Should I remove my shallow sand bed - issues in tank

[Myka]

One thing I'd like to experiment with is using a much smaller amount of biopellets with higher flow (like non-recirculating). You may be able to achieve the same thing. I haven't tried it.

The issues people run into is running too many biopellets, too much flow, too high alkalinity (an issue only when the nutrients become very low), and clumping from not enough flow.