Would I be correct in saying that a DSB without plants can never finish the cycle?
Dont plants remove the P and N and complete the life cycle?
I started a 65 gallon tank last Oct. Its lightly stocked with 3 fish lawmower,flame angel and saddleback.
Lighting is 2 175 14k hamiltons and 2 vho actinics.
Flow was moderate 900gph split between a upper and lower return on the closed loop and 900gph on the overflow.
I run a mud refugium with caluerpa no skimmer. Maintence was nothing
I mean no water change or anything. Till june everything was fine. Then i started getting hair algae on the rocks and cyno on the thin layer of sand in my tank.
So I figured it was time for a water change
I also added alot of flow.
After reading about BB I got to thinking that since my water readings for P and N where zero that their must have been P and N bound up in the sand and live rock. sure enough when i took a turkey baster to the rock i was shocked at how much detrus was on the rock. same in the cyno covered sand.
So i added flow....alot of flow. enough to keep the detrus in suspension. 1200 gph to the lower return behind the rocks on the bottom and 900 to the top thru a seaswirl. needless to say i had a sand storm in mins
so i removed alot of the sand and im now down to enough to just cover the bottom. if moves around a little but no problem.
For a week i would come home and blow off the rocks with the turkey baster till i no longer got much detrus.
Well amasing in one week the hair algea is gone as is the cyno. The only problem is that i have LPS and softies not SPS
So what to do.
I run the high flow at night when they are retracked and go low flow during the day.
This has made a hugh difference in the tank.
I also do weekly water changes now. I remove any detrus that collects in the bare chambers in the refugium. during these water changes.
So to recap I have a intermittant high flow area in the main tank with little to no sand and low flow in the refugium.
I belive that i can stay problem free this way becasue the caleurpa grows like crazy in the fug removing the P and N from the cycle.
Be gentle im a n00b