A word to the wise, on used live rock.

Sorry, I meant, "I really do wish I could use an ro/di unit."

 

Build a simple, cheap Phosguard reactor as I have done.
My PHos/nitrate always tested out at 0.

It got rid of my cyano!

Here's my thread on it:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/diy-phosphate-remover-133924.html

Also, a 20g sump sounds small for a 120, IMO

 

I have a BRS dual carbon/gfo reactor, and I fill it, every week. The sump is a 29 gallon, and it's plenty big. It holds my two 300watt heaters, the return pump, the pump for the dual reactor, two Asm G2 skimmers, plus the drain hose, from the tank. I'd rather use a 40 gallon breeder, but the stand won't allow it. The 29 fits perfectly, with the dual reactor, right next to it. That's what you get with used equipment, though. Sometimes it just doesn't fit the current trends, and isn't very versitile. It works, but could be better. The cyano. is significantly less than it was, since the year mark hit. Now, it's just up top, near the lights. Once I vacuum it all out, it should stop. I'm hoping, once I stop disturbing the sand it will get even easier to maintain. I do 5 gallon water changes, on my 29 gallon frag tank, and it stays clean, and healthy. Of course, I'm not doing that large of water changes, on my 120 or 75, but you get the idea. If the water works for the small tank, it should be fine on a larger tank. Plus, all I have on the 29 gallon frag tank is a cheap aquatraders.com hob protein skimmer, and like, 3 snails, to keep up with algae growth. I think, it was just a matter of not rinsing the sand, prior to addition to the tank, and using a larger grain sand, like they were saying. The more I research, the more I read about how people recommend not using the same sand, from old tanks or rinsing it, beforehand. I added the sugar fine sand to both tanks, and the 75 looks great. The powerheads in the 120 have blown all the sand from the middle of the tank, so, I'll try repositioning them. The worms in the sand, have already dug some burrows to the top of the sand. I love it! I'll pick up some more Nassarius snails, sometime soon, and add them to both tanks. I'm, kind of, broke now that I've bought a bunch of stuff for my tanks, so, it will have to be when I get paid, again. I figure, I'll spend $20, and get 50 Nassarius, and 50 periwinkle snails, from ebay, and split them, between both tanks. I have snails, now, but the Nassarius are only in my 75, and only a few in there. Great idea, to use a gatorade bottle, for the reactor. I guess, you could get the gallon size, and make a very large reactor or some other type of bottle, to get a different size. I don't have room in my sump for it, now, but someone with a larger sump could definately benefit, from this. From what I understand, cyano. is a normal stage, of the maturation of a reef tank, and stops, if you vacuum it out, and do routine maintenance. Mine just seems to have lasted longer, than normal. My 75 had it, and it quit, after a while. I did vacuum the gravel, but it might have stopped, all on it's own, if I'd allowed it to. I just couldn't believe that letting all the stuff accumulate in my sandbed was normal, so, I started vacuuming. I don't know of many people who do it the way I did, so, I have to assume I'm wrong to do it that way. Lesson learned. I'll keep you all updated, on the progress of the bed, and the cyano. I'll try to post pictures, at some point.