[karimwassef]

But you've seen my algae growth rate. Even in my new setup, I recycle a 3 gallon bucket weekly. Of course there's three gallons of food going in that cycle too... and three gallons of poo.. that turn into three gallons of algae (full of pods and worms) every week.

If there's food, the algae will grow. The faster flow against the surface air will be preferential to the algae vs. bacteria.

I agree that you need to give them time to anchor in though. But once you have the fuzz, faster and more food makes algae go nuts!