[jnyblazeny]

Hey everyone! I have sand in my tank. *** had the tank set up for maybe 4 months. A lot of brown algae is starting to form everyweek. Everyweek i have to scrub the sides. My nitrate is also is a little high. How do i go about cleaning the sand effectively. is there anything in particular i have to do with sand? thanks.

 

[remarkosmoc]

If it is possbile with your situation you might consider an ugj system. There are tons of posts in the diy section on these.

 

[Hoggy Boss]

Brown (diatomic) algae is common in new tanks. Silicate based substrates seem to carry the necessary nutrients that diatomic algae needs to grow. Once the those nutrients are depleted the brown algae will stop growing. Over feeding, waste, and excessive light are also sources of algae. Read this article for more info.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/algae_types.php