Blooming Algae!
 

'Not sure if it's a plant or not, but what would be the best way to grow a ton of algae in my tank without messing up the water quality for the fish?

Try using a plant fert without doing the full blown dosage. Plus limiting the light to say 8 hrs.

Just out of curiousity, what would ever make you want to do that?

I thought it might be kinda cool to have a tank with a bunch of algae in it. I'd keep the front glass clean though! I was thinking about setting up a river tank and thought that it'd look natural to have little hair algae growing on rocks and/or a branch of driftwood.

Natural sunlight will do it but could give you green water also. Plant fert will do it also just don't dose something, most likely NO3 and leave the lights on as long as you can. The longer you leave the lights on the morealage you will possibly get. 16 hours should do the trick but watch that your fish don't show signs of stress from it. Just don't forget to dose PO4 or you will be left with green spot algae and never get it off if you ever want to.

If you don't have plants, then just dose any type of fertilizer and that should get it started.

Don't expect live plant to grow though, the algae will quickly kill them.

I would also have some kind of algae crew in there because they will control it and almost landscape it for you preventing it from becoming a ssimple jungle of algae and strip the tnak of oxygen for the fish. Keep your circulation up and make sure to add a good airstone to the tank because the alage will strip the oxygen, especially at night.

Wow, that is pretty cool--I had never thought of doing that before

Blue, your hilly tank is actually what gave me the idea. What are you doing to grow that much algae, and are there any brighter green kinda of hair algae?

That's what I was thinking as I had to clean up all that algae a few weeks ago!

What's PO4? I have green spot algae and it's making me crazy cleaning the front, yes it's only on the front, of my tank.