Algae taking over!

been using deer park spring water for my top offs havent done a real water change yet is it time and should i use different water?

 

I would think there would be a cheaper solution to deer park. If you have a local fish store that specializes in nothing but aquariums, they will most likely sell RO water and pre-mixed saltwater. Buying RO water from there would probably be less expensive than bottled water. If I recall correctly my LFS charges about 25 cents a gallon. You just bring a few 5 gallon buckets with lids and get enough water for water changes and top-offs.

 

If your LFS doesn't sell RO water you could buy gallon jugs of distilled water. Not sure if deer park ads minerals to their water for taste.

 

From what I can see about Deer Park Spring Water, that wouldn't be my first choice for water top-offs/changes. I know my local Walmart has a Culligan RO water machine that I get 5 gallons at a time for less then $2. If you can't get RO or RO/DI water, then I would at least use Distilled water. This will definitely help your water quality. Depending on how much money you have, you can buy a RO system for home for around $150 on the cheap end that would work just fine. Good luck to you.

 

I started off with 10 snails, 10 hermits. Wasn't enough. I now have 6 turbo snails, 30 regular snails, 15 hermits, 1 emerald crab, 1 sea cucumber and 10 nassarius snails. I had algae Covington the majority of my rock till I got the clean up crew set and my nitrate levels in check!

I suggest at least 30 more snails, more circulation, phospan reactor, and macro algae! Snails clean while the other 3 prevent algae growth.

I got a 2 little fishes reactor and phosphate has read zero for month now. After 2 weeks of macro algae and small water change my nitrate went from +60 now reads >5.

To help I would do a 20 gallon water change ASAP o reduce nitrate. You seem to have a lot of fish for your tank at 6 weeks old. Nitrates will build fast since your putting a big load on a new tank! Get macro algae soon it was a turning point in my tanks water quality! (mine is the size of a football in my sump to give u a image of what you'll need)

 

Algae problems are usually caused by aquarium water with excess nutrients like phosphate, nitrates etc. In the long term you may have to examine how you care for your tank. There are some commercial dry foods also contain excess nutrients and other undesirable things like nitrates, phosphates etc so I strain/rinse my fresh/frozen foods before feeding my tank. You may want to consider feeding your fish less often. Also using RO/DI water and a high quality salt with little if any NO3, phosphates etc like Tropic Marin will really help too. Adding a phosphate remover, increasing flow in your tank, adjusting your tank's photo period or replacing old bulbs may help too.