand, rock and filtration system from an established tank , then 3 weeks is not adequate for the tank to mature properly / cycle
if you started with all new stuff 3 weeks ago - snails and 1 fish would be about right as off today ( many would disagree with the 1 fish and I respect their opinion on that)

what water test kits are you using (ammonia/ Nitrite/ nitrate/ PH/ DKH/ Phosphate etc)

what corals do you have, cutting down lighting to 8 or even 6 hours per day may be OK depending on corals

what I would do if this was my tank

not add any more fish/ corals/ inverts for another 3 months
allow the tank to adapt to current bio load
test frequently - react quickly to parameter issues (water changes)
Purchase some Sea Chem Purigen use in cannister filter if you run one - that will maintain your water quality whilst the tank matures
add some Phosphate removing resin also to your filter system , that will starve the algae

Steve

 

Yah the owner at the LFS store thought that I would be fine with the current set-up so I've mainly been going off of what he said. My water parameters are where they need to be and had them verified with a few lfs stores around here. Is there a way to accelerate the cycling of the tank? Does that nitrifying bacteria work or should I be staying away from that. Thanks for your help

 

corals...are 1 frog spawn, a couple zooanthids, and some mushrooms...

 

Thorvald

bottled bacteria may help in this situation, but if your paramaters are OK, dont bother IMO
Watch your fish carefully for signs of water quality issues ( white film on eye is an early indicator IME)

do consider the Purigen though as that can help with overall water quality issues and reduce nutrient which will reduce your algae problem

those corals could stand an hour less light each day - many people run MH lighting for 8 hours only

and honestly dont add anything for another couple of months becuase the more you spend, the quicker its likely to "fall over" on you

Steve

 

ok thanks for the advice....