How much light do you have over the tank? If you don't know, how many bulbs,
and how long are they?

pH approx. 8.0

Why so high? Is your tapwater naturally that alkaline? Or do you have
something in the tank to raise the pH?

I hate to put chemicals in the tank to get ride of the stuff. What kind of
fish can control this algae?

SAEs -- Siamese Algae Eaters. But you have to get real SAEs. Most of the SAEs
sold in U.S. pet stores are actually false SAEs. See this page for how to tell
the difference:

http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

More plants?

That can help, if you have enough light for them. Floating plants are good if
you don't have a lot of light. (What kind of plants do you have now?)

Right now there are only a few fish in the tank -- 3 dwarf gouramis and 2
guppies. Had a massive die off about 2 weeks back -- unknown cause --
approximately 10 smaller cichlids died within 3 days.

Is it an African tank? Do you have aragonite in the tank or something?

Should the pH of the water be brought down?

No. Especially not if it's an African tank.

The reason I asked about the pH is that high pH can mean there's not enough CO2
for the plants. But a low pH isn't good in and of itself.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/