a lot of people would tell you that a 10 hour photoperiod is PLENTY, even for more demanding corals. i run 12, just because it allows me time to enjoy my tank after work for another couple of hours.
a lot of people use black-out for algae problems. use NO light, even cover your tank in a black sheet (preferably fabric so as to not limit gas exchange with a sheet of plastic) and follow that practice for 2-3 days.
the best way to address algae, is to prevent it. keep your levels low! increase the frquency of water changes, and the volume. add a sump, fuge, protein skimmer, etc. hardly anything in a tank consumes nitrate (At least things you'd want in your tank) so the easiest way to remove it is to remove the nitrate in water changes, and to promote its uptake by MACRO algaes. ie, calupera or chaeto. i keep chaeto in my fuge. it absorbs nitrates, grows into a bigger yarn-ball, and i trim it down.
check your phosphates as well...
a lot of people use black-out for algae problems. use NO light, even cover your tank in a black sheet (preferably fabric so as to not limit gas exchange with a sheet of plastic) and follow that practice for 2-3 days.
the best way to address algae, is to prevent it. keep your levels low! increase the frquency of water changes, and the volume. add a sump, fuge, protein skimmer, etc. hardly anything in a tank consumes nitrate (At least things you'd want in your tank) so the easiest way to remove it is to remove the nitrate in water changes, and to promote its uptake by MACRO algaes. ie, calupera or chaeto. i keep chaeto in my fuge. it absorbs nitrates, grows into a bigger yarn-ball, and i trim it down.
check your phosphates as well...
