trully about to give it all up.

The fluvial is completely empty other then 4 sponges, and as far as the skimmer I am not sure it came witht he tank? It looks like it is working and it does produce allot of slime.
 
TDS is tested with a TDS meter, it's different from a test kit. Sort of a little probe you insert into the water and it gives you an electronic reading - RO/DI should be close to zero, tap water can be anywhere from double digits into the high hundreds. You should be able to get one on eBay or at any water store that sells things like RO filters.

I don't see phosphates on that list, and NO3 at 10ppm is a bit high for my liking. Both fuel hair algae.

I agree you could have a mantis, that's the first thing I'd deal with. Once you've found and removed it (no easy task I admit), I'd go and buy some big turbos. My zebras mow through anything green, it's phenomenal how much they can eat. These are the guys I'm talking about. This one's about 2" across, I call him my lawnmower with a shell:
Horace.jpg
 
Hey I am so new to this salt water tanks stuff, but I just wanted to know are you using a some kind of bio wheel or filer in your tank of sump and when you did all of this cleaning did you change that out. I know a little about spores of different kinds of planet can get stuck in that type of media and get out after the new tank has been cleaned out.
 
There are lots of big snails people refer to as turbos, that's why I figured it would be a good idea to post a pic of mine to show the one I meant. I think that 'Mexican' turbos are different than zebras, they have no black on their shells. They'll probably work as well, but I've seen first hand the damage big zebras will do to a patch of greenery, so I'd go for these specific snails if you can find them.
 
I fought hair algae for a long time in my first tank. I tried many different things that did not make a difference. Hermits and snails would get off the algae as fast as possible when I would set them on it. This is what I remember doing to fix the problem.

1. Daily 10% water changes for 10 days.
2. Added macro algae to compete with the hair algae.
3. Mechanically removed the algae a couple of times a week.
4. Tuned the skimmers for maximum output(dark skimmate)
5. Recharged the sand bed
6. Used a turkey baster from the dollar store and blew the detritus out of the algae twice a day. This seemed to make the biggest difference. Once I started that, the algae turned from bright green to brown within a few days

I can't say which of the above fixed the problem or if it was the combination or none at all. Since then I have used different methods to prevent or consume the algae.

Rowaphos or phosban in a phosphate reactor.
Added a long spine seaurchin. It removes all types of algae including coralline and knocks stuff over if it is not attached.

With the hair algae growing, testing for phosphates and nitrate will, in many cases, not show a problem because the algae consumes it as soon as it is produced...

Thanks,

Scott
 
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