Here are the things I have done. Perhaps each has not been successful alone but maybe have worked in concert with each other to help combat the plague.
Get a better skimmer/increase skimming
Manual removal
Emerald crabs
RO/DI
Kent phosphate remover
Addition of kalk drip
Increased circulation
Increased water changes
I'm not really sure which of these has done the trick but I yard the stuff out every couple of weeks or so and I've noticed a gradual decrease in growth. Don't expect this stuff to go away overnight. I've been working on it for about 3 months now.
As for your container, I used a rubbermaid sump for quite awhile and use a rubbermaid garbage can for waterchanges. I don't really know about it causing algal growth though. I've always been successful at growing algae, with or without rubbermaid products
Christy
