advice needed please.

[seayu]

Do to high nitrates and possible phospates issues I am considering removing or replacing my now 3 inch (approx 4 years old) sand bed. I suspect that either it or my live rock is leaching
detritus and possible phospates accumilated from overfeeding and not rinsing frozen food sover the years. I changed at approximately more than 50% of water in the last month only to see nitrates rise again and hair algae slightly appear. I will order new RO/DI replacements as well as TDS meter this evening.

I'm just going to be honest here please don't get on me too bad people but I do need help. I haven't been the most responsible hobbyist but I plan on being so from now on.

150g 33sump

approx. 200lbs live rock (four plus years old)
I have never ran carbon.
I have never used Phosban.
My skimmer is, well it works CS8-2RC
2 Koralia 4's for circulation
Mag 18 for return
I just purchased baffles to convert sump to fuge
(temp) added a ball of chaeto to sump and 1 mangroove

Medium bio: I believe

Purple and Hippo tang
3 clowns
6 chromis
1 orange tail damsel
1 dottyback

All soft corals doing well with exception of red mushrooms
SPS don't survive
Fish look healthy
But again 50ppm nitrates using salifert.

[seapug]

Replacing your sand bed is going to be an expensive and complicated ordeal, so I'd recommend you try getting on a more rigorous maintenance schedule with water changes and improving your filtration first.

PhosBan reactors are relatively cheap and work great. Get two, hook them up in line. Put good activated carbon in one and GFO in the other and let them run. Doing small weekly or daily water changes can help, too. Test your pH, Calcium, and Alk to make sure they are in line. Stay on top of things for a few weeks and you'll probably start seeing improvements.

[seayu]

Thanks. I think I'll lean towards that advice for now and see how it goes.

[pdfb55]

I would not reccomend running the posban and carbon inline with each other. They have different water flow requirements with the carbon being bigger.

[mspad]

Removing the sand is actually quite simple. Siphon it out into buckets when you do a water change. Rinse out the sand with a garden hose and add a little bleach. Let it sit for a day. Thoroughly rinse the sand , drain, and lay the sand out on some plastic to dry for a few days. I do this 2-4 times a year, and only have about an inch of sand total.

[stingythingy45]

mspad,

Do you have a remote sand bed?

[seapug]

Removing and replacing a sandbed all at once can cause your pH to go bonkers and doing what mspad does will completely kill off any and all beneficial life in it. The organisms that would die during the process are a huge part of the biological filtration that keeps the tank healthy and the fish and corals well fed. Seems like you'd be in a constant nutrient cycle phase. I can see why you'd need to do it a few times/year-- the sandbed would basically be a sterile detritus trap. I guess it works for mspad, I certainly would do that to my own tank.

[seayu]

Okay so say I go with two phosban reactors. Any suggestions on which pump for each (carbon/phos)? And with weekly let's say 10% percent water changes, less feeding and the addition of a fuge will my nitrates ever get low enough for sps. If the source is possibly build up in my rocks (which I now clean weekly with a turkey baster) ever drop for good. If so, than my understanding would be that the use of carbon and phosban will absorb the nutrients that are causing the problems. Once gone in the system with proper future maintenance this won't happen again unless I fall back into old habits, correct? Also, should I add more flow to my tank?

[seapug]

Many people, including myself, are using PhosBan reactors with great success. You can plumb them in line with any small powerhead. You want slow flow so MJ400s are used by many people. You can plumb them in line or with separate pumps. If you have room and $$, go ahead and buy separate pumps for each reactor, but I have mine plumbed together-- sphaerical carbon first then phosban. Slow flow through good carbon is not a problem. You are trading fewer gal/hr. for increased contact time so it's sort of a 6 vs. 1/2 half dozen situation.

Setting up the reactors and bumping up your general maintenance schedule will probably give you the best results long term.