Yeah, film algae can be a real pain. The good thing is, as far as algae goes, it could be MUCH worse. Are the snails you got eating it at all? If not, you may want to check with the
LFS on a variety that will.
While strictly speaking a
PO4 test kit isn't a necessity, it IS a good thing to have. Are you running carbon or
phosphate remover in any of the filtration chambers? If not you may want to throw in a bag of carbon, and maybe some
phosphate remover if the levels turn out to be high. I know I see a pretty good reduction in film algae on my 120 at home when I change out the carbon.
You could probably get away with 8 hours of lights, or you could go 3 days with no lights at all to help out with starving out the algae. If you go that route, you;ll want to do a water change on the last day to remove whatever nutrients were returned to the water by the algae.
I know raising the temp can help speed up the ich lifecycle, but I have no practical experience there. Sorry...
