So my tank is not near a window per se, but it's in a bright room. I'm getting a very slight amt of brown algae since it's a newer tank setup. I've kept the front and sides clean, but as I'm not big on backgrounds, would it be harmful or a future pain the the rear to keep any growth on the back of the tank? Intuition tells me that it will only cause issues down the road, but it's hard to clean off and I don't really mind it...

I started getting it the past two days - the only two days thus far I've ever had the curtains fully open, since I had company. I installed plain white roll-paper on the back and the side which faces the brighter part of the room, so that should help. I've also added more plants. Additionally, is there a level of plants/type of plants that would deter algae just by using up a lot of the avail light and nutrients or is it just a matter of establishing the tank? I've never dealt with any brightly lit tanks before except for my disaster 20g with the green water issue.

I must say though, the aerial-river-esque look that the snails leave on the back glass in the algae looks pretty nifty.

I maintain tanks for a living and clean more glass than a window washer on a skyscraper. On my tanks at home, if I don't look through it I don't clean it. A good coating of algae on the back glass can keep some light from coming through and hitting the front glass and causing algae there. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Yup agree with subrosa - let it grow on the back and sides. Brown is most likely diatoms. It's totally beneficial -- free fish food and filtration. It's only "harmful" to retailers whose staff and customers think that algae = "dirty."

Stonerollers seem to like it as a supplemental food. Add a couple.