Very good article! (And from 2008!!)
The concept of farming cyano is the only real gap, IMO. (...and understandable given the timeframe of writing.)
Farming cyano (from the original post) is based on cyano's various abilities at conserving and fixing nutrients from its environment.
Especially certain species' ability to fix N2 from the atmosphere. Assuming all other non-nitrogenous nutrients (macro, micro, trace, et al.) are available as necessary (which you don't assume in practice), then you wind up with "fertilizer-worthy" cyano mats to harvest.
The key here is that cyano is bringing something (N2-nitrogen in the farming example) to the table, so to speak, that other "better" algae like coralline cannot bring and which allows cyano to monopolize available nutrients. (ie bloom)
Availability (ie excess) of micro and trace nutrients along with a deficit of macro nutrient(s) is why cyano blooms.
If we can supply that component which the cyano is furnishing (often a lack of simple N or P due to one or both running down due to an imbalance in the system) then we shift the competitive environment in favor of (e.g.) coralline algae, or at least green algae, and away from "more competitive" algae like cyano (or worse).
IMO...add this to your cyano solutions list:
Part 1: The excess micro and trace nutrients can be cut back by avoiding dry/processed foods that have vitamins or other supplements added as much as possible. (I.e. feed whole, natural foods as much as possible. Live is best. No surprise, right?) Dry, processed foods are extremely useful in certain circumstances, so use your judgement...not calling for a ban on flake food or anything like that.
I do recommend conservative use of an auto-feeder, however, to make sure additions of dry foods are
carefully controlled.
Part 2: The ecosystem niche that cyano exploit can be closed by correcting the macronutrient situation by testing/dosing potassium nitrate and/or potassium phosphate as needed to maintain minimal, non-zero, non-limiting levels of N and P.
Other thoughts:
Of course corrections like this can take weeks or even months to take effect at a visual level (4-5 weeks seems typical, but not universal)....so manual cleaning like scrubbing and siphoning still can't be beat for what they do....and patience is a must.
Water changes should be consistent. Very-infrequent water changes might support algae blooms by supplying small spikes of micro and trace nutrients rather than being a source of stability. Algae will be the benefactors of (high or low) nutrient spikes or other disturbances where corals will be the benefactors of stability. I would suggest constant (automated) or weekly water changes if at all possible. If you don't do water changes, then I'd probably keep
not doing water changes.
Having lots of bare rock or sand provides a large area for algae settlement as well as a natural phosphate source....cover your rock as fast as possible....with coral or coralline algae, ideally. Starting with totally dead rock (100% naked aragonite) seems to throw a lot of favor toward pest-algae settlement, for what it's worth. (Aragonite is an excellent phosphate binder, BTW...but that's another topic.)
