Green slime/cyno and alkalinity

[Doug1]

Low alkalinity could be contributing to the bloom, which would go hand in hand with increased dissolved organic compounds. The readings will be loww due to chemicals being bound up in the algae, SO
Reduce nutrient input or add detrivores and infauna to effectivly process what you normally feed, Raise Alk with a suitable booster, Kalk is better at maintaining levels but not raising them
Remove manually as much of the stuff as you can to further export nutrients

[toms]

Thanks for the advice Doug. I went ahead and did a 15% water change today using IO salt for the first time. After seeing how much copper and inorganic phos in Corallife I think I am going to switch to IO or Kent. I also removed as much green "stuff" as I could and raised the alkalinity to 2.6 meq/l. I was going to slowly keep raising it to about 4 meq/l as suggested in Moe's Marine Aquarium Reference. What do you think about this level? I have read/heard of going up as high as 6 to 8 but this sounds kind of high.

[toms]

I have been annoyed for the last 2 months by what seems to be green slime or cyno in a tank that has been established for almost 5 years. This stuff only grows on my LR. It covers an area and gets thick and sort of spongy. I can peel it off by lightly brushing with an tooth brush. I use a RO for my water changes (about 10-15% every 2 to 2 1/2 weeks). I tested the water (Salifert test kits) for phosphates, nitrates and even silicates and all were zero. I have been quite diligent in physically removing most of it when I do my water changes but by the end of 2 weeks it comes back to the same levels. I also read the salt comparison article from the archives by Marlin Atkinson & Craig Bingman and was convinced to change after 3 years from Corallife to IO. I was hoping this might help my little green problem although it was never much of a problem in the past.

I also noticed that my alkalinity was low, 1.6 meq/l as tested. The pH is 8.0 after the lights have been out all night but it rises to 8.3 by early evening. I am currently using ESV kalk powder (3 tsp per 6 gals) for my top off water. The 6 gallons will last about 8 - 10 days. My calcium levels are about 450 - 470. Right now I am using Kent Superbuffer dKH to try to bring up the alkalinity. I have heard a lot about these 2 part calcium/buffer solutions. Do these maintain better alkalinity than what I am doing?

Sorry for the long text but can all these things be contributing to the green stuff or is paranoya starting? I don't believe in using miracle potions so I continue my quest for the root cause. Any input would be greatly appreciated.