Brush off the algae growing on coral ?

Lately I am having some trouble keeping the algae from growing on my Green Star Polyps. Someone suggested I use a soft brush toothbrush to brush some of it off when the lights are off and the polyps are pulled in. Will this work without damaging my coral ? There isn't a lot of algae but it is starting to out-compete my Star Polyps.Brush off the algae growing on coral ?
Make sure you have good flow going in the tank. and also make sure nothing is off balance. Using some type of phosphate remover will help. You can get things like ';chemi mats'; that removes phosphates, which reduces algae. I would also suggest actually taking a brush and scrubbing off the polyps. Basically if you are afraid to clean the polyps in fear it will kill them, you are letting more algae build up with in turn will take them over and kill them as well. At least if your trying there is a much better chance everything will work out. You would be surprised how much polyps can withstand. they are pretty hardy. They may not come out for a few days, but they most likely will recover. Once you get rid of the algae, add some hermit crabs or emerald crabs to keep the problem down. They wont get rid of an exsisting problem, but they can keep any new algae under wraps.Brush off the algae growing on coral ?
What type of algae is it? If it's micro-algae, I would increase the flow to keep the algae build-up off of the polyps. If it's macro-algae, then I would manually remove it with some tweezers.





Regular water changes and proper feeding proportions will help control control nuisance algae. If the problem persists, you may want to invest in a protein skimmer and/or phosphate reactor if you don't already have them. You can check out the link below for more information on marine algae control.