Nuisance algae in the sump... problems?

[sfsuphysics]

So I notice on the floor of my sump is almost like an astroturf of what we'll call "nuisance" algae, it doesn't exist in my main tank, in fact it grows right on the precipitated alk that crusts on the surface of the sump. But here's my question should that be routinely cleaned out?

Ignoring cross contamination to the display tank I have two schools of thought on this

1) Nah it's fine there, in fact it's absorbing nutrients and stuff, might even be full of pods and he like, leave it where it's at

2) Yank it, pieces of food could get caught in it it, breaking down the wastes, and it'll grow back anyways so pull as much as possible.

So anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Mr. Ugly]

I'm thinking partial harvest for nutrient export.

 

[Gomer]

My concern would be, in the process of yanking it out, do you send "frags" of it into your display tank?

 

[sfsuphysics]

Well the "great" thing about this stuff, it only seems to grow right onto the calcium/alkaline precipitation that covers the bottom of the tank, since my rocks and in side tank does not have any of this it doesn't grow there. I've never seen it grow directly to the walls of the glass (the evil red poofy stuff from hell does that and I yank that ASAP), only on glass that has that hard crusty coating of precipitation (I dump my two part directly in to the sump, which probably explains whit it occurs here).

Besides when I do a major sump cleaning of algae (or have in the past) I turn off the return pump to make sure everything stays there.

But yeah I'm thinking partial harvest as well, I'll get a nice Kentucky Bluegrass turf growing they periodically "mow" it

 

[Thales]

Partial pull, leaning towards most.

 

[Gomer]

You'll get a kick out of this, but I once scaped a planted tank around a "nurtured" algae that started growing on the wood lol.

http://webfiles.uci.edu/algomez/slideshow/gallery/album1/large/3.jpg

 

[bookfish]

Very nice. Is that some cryptocoryne balansae I see there?

 

[Gomer]

thanks and that is retrospiralis.

 

[bookfish]

Cool, love those aponogetons too!

 

[Gomer]

retrospiralis is a crypt but ya, aponogetons are cool!

 

[bookfish]

Whoops!