so i have 72 gallon bow front, and have been recently having problems with nitrite and nitrate spikes. so ive figured out that it is my sand bed that is not working properly. too deep of sand for how fine the sand is. so my problem is, is that im buying a new light, metal halide, but all my rock needs to be restacked and the different bigger granuals of sand need to be replaced with the existing fine sand. what type of sand should i use to get that denitrification that we all look for. im also thinking that i should just start all over. i dont have too many coral, so its not a money problem. plus i have cyno bacteria, popping up allo ver the place, sand and rocks. can i clean those rocks somehow. maybe with a toothbrush in a seperate tank? im so confused, someone please help.!!!
Need help please
- Thread starter mr.elcajon
- Start date
yeah i think that your best bet for the cynobacteria is to use a toothbrush i can't get rid of it in my tank that's basically what i've been doing for mine and i think that you can actually glue the live rock together i also have the bigger granuals of sand and thinking about switching to the fine because i think it looks better 
good luck!
good luck!
more flow and less nutrients is what u need... do u have a phos reactor? if not u can get one with the media and all for around $100... that along with a descent skimmer and a few good powerheads and your good to go! u can scrub it with a tooth brus but try n syphon it out at the same time HTH!
HTH!
How big are those powerheads? For a 72 gallon you might need a lot more flow. The phosphate reactor will remove phosphate from your tank which is what the cyano is feeding on along with probably a lack of flow. The calcium reactor will keep a good level of calcium in your tank. Unless you are stocked with a lot of SPS coral (since you don't have halides I'm assuming you probably don't have any SPS) you don't need it.
so i have replaced all the sand with a more pebble type substrate. crushed coral i believe. and my nitrates and nitrites have dropped dramitically.*celebrate. ithink my flow that i have now with the extra powerhead and extra wave maker will be just fine. on the contrary about the metal halide. im recieving one within 24 hrs. so stoked. but i will be going sps soon. thnx for the advice. oh one more question. what would u suggest using to keep ur DKH and calcium levels accurate.
Actually crushed coral is a nitrate factory and is not recommended for reef tanks as it leads to high nitrates down the road. What you should have done is gone from a deep sand bed to maybe one that is sugar grain and only about 1 inch deep. This will need to me stirred to ensure no dead spots develope. You can reduce cyano by increasing your flow and reducing the amount you feed. Ensure you are using RO/DI water and you should see a decrease in the cyano.
yes this is what my pet store said. but iam now doing a water change and gravel vac once a week. so i should have no problems with the nitrite or nitrate. hopefully. still low readings wich is great. i did go down to a 1 inch subsrate with the fine sand but no help. not enough oxygen flow to help reduce the sulfur build up.( that whole cycle that takes place). But i did notice u said RO/DI water. not be rude, but RO/DI is no good. its best to use plain RO water. the Ro/DI will eventually drop ur Ph. making u have to add more buffers to ur system. no bueno.
The DI will reduce the tds from about 8 in RO to zero. This does reduction is necessary if you are going to be setting up a reef tank and could be part of the reason you had problems with nitrates which could also be problems with phosphates that are often in the water. You can measure for both nitrates and phosphates and have them measure zero and still have a problem as they will measure zero if they are being consumed by the algae or cyano. It is not sulfur that builds up in the sand bed, a properly maintained sand bed will provide denitrification that can not be obtained using crushed coral. Crushed coral no matter how well you clean it it will still trap detritus which decays causing nitrate buildup over time. This will not happen overnight or even over a few weeks but WILL happen over a few months. If you are dead set against sand then you should really consider going bare bottom and increasing your flow to ensure suspension of detritus to be removed by heavy skimming.
make sense what ur saying. but for now experience is gonna have to work. ive heard of bare bottom, but idont trust the wait of the rock on the glass. cuz the glass is not on a surface. my buddy has a 180 with crushed coral, his is fine. im not sure but i think its more of a hit and miss depending on the sytem. thanx for the advice. if i end up backtracking then dam. gues il lhave to fix it.