Sorry, is it possible to disclose the amount of food, given daily to the whole tank to evaluate the load on filtration, the amount of nutrients, it has to process?
The tank, fed not every day, few pieces of target feeding for LPS, for example, will not require the filtration, the tank with scleronephthya should have (finest food, the whole tank feeding all day long, teaspoon daily for 12g). You see my point.
I'm looking for the improving of my system too.
The best I had - 10g tank with almost an equal size sump with LR and half-filled by different macroalgae (and a lot of bryopsis in the tank, may be this matters). Tank was fed for Christmas tree worms few times a day in moderate amounts, 1/8 cu.in, 3 mm3. Nitrates were within 0-10 ppm, very low phosphates.
After adding scleronephthya and a lot of small gorgonians the feeding increased to several times a day (8-10), the same amount or more each time. Homemade coral recipe blend was the worst - a lot of unused by anyone liquid and out of range particles. The sump with LR and algae was not enough this time.
On the other side, another, practically abandoned tank - very rare small water changes and keeping alkalinity and salinity in check, was very good on its own: 5g, no sump, in-tank LR, some bagged live sand, macroalgae, mysids and corals. Practically no feeding: 1/64 cu. in. (1 mm3) weekly, not on schedule, now and then.
Apples and oranges
