Brown Sand?

I am having trouble keeping my sand clean. Every few days certain areas of the sand bottom get covered with a brown algae. None of my snails or crabs seem to help. This algae is only present on the sand, no where else in the tank.

 

I would buy smaller sand, larger grain sand will grow algae on it. Also its possible your sand bed isn't in a good state, so algae is feeding on the nutrients in it.

 

What are your levels especially nitrates? I have read stirring the sand up can cause nitrate levels to get high and thus your diatom problem.

 

My nitrates are running about 5ppm and every water change for the past month I have to stir the sand bed to suck up the brown

 

How long has your tank been running?

 

a sand goby may keep your sand clean but it would also destroy all the fauna in it.

 

Fauna??

 

My tank has been up for 4 months, and I do not have any Fauna

 

fauna= animals

You should have fauna if you have live rock, it will be worms and pods.

 

So you are saying that a sand goby will destroy all the other animals in the tank, I have never heard that before.