Somehow I missed the part where they began to fall out of favor. As a shameless discussion starter, I'd like those more knowledgeable than myself in the subject to enlighten us.
I'm starting to get paranoid. A friend and recent tank of the month, Steve Miller, (
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-09/totm/index.htm) just had his tank crash. His caps were the first to go, followed by just about everything. He said he found what looked like rust-colored buildup in his activated carbon media, even encrusting the actual carbon. He said he also found it on his LR in areas where it was submerged below the DSB. He was thinking metal contamination, but doesn't know where the metal came from.
Another thing he mentioned, was that he has been aware for some time that his sandbed was severely lacking in life/diversity.
His tank was up for about three years I believe, which seems to be the common time frame for bad news.
Do we blame this crash on the DSB?
Do we know what warning signs to look for?
Do we know how to avoid such a catastrophe?
Just a few of many questions I have on the subject, hopefully a nice discussion will follow that will help me understand all of this.
Travis