I just got back from a week long work trip. And I noticed some algae on my intake and on the filter tubes. Never had an algae problem. I should never leave my tank in the hands of anyone. Left 2 t5ho on 12 he's each day with 2 18 Watt actinics and an led light strip.. how should I treat the algae
Well, they probably overfed, as that's what they tend to do, right? So extra water changes and spare feeding might correct it just as quickly. That's what I would try first. If that does not succeed, you can go from there.
On the other hand, if they didn't feed at all, it might just need some extra food (nutrients) to correct the imbalance. Either way, restore balance and the tank should improve.
From what you've described, this doesn't seem to be too much algae. I would have to agree with Vicky on the overfeeding. Just treat your water with clean water. If you do daily water changes you could double the amount of the water change for a few days to speed up recovery. You could also try cutting back the light cycle from 12 hrs. to 10 or 8 for a few days as well..... just a thought
Cheers
If you are not far out of balance, you will want small steps to bring it back in balance. Too large a step and you can over-correct, leading to further problems. I worry that adding chemicals at this stage will just cause more imbalance. See if water changes and time do the trick. I suspect as you go back to your normal routine the algae will simply disappear.
But I just noticed something. Are the actinics new? They are designed for salt water tanks. If this is a fresh water tank, they may be causing the algae.
Eeek algae 
. If you do daily water changes you could double the amount of the water change for a few days to speed up recovery. You could also try cutting back the light cycle from 12 hrs. to 10 or 8 for a few days as well..... just a thought
Linear Mode
