Newbie with some nasty algae

[fynnie]

I have a 15 gallon planted mainly with Java swords and one Money Wort plant. It houses 2 Golden Mystery Snails and a couple of Goldies. The water is crystal clear with lots of surface agitation. The lights are on for 12 hours a day and I dose it once a week with Flourish complete. I have nasty brownish/ black hairy algae growing on pretty much everything, but especially near the outfall of the HOB.
I have cleaned every leaf ( a very long tedious job) with a baby toothbrush twice trying to get rid of the nasty stuff. And it looks great for a few days and then the crud just grows again. I have read here a couple of times about doing a three day blackout to kill off algae and am getting to the point where I am ready to do it.
This is a low light tank I guess I should also mention ( only because I cant afford to up the lighting right now...too expensive for the retro fit). Sorry I dont have picts .
Any tips on getting this stuff to just go away?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

It's a smaller tank, so DIY Co2 would be a great idea.

Also, if your bulbs are T8/12, how old are they? They need to be replaced every 9-12 months.

 

[flyjawn]

i have the same nasty stuff growing in my tank and i attribute it to low CO2. i tried a 3 day blackout and it didn't work. (worked amazingly one other time on BGA though)

i'm fiddling with my CO2 setup to try and improve it now...

good luck!