Good luck. You're probably right that you don't have much to lose at this point. Hopefully the removal will help turn things round for you.

I wouldn't do it that way. Exposing deeper layers is the opposite of what you want to do. When I remove a sand bed I remove the entire depth of sand from say 1/4 of the tank, then replace that area with new sand, then next week remove the next 1/4 and replace, and so on.

I do 2-3 water changes per year and each one about 150 gallons. I do syphon the sand to get rid of any detritus in there. My last water change was October but I dose cal alk mag and trace elements. Then a big water change to "rebalnce" the trace elements.

I did another water change this morning and ended up siphoning out the rest of the sand. I checked up on the tank a couple hours ago and everything looks good. The trumpet corals were more open and overall the Lps looked happier.

Maybe this is a sign that your current approach is not working. Lots of people do these minimal or zero water change methods successfully. You may be missing some key point. Have you thought of doing a Triton test when you're some months into no WC? Which salt mix do you use?

Maybe a triton test might be a good idea. I didn't even think about that. I'm going to see if removing the sand helps, if not I guess my next step would be a triton test.

When I initially setup the tank I used h2oceans and then over the summer I switched to aquaforest.

This morning the tank looks stable again. No new die off and the water is incredibly clear. It's had a little bit of cloudy water for a few months. I just couldn't get it this clear even with all the filtration and filter socks, there was always a slight cloudiness to the water.

Is there somewhere who does the triton test within Canada?


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One of the LFS sells the kits so I'd imagine he has some method of getting them sent In.

How much are they? I have been curious about doing it


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I have no idea at all but it's a pretty cool method of testing.

If you want more info, his website is https://www.marineexperience.ca his name is Neil.

Most LFS have the packs you can buy for sampling which gives you a sample number and labels then you send them to an address in the USA. It's about $60 for the sampling pack, then postage to USA. You get your results online in about 3 weeks.