Do you prime in your water changes? try doing a few more 30% water changes, and cutting the lights down as suggested! You could try getting a Nudi or two for help with the algea! take some pics!!!!

Welcome to Canreef!

I have and know of tons of others have run very successful reefs with tap water. It can be done but it depends on the water itself. Yes RO water is better but tap water is not always the problem.

OK a lot of info to sift through I am sure I will continue to add to this post. Thank you all for responding.

My first piece I will be replacing will be my skimmer as recommended by many of you I am looking at the Aquamedic Blue1000.

@ Wickedfrags - what RO/DI unit would you recommend for say around $300 less is good if you know of an adequate unit.

@Murminator - I am not sure how much rock I have in poundage. I am attaching pics though dont laugh I haven't perfected aquarium photography :) Also the substrate is pebble sized crushed coral. Which I know is part of the problem, when I vacuum certain areas I can rarely see the bottom of the bucket.

@bean - Yes I add prime to my water changes.


I am going to give the filter housings a good rinse to make sure no sludge has been building up.

I would really like to move to a sand substrate I like the look of it way more but like all free advice on the internet the details on how to do it are mixed. Some say do it all at once, others say small amounts at a time.

I will also have to research a phosban reactor any advice concerning bio pellets? Are these something that I can run in one of the filters if at all?

[IMG]http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_P1010328.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...h_P1010337.jpg[/IMG]

Good skimmer here
http://www.reefshops.com/bubble-magus-bm-nac6.html

There has been some discussion about it here:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...t=59611&page=2

I would get rid of the filter and get a new skimmer, I will endorce Aqua Medics T1000 multi as it has served me very well find my 110 build thread and goto the photobucket pic's there is one showing the skimm I get out of the T1000 multi best skimmer I have seen for a while. the skimm is black and thick I am going to take a pic tonight as I have to clean the skimmer it's only been 3 days and it is pritty much full. get a couple of power heads youcan get an over the top overflow like a CPR by the way I will have one for sale soon. there are othersout there closer to where you are but you can have a sump is my point and you will not regret it.

Bill

Aquasafe makes a cost effective unit that will get the job done. Was about the cheapest out there when I bought mine, and less than $300.

I second this... I think I got mine for MUCh less than $300, closer to $150? But that was a few years ago now.

You might also consider the Vertex Puratek. It is a bit more than $300 but comes with some nice extras like a built in pressure booster pump (makes it more efficient) and TDS meter. It also does computer controlled back flushing periodically to help prolong the life of the filters. I've been using mine for nearly a year without problem and still getting 0 TDS out of it.

If when you are vacuuming your substrate, and it is so dirty that you can't see the bottom of the bucket, I'd say that is a major problem. As another reefer pointed out, I would start pulling out a handful a week until it is gone.
Also, are your lights only actinic, or 20K? The picture just seems very blue. If you are only running actinic, you will want to get a few different bulbs. With regards to bulbs, how old are they? Old bulbs can cause algae problems in an aquarium. I will let people who have T5's chime in on how often you should change them out, as I have metal halides. If you don't know the age of some of them, I would switch them out.

In regards to RO systems. Here is one from a vendor many of us use and it's a lot less than $300.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...rd-system.html

As for the Blue1000, I would recommend you look at www.aquacave.com to purchase it.