worth noting

[TankBoss]

Firstly, in reading about lighting I had learned over and over that too much light would result in green algae growth and that too little light would result in brown algae... Leading me to believe there was a fine balance of light that needed to be adhered to in order to avoid algae (not true). I have cut out all lighting except to display my tank for my own pleasure or for others and I am having little to no algae growth.
One other thing I have noticed is that my Johanni (which is a big time digger) would create mountains of sand within minutes of cleaning my tank (with the lights running 8 to 10 hrs a day) but now that I am barely using my lights the digging is non existent, which is fine by me because now I don't need to worry about my "rock work" collapsing.

 

[TankBoss]

Also worth noting is the savings on my electricity bill. Significant.

 

[jetajockey]

The 'too little light results in brown algae' thing is speculation IMO. I've read it from a few sources but I've not seen anything other than conjecture to build on the idea. As you've seen, minimizing light in a non-planted tank will definitely keep both types at bay.

 

[TankBoss]

That's my experience.