Dark green algae...Booooooooo :(

[altse]

I'm starting to get just a little bit of dark green algae growing on my slate in my tank.

As of right now, the spots are smaller than a dime and dark green in the middle getting slightly less dense toward the outside. I want to get rid of this but don't really want to have to add anything to my tank. Can I just scrub it off when it starts to show up? It doesn't seem to grow very fast.

Any suggestions?? I'm still new to this so I dont have any experience with algae.

[pinballqueen]

Taking the rock out and scrubbing it with TANK WATER (not chlorinated water from your tap) and a stiff toothbrush would be the easiest way to get rid of it, just be sure to not do too many pieces of decoration at a time, because that stuff harbors beneficial bacteria and scrubbing all of it off from all your decorations would send your tank into a mini-cycle....

Algae is caused by a combination of too much light and too many nutrients in the water. Removal of either would take care of it. I think everyone has a spot or two in their tank though.