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I have a 55 reef (my first sw) that has been doing pretty well. It has been going for about 4 months now with no major set-back! Recently, I have noticed a build up of stuff in and on my live rock, it looks like sand or food or poo. Also, I have noticed some tiny black/brown particles on the sandy bottom, and I was wondering if all of this is normal. Should I do something different? Will coraline algae still grow on the live rock if that stuff is on it? Will the stuff cover the algae and kill it? Should I be getting an ulcer over this? Thanks in advance.

ps: I'm sure you know something on this, DRO.

How much flow do you have in the tank?

You will most likely still get some detrius, silt, and sand kicked up and on the rocks. Get a turkey baster, and use it to blow the silt off the rocks.

It will kill coralline, and will hinder it from spreading as it wont spread on top of the silt.

I forget the exact gph of my pumps, but the filter pump is about 350 gph (I think), and the power head is about 150 gph and it ocelates. I may have gone a little overkill on the flow, but I was told to have a good current for a reef tank.

I don't like how that sounds about the silt, but I will definately get a baster tomorrow, thanks!

The outlet for the filter is a pvc pipe that goes across the width of the tank with alot of holes drilled in it. It works really well to provide a uniform current in the tank back to the filter inlet. Thanks again for the quick response!

WOW! There was alot of stuff on my rocks. Thanks for the advice!