Should I be siphoning the sand so much?

[reef cuber]

Here are the steps I've taken so far

20% water change (to be done more frequently as well)
added a second power head
changed out charcoal and Ferris Oxide for fresh (will exchange more often)
siphoned off just the cyano on the sand and sludge in the back of the tank.
Adjusted lighting to shorten time
cut back on feeding and volume fed, to every 3 days
adjusted the fixed pump outlet in the tank to create more surface agitation

I don't have a skimmer but thinking of getting one, is there a good skimmer on the market that will fit in the back of a biocube 32, and should it go in the first water chamber or in the center part where I plan to put the fuge?

Thank you for all the responses. When I first set up the tank I didn't touch the bed for several months. Since I have a shallow sand bed, I'm going to leave it alone to see what happens. I also plan to pull all sponges (one at a time) and then start a fuge in the back. I was also thinking of bypassing and making a small sump in the bottom of the cabinet. Can anyone recommend a resource for a small sump that would fit in the bottome of the biocube 32 cabinet?

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Sumps are cool to keep your equipment hidden and add some water volume, but have you looked into an algae reactor instead?

 

[reef cuber]

I have not considered an algae reactor... I'll look into it.

I was reading on refugeiums in other forums and some of the comments are that they aren't necessary. If you have enough stuff to feed a refugeium, then you still have a source issue. You actually have to have nutrients to keep the refugeium alive as well. So, other than just having more water volume, surface agitation and room for a skimmer etc.. should I even bother? Would it be money better spent if I invest in a H20 top off and Kalkwasser for my Ph issue?
What are your thoughts?

 

[hkgar]

If you feed your fish then you have a source of NO3 and PO4. You need a way to remove them. If you have coral they will use some.

Do some research on PH. You really cannot control it. It will do what it wants to do. You can only increase it by removing co2 from the water.

 

[reef cuber]

another question... will heat cause cyano as well? Could bumping down my tank a little bit at a time inhibit it's growth? What is an ideal temp for a
reef tank?

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Probably not, I keep my tank at 75 degrees and I still get it. Unless you keep yours at 86 degrees I doubt it will make a difference.

 

[reef cuber]

So it just occurred to me something I was also doing wrong. I have slowly been increasing my salinity and didn't realize it. DUH........ The worst part is, that I have been doing this for my 5 gal QT tank, but not my biocube. I haven't been topping off my biocube with RO water. I had been checking my salinity before my water changes and setting my water change to reflect that. I was keeping it at .26 at first, but it's climbed up to .30.......... OOPSIE!! That may explain why some of my corals have been unhappy. What a total dumb a** move! LOL! I will be correcting this back to what it should be in the next couple water changes. Smooth move exlax!

 

[ca1ore]

Meh, just one in a long list of dumb a$$ move chez moi :lol:. Easy enough to fix. Cyano also comes and goes, I certainly don't vacuum my sand bed. Up the flow and it mostly goes away.

 

[reef cuber]

Cyano is gone.... for now. Thank you for all the feedback, it's much appreciated.

 

[reef cuber]

Here's how it looks today

Here's how it looks today

I also added a few more corals!