[richtg]

The two most valuable assets to a succesful reefer, IMO, are patience and perserverence. Keep up with your water changes and you will eventually strike a balance. Keep in mind that lighting, nitrates, phosphates (including food and source water), and water flow are major players in the algae battle. I had a big problem with it when I started out, and one day (figuratively speaking) it was no longer a problem. I still get diatom algae buildup on my glass, but it feeds a lot of my reef every time I scrape with my magnets. I have also found that an active sand bed, once established, will pretty much maintain itself. I have learned a lot about that subject from Dr. Ron Shimek on reefcentral.com. I think that bio-diversity is valuable as well, but if you are just going to keep fish, learn more about the things I mentioned in the third sentence. Good luck, Rich.