My buddys tank needs help

[Flapjack]

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/f22cast/IMAG0392.jpg

Sorry about the blurry picture. Here is my buddys tank, It is overrun with this green algae that he can't get rid of, He recently took out all the rocks on the left and scrubbed them with a toothbrush. You can't really tell from the pic but the algae has overtook the sandbed too. He has tried putting hermit crabs in there but they eat themselves to death. Any ideas on how to get rid of this algae? thanks for reading

[JMatthew]

Has he tried just shutting the lights off for a week or so and see if that helps? Can you do that with salt?

[Txmartin]

flap niko showed me a great trick for that put a branch of willow tree in their it will help alot ask Niko to send you the link to the thread he has it will explain everything and how it works

[NDSE]

Algae like that is typically caused by high phosphate/nitrate levels and/or bad lighting.

What are the phospate/nitrate levels? Will the filtration accommodate adding a Phosban reactor? What kind of lighting is on the tank and what are the ages of the bulbs?

[pope]

I'd just add more cleanup... hermits and snails should knock it down to reasonable levels eventually. It never really goes away, nor should it. I would check the age of the bulbs, when they start to yellow this stuff starts to take off. If he really wants it gone see if he can find someone to rent him a lawnmower blenny for a while, but these typically starve once they've depleted the supply if not fed manually with something they like to eat.

[greeneyed]

All good questions, I have a few more.

What is the age of the tank?
Why is the water level so low?
What does the complete list of water parameters look like?

[cichlidkeeper]

^same

after he gets all his paraments checked he should look into getting some turbos, crabs, and urchins. but only after he checks his water paraments. my guess is that the salinity is pretty high, looks like theres been a lot of evaporation. once he gets everything good and stable, some turbos and an urchin or two (pincushin or pencil) will make short work of it.
this may help also:
http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=81

[reeframper]

A few more questions to add to the list.

How long are the lights on each day?

And here is the big one. What kind of water is he using? If it is tap that could be the source of the nutrients feeding this algae.

[REID429]

Looks like he needs more flow. A lot more flow

[bigez]

If he doesn't do water changes and has no means of nutrient export you're gonna have a hard time controlling that algae.