Nice home made algae scrubber =D... by that I mean.. algae growth is a sign of elevated vits/mins ect in a system being utilized... way better then green water. more frequent water changes should inhibit growth. I tend to leave algae in my tanks as long as it's not interfearing with anything. Large clumps get "harvested" here and there. Algae is actually a natural effective way to purify water. It pulls everything into a solid mass, the algae. and you can physically remove it as it builds up. It's not an end all be all way to lower nitrates, add O2, or supliment some fish's diet. But as "icky" as it may look. It's a sign of a healthy system.
Thats why for years LFS where pushing common plecos onto people to "control" their algae "problems" lowering your nitrates (water changes), letting it do as nature intended (removeing clumps now and then as they get picking size, and letting it re-grow) , adding fish to the system that are herbevorous and will exploite it as a part of a balanced feeding regime.
btw reduceing the light that the tubes get will help keep algae from growing. it tolerates some very low lighting. So replaceing the tubes with dark ones will keep it from growing inside your tubeing. No light = No photosynthisis = No Algae
and products like algae be gone ect. will kill the algae but will only hide the symptom not fix the problem. and while the chemical itself does little to no damage to your BB system ect. The phosphates, nitrates, ect, ect will poison your fish as a result, and or throw your BB system out of whack. Your swapping problems, and not fixing the issue. Not to mention wasting money.
