Let me start out by saying Im not a DSB hater........well thats not true I do hate them lol ....BUT I would never say they cant work with the proper husbandry
Stoner
you must be a fast reader as the link is 90 pages long with multiple redirect links that are all very helpful to people with a open mind and willingness to learn and understand what is going on in our reef tanks.
Sorry I don't mean to come off rued but IMOP keeping a reef tank is not a quick "Hay what should I do" I took great pleasure in learning and understanding why things are happening in my reef tank and then being pro active to prevent them. Like I said it was a eye opening moment for me.
I wish I could provide the link directly because I think it could help a great manny reefers but as it is from another forum and think it would probably be looked down upon by the mods, I chose to give you a option to look it up your self in my sig
This is a copy and past from a very knowledgeable person that helped me see the light. Hope it help and inspires to look into further.
"sand is a filter. it needs to be treated as such. you can either use it till it is full then replace it. in a lot of cases the tanks are only setup for 5 years or less. that is right in the wheelhouse for the effectiveness of a DSB before it starts to become full. at this point it is best to replace it and start again. if that was the plan from the beginning, then there is nothing wrong with running a DSB and not touching it. ohh, did i really just say that.
the problems come when people start believing that the sand is not a filter and some magic thing that can just keep sending stuff off to that far off detrital dimension.
there are all kinds of ways to keep a successful reef tank. knowing how it functions on the bacterial level allows the aquarist to decide which method they would like to use.
the coarser the sand bed the more it needs to be siphoned clean. the amount of surface area for accumulating and binding phosphates and detritus is much smaller than if it was an oolitic sand bed. this is why it is all so complicated.
so, in other words, just step away from the sand. sorry, had to say it.
G~"
Filters need to be cleaned all your fish poo,cleanup crew's poo,left over fish food is hidden in your sand bed and needs to be siphoned and removed other wise it turns into phosphates ......and phosphates is what feeds algae.
remove the phosphates and the algae will not have anything to feed on
p.s. please don't add more fish thinking this will be a good thing it will only add more organic compounds and if not removed it will create more inorganic compounds.
