Brown slimy Algae ?

Question
I have keep fish for 20 years, since I was a child. My Mum gave my Hubby two 10 inch sharks catfish ,12 inch Mr.Placo,& four Cory's For his Birthday. We have them in a 150 gallon aquarium. They are not near any windows.They are not over feed.I have never had this happen before. We have this slimy brown algae. It is blocking the filter's water uptake tubes & all over the fake plants. It only takes 4 Days to do this.My other fish aquariums are fine. WHAT IS IT??? HOW DO i GET RIDE OF IT? HELP PLEASE!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Dawn,
It is brown algae and there are mixed opinions as to what causes it. Some opinions are that there are too many nutrients in the water either from overfeeding or fish waste, too little light, silicates,a newly set up tank, and even problems with the tap water that is used. I  had this happen several years ago with one of my 55 gallon tanks. All of my other tanks were perfect and this one suddenly, just as yours, started to grow all of this brown yucky stuff on everything. The water eventually even looked a little brown. I tried everything from various water treatment chemicals that were supposed to completely get rid of all algae to very frequent and large water changes. The only thing that has ever worked for me is the large frequent water changes. I don't like to use chemicals to try to treat water problems and have since never used them and I have been able to correct most problems with water changes. You have to have patience with it since it doesn't clear up overnight. It took several weeks for mine to start to show improvement. You really have to keep the water clean and the gravel. It will look ugly for a while but it will get better.
I am sending a website that suggests some of the reasons for brown algae and some ways to treat it. I just thought you might want to read it to get another opinion other than mine. It never hurts to read what others might have tried. I just know what has worked for me.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/maintenance1/p/algaebrown.htm
I hope your aquarium improves quickly. I know how frustrating it can be. Once it does clear, if you really keep it clean it probably won't go through the brown algae phase again.
Hope this has helped,
Karen