brown algae on my sand

I have a 60 gallon tank with 60 lbs of live sand and 60 lbs of live rock. It only has 4 fish and other normal critters. my problem is it has always had brown algae growth on top of the sand and I cant seem to get rid of it. I have tried syphoning it and my water quality is good, but nothing seems to work. any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Pics always help
Probably with a new tank you are getting a cycle of diatoms.

 

Do you use tap water? If so, that could be your problem. It sounds like diatoms -- which make their "skeletons" out of silicates. Silicates are often found in tap water. You should use RODI water instead.

 

I did use tap water just for the setup. I didnt have 60 gallons worth of containers to buy water. All i use now is catalina water i buy from my local store or filtered water to top off between water changes which i do every 2 weeks. Is there anything I can do get rid of it or do I just have to be patient until it goes away

 

Since you started with tap water it'll take a while before any algae problems go away, depending on how bad your local water is. The best thing you can do is keep doing water changes I'd say about 25% every week for the next while to dillute any effects from the tap water. You'll be fine for now, but when you want to start getting into corals you'll want your water parameters in check, such as carbonate hardness.

Also look into buying your own RO/DI system, it'll save you money in the long run.

 

Check Home Depot I was there today and they had several RODI systems on sale.

 

You can get a good RODI system for around $150 online. Add up how much you spend on water, and see if it's worth it to just buy your own unit.