That's what I thought too, but because I'm concerned about screwing up my tank I guess I try not to mess with it too much. Like I said before, I don't notice it spreading from where it already resides.

I do agree with the theory that plants are higher life-forms than algae and if given the right conditions should be able to outcompete the algae for nutrients. Therefore starving-out the algae and causing it to "dissappear".

Because of this I figure my tank will take care of itself as long as I provide the plants with what they need. So I leave the algae alone. But maybe I really should scrub those tiny spots of algae off the wood... The hard part is if algae gets on the substrate. What do you do to control that?