On the top of my personal list for controlling algae and water quality is the use of RO water, or preferably RO/DI water. City drinking water is full of nutrients, some which include chlorine, phosphates and even nitrates. ALL of which we do not want in our home aquarium. These will only feed the cyno bacteria and green hair algae or diatom blooms. Invest in a RO/DI unit they will save you many headaches and trips to you LFS in the long run.
Filter and Media Reactors
Second is the good ole phosban reactor. There are many of these on the market which are very affordable. My personal favorite is the Next Reef MR1 Media reactor, they are very affordable compared to lower quality reactors and come in at only $69.99. Reactors are very easy to set up and keep running, simply run something like rowaphos and change it monthly to keep your phosphates at nearly undetectable levels.
Don't Overfeed
We all love to feed our fish, yes it's a past time..but don't make it a habit to feed to often unless you are using a heavy duty protein skimmer such as a bubble king. Phosphates and nitrates will rise quickly due to excess uneaten food and detritus. Another great way to reduce nutrient build up when feeding is to only feed the fish what they eat, remove any uneaten foods.
These 3 things will help you significantly in the long run of controlling nasty algae outbreaks. Saltwater aquariums are very rewarding when done right, don't get frustrated to easy as everyone makes mistakes and learns from them. Talk to other hobbiest's and join clubs as they are some of the most valuable FREE resources out there.
