goldesh brown growth

Question
i have a goldish brown growth that wont go away 55 gal tank with 6 starter fish tanks been up for 7 months reg water and filter changes fish are healthy the growth is not thick or hairy its like a dust kinda thing im stupmed had several tanks and never this kinda stuff

Answer
Hi Chris;

It's just 'brown algae'. It thrives in lower light areas such as the bottom of deeper tanks and in the "shady" areas of the tank. If you add a higher intensity light bulb in the hood it will fade away. Green algae can then begin to grow instead. Algae is not necessarily a bad thing unless your tank is overcrowded and/or overfed and it grows an overabundance. Live plants are helpful in controlling some types of algae if you have fish that won't tear plants up or eat them too fast. Plants will shade out green algae and will consume the waste that algae thrives on. Fish waste is good fertilizer for algae and all other plants. You will definitely need more light for plants though. Since brown algae is growing it means that most plants wouldn't have enough.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins