Regarding brown fungus

Question
Thanks Karen for your help. Since i have done a further water change ( was25% now do about 35-40% water change now) And so far so good. Regarding the test which test would i use to check on these.....can i pick up a kit from an Aquarium shop?
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Followup To

Question -
Hi seem to be getting a med-dark brown fungus growing in quick succession all around the tank. We have an AR380 tank and only one goldfish. It happens pretty quickly within week tank has 40-50% coverage. My Qn is this normal or could it be too much sunlight reaching the tank ( tank positioned next to window)
Your help would be appreciated.
Cheers Adam


Answer -
Dear Adam,
Sure sounds like you have brown algae. I have found the presence of brown algae to be mostly caused by high nutrient or nitrate levels more so than too much light. It is often said that too "little" light causes it to grow. You might want to test your aquarium water and make sure the levels are as follows-
Ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate 10ppm or less.

But quite simply, the best way to avoid brown algae and most other algae problems is to increase tank maintenance like doing more frequent or larger water changes (always insuring to treat the replacement water with a water conditioner and insure the water temperature is equal to the aquarium) make sure the filter material is not clogged will insure that this algae does not continue to take over.

I really hope this helps!
Only my very best wishes,
Karen~

Answer
Hi Adam,
Sure you can! Test kits are easily available in most aquarium shops. Sometimes things like nitrate tests are individual. Buying ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate tests in individual sets is best because for each test there is a much wider reading range for it. But they can also be expensive too. There are "all-in-one" test kits that are usually paper strips and these work well also. They can be the least expensive too.

It basically comes down to if you are OK with paying the extra for individual sets for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate then that's great. But if it's too much expense for you then you can get by with the all-in-one paper strips.

I hope this helps!
Only my very best wishes as always!
Karen~