Disgusting brown goo

[Canadian]

It all comes down to a proper balance of nutrients within the system.

If your LDSB wasn't seeded properly or isn't live enough, that's going to cause continuous problems.

Unfortunately, your skimmer is apparently inadequate for your current bioload. This is not to say you have too many fish, rather your nutrient export is insufficient for your intended purposes.
You can alleviate some of the inefficiency of your skimmer by also ensuring that you harvest macro algae, but the bottom line is that you need to increase your nutrient export one way or another while also addressing the culprit that is responsible for your elevated nutrient levels.

Your alk should ideally be around 3.5-4.5 meq/L. This is higher than natural seawater but raising your alk from your current 2.5 meq/L is going to make a significant difference.

It's kinda like losing weight. It's not as complicated as people make it seem. One is a case of ensuring that energy in is less than energy out (when losing weight), and the other is a case of ensuring that nutrients in are less than nutrients out.

[ 24 February 2002: Message edited by: Canadian ]</p>