Should I remove my shallow sand bed - issues in tank

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by corpusse

Also as far as biopellet reactors, what about just using a small pump? Recirculating ones seem to be very pricey. I'm not saying I can't do it but if I am going to spend that much I could just get a nitrate reactor.

I just use the regular bio pellet reactor (Vertex) and works great for me. Only have to add bio pellets about once a year or longer,... don't touch it otherwise. Don't even use a separate pump for it, just T'ed off my return line and keep the flow low enough to keep the pellets slowly tumbling.

I have a very old tank (that I inherited when we bought our current house) and it had very high phosphates and nitrates (100 ppm) to start off. Gradually got everything under control, with phosphate and nitrates now consistently at or near zero. Oh, and I never have cyano any more.

If you have time, browse through my journal to see what worked for me.