Hi,
I'm also pretty new at this hobby, but from what I've read and the huge amount of info on this board, you might want to consider doing a good 25% or so water change to lower your nitrates. I waited until my ammonia and nitrites were both zero for a week, then did a water change. It dropped my nitrates down from 10 to a bit less than 5. I also had both the brown (diatom) algae and a green hairy algae growing on my glass and the sand. A week after the water change I added a 1/2 dozen astrea snails and a couple small hermits. They've gone to town on the stuff. My nitrates are now about 2. Hope this helps
Dew