I've just recently become active again in the reefing community. The last time I was active was between 2011 and 2013. I'm surprised how much has changed in such a short amount of time. Here are a few off the top of my head:
- Smaller refugiums being powered by high quality grow lights - I remember the common thought was to go buy a cheap bulb at Home Depot and to have a LARGE refugium. A small refugium was just a waste of time.
- Wanting a small amount of nitrates and phosphates - It seemed that have any detectable level of nitrates and phosphates back then was horrible and the reason for your problems. I was shocked when I saw products to dose nitrate and phosphate.
- Heavy feeding - This kind of stems from #1 and #2, with the notion of heavy in, heavy out. I recall being very finicky with feeding to prevent over feeding and excess nutrients.