Super, do this. Put 10mls. in your kH test vial. Now add 1 drop and it should be pink....add another drop. If it's still pink add another until it turns blue. When it finally turns blue you count the number of drops it took and divide by two. Example: 3 drops = 1.5kH, 4 drops 2kH etc. With 10mls it gives you a more accurate reading of kH(very important). Start counting with the first drop you put in the vial. It takes me 8 drops to see the water turn blue...I have a kH of 4. Same procedure for gH.
If you have super soft water and low kH you can remedy that with crushed coral in your filter.
As to the clearing of your tank with the black out. It's good that it cleared, but you must get to root of the problem....the reason for the algae out break.
You still haven't told us the size of the tank. Once we know that, along with pH,gH,kH, we'll be able to advise you. You said you had 96watts. In a 70gal. tank that's peanuts.....in a 20 gallon tank it's over 4watts/gal. which is enormous. That's why we need to know ALL this info. Try to put it all in your next thread so we don't have to keep skipping around looking here and there for it.
Len
