I've faced this before and quite honestly didn't exactly pin down the problem. Basically I am getting a brown diatom on my sandbed and it's actually becoming somewhat solid in places. Alk=8.0, Cal=420, and Mag=usually at 1350. I don't overfeed (feed the fish not the tank) but I do feed corals about 1-2 week with Reef Chile. I also add SeaChem Reef Trace and Reef Plus. 30 gallon water changes weekly on a 120. I know that might be a bit much but has been working well for a long time.
So I've been using Phosguard in a media reactor as I was told early on that it would last a good amount of time until my levels started going up. Recently I'm hearing that it is really a short term fix for a few days maybe a week and then get rid of it. My LFS convinced me to go back to GFO. Honestly I always hated the mess of GFO. That's been the only change in routine and now I am getting the brown diatom and solidifying of the sandbed.
Could this really be the issue? I know tons of folks who run GFO very successfully.
I also remember being told that the brown and the solidifying sand could be a chemical and parameters issue. Any thoughts/opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated
So I've been using Phosguard in a media reactor as I was told early on that it would last a good amount of time until my levels started going up. Recently I'm hearing that it is really a short term fix for a few days maybe a week and then get rid of it. My LFS convinced me to go back to GFO. Honestly I always hated the mess of GFO. That's been the only change in routine and now I am getting the brown diatom and solidifying of the sandbed.
Could this really be the issue? I know tons of folks who run GFO very successfully.
I also remember being told that the brown and the solidifying sand could be a chemical and parameters issue. Any thoughts/opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated