monkiboy

daily?! oh no, i could never keep up with that. i don't use them at all 50% of the time because of the added maintenance and i'd rather let the goodies pass through and stay in water column even if i have some small particulates floating around. the other 50% of the time, this will depend on your system, i change every 3-4 days. you'll see it start to clog and water level rise slightly in your sock especially with the felt socks (not so much with the mesh). the mesh ones are also MUCH easier to turn inside out (especially difficult with the plastic ring variety instead of the drawstring). let us know how it goes!

i'm not a fan of using anything other than water to something that will be in my tank. i have around twelve socks and just cycle through them. once i get about ten that are dirty, toss them all in the washer (no detergent or bleach) and wash with HOT/HOT cycle. turn inside out and once more and they come out looking freaking new!

what are the benefits of a GB with BRS? i have not heard of this before. i need to place a large order and if there are deeper discounts to be had outside of their "preferred reefer" program, that'd be great!

a flood CFL is your best bet. a halogen will get too hot. for that size a single CFL flood 5000k-6500k will grow macroalgae best, specifically in my experience with chaeto. i went from a 2500k bulb and barely grew chaeto. then after reading that a 6000k would do the best, went and got the highest i could find at homdepot (5000k) and now my chaeo grows a dense fist full amount every two weeks. i am a heavy coral feeder, though. if you don't get the flood CFL, get the CFL and use the home depot clamp work light reflector that are six or eight bucks to direct the light into the refugium. good luck and keep up to date with your success!