lduncan

Ever had hair algae problems, cyano? Layton

That would explain the state of the rocks then. Why do you use phosphate remover Pies? Dirty is a relative term. Dirty for SPS, is not necessarily dirty for other corals.

That's how I'd be running sand in a tank too (as well as continual replacement). 2 inches can still cause problems if not vacuumed. Just be aware that sps and softies / zoa's (not zoo's ) come from and require different conditions. When ones thriving, the other won't be. You shouldn't be able to grow xenia in a tank optimised for sps health and growth, and vice versa. Layton

Well put Steve. One observation i've made in my tank over the last few weeks it that flatworms don't like clean rocks. So no problem with flatworms, algae, phosphates... perfect conditions for SPS corals. No need to buy phosphate remover, or bother with poisonous dirt loving macro algae. So it's probably one of the simplest, least expensive ways to run a tank. But, if your looking at a lagoon tank, then it's probably not for you. It's just more expensive to keep SPS in dsb tanks, cause you eventually need the bandaids to stop the bed killing the SPS. Layton

If you like to be "behind the wheel" and in control BB is a good option. Plus when done properly you don't need bandaids like phosphate remover, zeolites and macro etc Layton

I'd say doing that with SPS is asking for trouble given how deep sand beds work.

That's one healthy looking powder blue. Feed him up on nori, they love it. Layton

In my experience three things can contribute to whitespot problems poor water conditions insufficient/poor quality food stress from adding new fish to a tank Get the first two right, and the third won't be a problem.

Nope I mean hydrogen carbonate, as in alkalinity. Apparently calcium has little effect on growth in levels in excess of 350ppm. Alkalinity is a major factor in calcification rates. Layton

hydrogen CARBONate

I already told you

Light, nitrogen and carbon are the things that have major effects on sps growth. Most coral foods are carbon and nitrogen suppliers, and are probably have more effect on zooxanthellae than directly on the corals themselves. It's difficult to tell why sps extend polyps, they have so many functions, you can't really tell why just by looking. They can extend for various reasons: To release toxins Defence Increase light collection To feed To increase growth rates i'd be doing three things. Layton

longspine cardinals are a good choice. They are tight schoolers. As are other cardinals. Pies, JoeBlog has had some purple queens, they were looking good last time i saw them. They get fed live food which is the key for these fish I think.

It must have been good, cause even I didn't notice it when I was round last. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. The main difference with gasses it that they are compressible, where as liquids are not as compressible.

Very impressive. You got some solid DIY skills there. Layton

bomber - biology / anti DSB for sps tanks guy

You mean boomer, not bomber.

Just try and find the "100% sodium hydroxide" one next time. Layton

There are a lot of things you don't know about me Cookie.

That would be correct... if our tanks were completely sterile. The media does not have to enter the water through chemical disassociation. Bacteria are involved. It's not a chemical thing, it's biological. If it's not iron, how do you explain the TN people experienced? The ONLY thing they did is add iron oxide to their tank. Chimera asked a question, it's his thread. Also I never lost any corals using zeovit.

The problem was adding too much iron too quickly. (Increasing nutrients too quickly) It appears most corals can adapt to higher levels of iron no problem (to a point), but if dissolved iron levels are increased too quickly, problems can occur as it tries to release and bind with phosphate from rock and skeletons. The problem was solved by using less remover and ramping it up over time. And as an added safety net, running carbon after the remover. Iron is not bad, but too much of it can be. Natural sea level are very low, in some ocean environments it is THE limiting nutrient. Marine animals have developed sophisticated methods of sequestering iron, seen as though it is often in short supply, especially bacteria...

I'm too dumb to run zeovit. I'll leave it at that.

Been there done that. Remember the spate of issues related to iron phosphate removers on RC? Remember how they fixed the issues. Remember the iron threads here. Not gonna start that up again here in Chimera's thread though. I'm not disagreeing with the alk thing.

Sounds like you need a holiday Fay.

Personally I don't think alkalinity is the primary driver of the TN. It's the addition of a nutrient .