I think my lighting was inadequate for this coral and they all closed up

[00youknowit00]

No its not the same. You want a media reactor. And a nitrate shock like that would not be good, it is much safer to take it a little slower with 25%-50% water changes.

[TheGrapeApe]

Originally Posted by JMance

But like you said revamping your sump might be a good idea as they can harbor nitrates and so can your substrate I literally just did this same procedure about a month ago cleaned my sump modified it to add a refugium and replaced my substrate...a month later now and I'm already starting to put in sps my tank is doing great everything is flourishing

Ok I'm gonna revamp mine as well should I leave out the filtration and bio balls I am building a refugium as well. or add then in the spot shown

[mr_X]

Yes. Leave out the bio balls.

[00youknowit00]

Bio balls, to me, don't have a place in a saltwater tank, our LR harbors all of our biological filtration making the bio balls redundant.. They just house another chance that detritus will get trapped and create nitrates. I would definitely keep the mechanical filtration though, just gotta keep it washed out

[TheGrapeApe]

Ok then maybe I'll try and find some sort of filter sock

[00youknowit00]

That'll be a much better use of the space than the bio balls, just wash them out whenever you do a water change.

[TheGrapeApe]

Yup I found them at my lfs. I can't wait

[TheGrapeApe]

I just took the bio balls out holy cloudy I'm sure they were hindering my progress with the water changes

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by TheGrapeApe

I just took the bio balls out holy cloudy I'm sure they were hindering my progress with the water changes

Pretty bad? Haha

[TheGrapeApe]

It was lol. It's starting to clear a bit now lol

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by TheGrapeApe

It was lol. It's starting to clear a bit now lol

That should help your nitrate problem, have you done a water change yet?

[TheGrapeApe]

Yesterday. Tomorrow I'll do another one

[TheGrapeApe]

I'm gonna get a filter sock no more water changes after tomorrow till Sunday when I redo my sump

[00youknowit00]

How much were you able to lower the nitrates?

[TheGrapeApe]

I'll test it tomorrow and see

[TheGrapeApe]

What's the safest thing to use to clean an aquarium so I can silicone in my bubble trap

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by TheGrapeApe

What's the safest thing to use to clean an aquarium so I can silicone in my bubble trap

Vinegar works well, just make sure to rinse it very well once you're done.

[TheGrapeApe]

Ty that's what my wife told me lol

[TheGrapeApe]

I just tested my nitrates there down to 60 ppm

[00youknowit00]

That's a start lol