I Hate Chemistry lol

[reefwars]

what is the k value on your bulbs for your lights???


if your running 20000k bulbs then you prob wont get a whole lot of growth where as a 14000 will give you much better growth and still keep some blue.


are you having any algae problems???

like wes said a skimmer is a must for medium or large sized tanks and try not to cheap out so buy one you can use for any other tank so go big and and as best you can.

filter socks should be changed out very frequently a good idea is to have several and change them out daily and wash them all out at once one day a week while using an extra one to use while they are being washed........IMO no fabrics should be in your tank and if there is then it needs to be washed very very frequently


same goes with carbon after a while if its just in a bag and its not getting changed enough it will also hold detrius and debris and will cause more harm then good



you shouldnt have to cook your rock or remove your deep sand bed i highly doubt after 2.5 yrs this is your major cause i would think after 2 yrs its the food youve been adding......rinse all frozen well and only feed it every other
day flake or pellet in between........are you feeding any liquid foods or coral foods??? cheers

[Abe]

my MH are 14k. You guys are right about the filter sock I will be going to get more so I can change frequantly. As for the skimmer, the max size i can take is 8.5wX11L X 25H. and should be around 300 dollars, Also i am going to buy a carbon reactor this weenkend and maybe a GFO as well. The good news is my phosphate is dopping, I checked it yesterday when MH were on and it was 0.75 on Elos test kit. Also this weekend I will be doing a major clean out of the sump, I will be removing the ceramic pieces and the live rock, cleaning the bottom of the sump and stirring the sand in the small fuge that I have. I used to feed frozen once every day, but couple of days ago I bought fresh shrimp, scallop, and clam and made my own food, they love this stuff. I will start feeding that every other day and have pellets for the rest. By the way, Thank you all for your help, looking forward for your continues support .