add hyrogen peroxide to the water. about 3tbsp to a gallon of water. good luck. ~Ryan

There's actually no way to eliminate algae as it's air-borne.

Hydrogen peroxide will limit it in nutrient mix.

All hydro stuff that touches nutrient should be opaque (black) so not to pass light.

the buckets must be wrapped 3 times with duct tape to prevent any light leaks, it sounds like that is your only problem, as long as there is no light coming through any where else.

WHAT'S WRONG WHITH ALGAE?(SERIOUS QUESTION)NOT TRYING TO BE A SMARTASS..

Hi Zipper

No problem, that is a legitimate question.

Algae has several undesirable properties:

1. They consume nutrients that would otherwise feed your plants.

2. They tend to coat every surface where there's light even roots.

3. If roots are severely coated with algae the plant growth can be stunted.

4. Certain types of algae can clog emitters.

5. Algae smells bad when they decay and decay produces toxins.

So as a practical matter it makes sense to keep algae under control.

I have two 5gal buckets ... wrapped them with 3 layers of duct tape and then spray with black spray paint. The lid is just sprayed with the paint. No algea problems here.

I think the only downside is black absorbs light and radiates it as heat. Thus your nurtient solution warms up faster than say a white colored bucket. Other than that keeping light out of one's buckets is an excellent idea.

You might consider using aluminum foil. chuck

Or if it's already painted black repaint it glossy white.