Of course you can buy and cultivate your own live phyto to add to your tank. But our tanks grow a lot of algae, regardless. So when we scrape our glass and that powdery film releases into the tank, do our filter feeders and other inhabitants get a rush of phyto just as they would if we added in cultivated phyto? How is it any different? Hopefully someone can chime in. I’ve wondered this countless times.