Brad,
Thank you.
Wish a few more had said these.
First, second hand rock. At $10.00 lb for new hard to handle.
Anemones, yes I agree and wish I had known before.
Water changes were an act of desperation. Did not know what to do, with so many suggestions. I agree, removal is the way to go, so carbon is a good idea. Reactive chemistry can be trouble and bite you later, like me. Bottom line remove what is the problem. You really cannot react it and remove from the system.
Lesson learned would be to get live rock and sand only. Check chemistry and change the water until the chemistry was good. Use carbon to clean it up as a supplement to clean it up. No light until chemistry is OK so you do not have algae
Light is a cost only issue. It was a reasonable option for the cost. Spending $1000 + was just out of the question. I think if the phosphate was under control I would not have had the alge outbreak.
RO unit is nice but expensive for starting. Lesson learned not an option but more a requirement for salt water systems. Add another few hundread to your setup cost.
Skimmer, is a second hand HK something. It seemed to skim well and made good skimate. But yes a sump and good skimmer is better if you want to spend the cash and have an overflow tank. I did not.
Would have been nice if I was warned about the butterfly fish and the trouble anemones can be. When I read threads it is mixed.
So over all I would say I am much more informed than before and have had first hand experience in what can go wrong.
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