agro, live sand, crushed coral ??????????

Hey guys,
my first tank I used LS and ended up with alot of red algea
on everything. Ni matter how much I cleaned It wouldn't go away.
I was told it was from phosphates. I scrapped that tank.
I have a 20Gal long , wet/dry sump , 65w PC 50/50 and a 30w NOF 10,000. I have about 10 lbs LR . I was going bare bottom for about 3 months with no phosphates 0 PPM, and no nitrates ( WELL UNDER 20 PPM )ALSO i USE A RO/DI filter for all water needs.
I decided to put in some Live sand, just a couple cups. My algea is not crazy but I am seeing signs of red and freen algea. I am not as worried about the green it is easy to clean.
SHOULD I BE USEING LIVE SAND , AGRONITE , OR CRUSHED CORAL ???????
I AM GOING TO KEEP MY NITRATES AT NO HIGHER THAN5 5 ppm TO SEE IF THAT HELPS ALSO.

ANY INFO IS AWSOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANLS,
HOWIE

 

I think if you added live sand wouldn't that restart your cycling? You maybe should have used more live rock and agronite from the beginning. I could be wrong.

 

If your worried about introducing the algae into your tank from the live sand, then just add dry, agronite sand. It will become live in time. Live sand is just some form of argonite. Also, I would recommend getting a finer grained sand, I found it is less likely to develop algae on then CC. Remember, if your cycling, you will get some algae blooms, it's just part of the hobby. I had some bad cyno and just sucked it out, increased flow and did some water changes.

 

Thanks for the info,
My only problem is cleaning. When I clean the sand I either spread
the algea all over the tank or I have to vac out alot of the sand. Is that a normal thing
or is it just my tank isn't matured enough.

20 gal long : 3 1/2 mo old, 20 gal sump 2 mo old . I use bio balls and phos pad with blue / white pad first. I am not sure what the gal per hour is. I am quite sure it is at least
10 gal an hour. lighting 65 watt PC 50/50 , and a 10,000K 30 watt HOFL.
My coral is growing nice.