Yes I change vacuum the gravel once a week when I change the water. I am unsure of the level of nitrates and all that is I did check last week and they were good. I leave the light on all day from 9am to about 9pm. Ive had it set up a while I am new to this whole thing so Iām clueless I appreciate any help. I canāt get real plants to grow in this tank.
OK, so we will consider no live plants. They do make a difference as to how one approaches algae.
You can reduce the light period each day; 12 hours is a lot of light, and algae uses any light if nutrients are present, and nutrients are always present with fish being fed. So algae is to be expected, it is natural, and beneficial--it produces oxygen through photosynthesis though less than higher plants. You can let algae grow on wood, rock, etc, as it can be quite attractive. But you don't want it on the glass walls, so clean this off. At every water change clean the inside of the glass; a sponge-type scraper works well for this, as it will not be stubborn algae if it is dealt with regularly before you really even see it--but it is there.
Reducing the light duration will help keep it less. Floating plants would really help here, as they are fast growing, they are easy to grow, and they shade the lower tank and fish do like them.