Brown algae?

[flushingfish]

I have what appears to be some sort of Brown algae growing on the hard surfaces of my tank. It is a 20G community tank which currently holds.
2 platys
3 poleatus cories
3 marble hatchets
6 neon tetras.

It is a fairly new tank that is planted with 2 java ferns and 2 Anubias.

Latest test results are.

Ammonia=0ppm
Nitrite=0ppm
Nitrate=0ppm I think the plants are eating it all up.

It is a low light set up so I am currently not dosing CO2. I am not yet dosing ferts because I don't have my full bioload in there yet so I don't know where my readings will end up yet.

The algae is dark brown and spreading on hard surfaces. So far there is only one spot on the glass. I wanted to upload photos but they are too big. So I will have to retake them or downsize them first. Any ideas how to get rid of this? I was planning on adding a couple of Amano shrimp will they eat it?
It kind of looks like the diatoms I see described on the SW side.

 

[rich311k]

If it comes off easily like a brown powder it is indeed diatoms. It will go away on its own. It is actually not an algae, it is a microrganism that feeds on silicates in new set ups. Just about all new tanks get it.

I would watch that 0 nitrate, you may find yourself battling BGA.

 

[flushingfish]

It does brush off fairly easily so that's probably what it is. I was amazed at 0 nitrates I couldn't believe that 4 plants would suck it up that fast. I now have about another 10 - 12 crypts that I'm getting from Lowcoaster this week that will be going in. Should I start dosing ferts? I am still looking to put in a few more fish that will bring up the bioload a bit. If you go to my gallery you can see how sparsely planted this tank is right now.

What can I dose to increase my Nitrates if need be?

 

[7Enigma]

Flourish makes a nitrogen product that many people use and love. I have a 20gallon tank and prefer to use dry ferts from gregwatson.com . Potassium nitrAte is the perfect chemical for you since it will keep your nitrAtes up, as well as supplying potassium which is normally also not supplied in high enough amounts from most comprehensive fertilizers. If going with greg I recommend getting at least 2lbs of potassium nitrAte (if you don't plan on more fish or if the fish are currently far from adulthood), otherwise if you expect the bioload to increase (thus less need for nitrAte) I would recommend 2 lbs of potassium sulfate (otherwise 1lb is probably fine). CSM+B is a great trace fert (1lb will last forever), and monopotassium phosphate is good to have around as well though very little will be needed.

HTH

EDIT: One quick question, are you using the AP liquid test kit that most of us recommend on here? If so you need to make sure you follow the directions to a T for the nitrAte test. If not properly performed you can have very high nitrAte levels but not detect them (this has happened to several members on this forum).