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Algae Control?

Just in case you thought you had heard it all, let me discribe how I
control my problem algae.  

I have 2-sixty gallon tanks.  My problem tank is heavily stocked with
agressive fish (a hostile environment for sweet little algae eaters).
It has a plain sand substrate, many pieces of bog wood, and many types
of Anubis growing in and around the wood....some of it rooted in the
wood, most unattached, none of it rooted in the sand. 

Due to the long-lived nature of Anubis leaves, and to the water
chemistry of the heavily stocked tank, I do battle with short-hair algae
and, in the past, with BBA.  I used to bleach the leaves, but it was a
pain to dip so many plants, especially those rooted in the wood.  And I
was always dismayed by how quickly the algae would return.  So I looked
for an alternative.

My other tank is heavily planted with only small fish and many algae
eaters (SAEs, Ottos, a "mystery algae eater", etc.).  This tank is free
from any _visible_ algae.

Now many of you out there will probably think that I am nuts (and you
would be right!), but here is the solution I came up with:  When one of
my Anubis gets heavily coated with black algae I just remove it from its
tank and drop it into my beautiful planted tank.  WHAT DID HE SAY!?!

Yup, I intentionally cross infect my tanks.  After a "dip" of about 24
hours (or less) I retrieve the freshly scoured Anubis from my now well
feed algae eaters and put it back in its home tank.  This system takes a
lot less effort, is kinder to the plants and the ozone layer (bleach is
bad for the planet), and the results last much longer.  Probably because
the plant is not stressed by the experiance.

And I can perceive no ill effects on my heavily planted tank.  Of
course, this solution is hardly for everyone, but I thought some of you
might get a kick out of it.......I sure do!

Alan Kaufmann,  Psych Tech 
Napa,California
Where grapes are grown-----------------------
----------------------------and nuts are stored.
AlanSF2Napa at webtv_net