Algae? Can it be helpful?

[SamsonNY]

Okay, crazy question time:

I've got algae growing on the coral skeletons. (I know why, that's not the issue. Tank itself is fine. Fish are fine. Water's fine and crystal clear.)
Algae feeds on the doc's. So, I can bleach them clean or leave them algae covered (most of the bigger pieces). Does leaving them covered with algae aid the tank since algae will be eating the biological "crap" in the water (my main target is nitrates)? Maybe somewhat similar to LR?

[mogurnda]

Leave them if you want. Sounds like a FO tank, so you don't have to worry about them overgrowing your corals. Unfortunately, they will probably do nothing to reduce your NO3 load. Not enough biomass. If you want to use algae for that purpose, try macroalgae like caulerpa, sargassum or chaetomorpha if you have enough light. You can export nutrients by pruning the macros as they grow. Caulerpa can look pretty, too.

[SamsonNY]

Thanks for the info.