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I had the same problem. My tank was over 8 years old and I had never replaced the sand. Over a period of a couple of weeks, I replaced sections at a time and it is finally under control. What I was told is that after time, the substrate stops being useful becomes a phosphate factory. I am not...

Thanks. That is what I kind of planned on but wanted to get some feedback before I proceeded.

Over the past 8 years my sandbed has shrunk... either by cleaning or disintigration. I want to freshen it up (it is pretty ugly - brown and tired looking). Would you replace sections at a time or add more over the top? At one time the bed was around 4" at the back and 2" at the front. It is now...

Thanks... Does anyone know if it can repopulate the old areas where the polyps used to be?

I agree that it can act as the "canary" in the tank. If the pH is off a little or the salinity is a little low, they tend to not pulse. It seemed to me that they did like the water a little "dirtier". They did not seem as happy when I skimmed aggressively. I never had any discernible nitrate...

I have had a heck of a year with my tank. Added more rock and had a whole new cycle, hair algae, etc. To make a long arduous story short, I had given up on my black sun coral that the hair algae killed and threw the skeleton in the sump as an expensive piece of rubble. This past weekend I was...

Thanks for the input. Sorry for the delay in looking at this... had a surprise fortieth bday party to throw for my wife. I agree with the that the addition of chemicals is not good practice. My nitrates at zero and my phosphates are nil. I do use RODI water for my makeup water and run a ASM...

Has anyone used this? I am fighting cyano after stray electric upset the balance in my aquarium. It has been one thing after another and water changes don't seem to be helping. I have had my water-change water tested to make sure I am not dumping more of the cause into the tank and that...

I have been cleaning everything including the sand bed. I am figuring out how to prepare enough replacement water to do a change that large. Logistically, that requires some thought... but it it is probably a wise decision. I will let you know how it goes, thanks.

I thought it worked awesome. In fact, I forgot about those and need to get some myself. They are pretty expensive if I remember correctly. It is the same filter material they use to filter blood in hospitals.

I am going to inch the salinity up and see what happens. Thanks.

Any ideas are welcome... Here is where I am at. About a month or so ago, I was plagued by montipora eating nudibranches that killed off a large head of plating montipora and a bunch of 4-5 inch across pieces that had broken off as well as a branching variety that was really starting to grow...

Lava rock has a much higher chance of containing heavy metals as the molten magma will melt and incorporate metals into its structure as it is formed. Base rock or live rock are much less likely as they are formed either from polyps or the compression of sea sand into rock. Even though lava rock...

Oh, and it will be hard to keep the mandarin in a tank this new. They are pretty finicky eaters and generally eat amphipods and copepods that live in the rock. Keep an eye on him... you may have to supplement by adding live food until you can establish a good colony of them. The refugium will...

Your light is probably fine but your tank has probably not finished cycling yet after the addition of the livestock. More frequent water changes... and make sure that your water that you are adding is pure, i.e. RODI water or distilled water. The algae is growing because of excess nutrients in...

How often are you doing water changes? When your tank is cycling, your water is contaminated with all sorts of dissolved solids as the fauna in your rock are reestablishing a balance. Test the water you are putting in to make sure that the pH is correct beforehand. You should also be shooting...

I had an electrician friend bring over his meter and we tested the water. Everything seems to be okay after the removal of the skimmer pump. This was probably the most frustrating problem I have had with my tank in since its setup 9 years ago. My tank was looking really nice and I have some...

Thanks. I will do a more thorough test. Right now I am anxiously awaiting my new pump for the skimmer. I know a few days wont make a huge difference but it still makes me nervous.

I took a very scientific approach.. I unplugged something and then saw if I still got shocked. Of course it was the last thing I tested...

I have been fighting to figure out what is going wrong with my tank. I was blaming it on the loss of a huge plating montipora to nudibranches. I thought maybe the presence of light where there was none before as starting a mini cycle. But I have lost two fish now (jumped). I have never had...