Green Hair Algae

[fishman]

I have been getting some green hair algae in my tank.I have been removing it by hand ,as much as possible .I know algae grows from nutrients provided by high nitrates and high phosphates .My nitrates are less than 10 ppm, and I have added a phosphate sponge .Lighting also makes algae grow .So I going to remove all the algaes needs.My question is "What is the least amount of time that I can run my lights a day and my corals still stay heathy?"

 

[jhnrb]

if your photo period is 12 hrs. per day, cut back to 10 and then 1 hr there after until you find the minimum that will work for your tank. allow couple weeks between each cut back though to give everything a chance to adjust. go slowly and it should be obvious when you have gone too far. keep a keen eye on the corals while your are cutting back as they may not show signs of distress right away, so if you cut back to 8 hrs and the corals show signs of distress then increase back for an hour and see if the corals bounce back and then another if needed. remember at least 2 weeks between changes to let things adjust.