Manwolf, I have a similar setup but I have a 6 bulb retro over a 29G. When I went on vacation last year I turned off my skimmer and noticed some improvement in color when I got home. I then removed my activated carbon and started running my skimmer only about 50% of the time and everything is coloring up including an acro that is supposed to be purple but has been nearly white since I got it over a year ago.