flow and sand removal question

[Burrito]

my 100G mixed reef is doing well, its been running about 10 months if i count the transfer from the smaller 30g to this. i have about 30#s of tropic eden reef flakes in there and no matter what i seem to do with flow i either have bald spots or dead spots and very little in between.

CUC is various amounts of snails types, some small hermits and a fighting conch. pumps for my use are 3 mp40s and a gyre 3k.

i have the 3k flowing across the top at random mix upto 70% and the mp40s, 2 on one side and the other under the icecap going through various phases of reef crest, nutrient, and lagoon modes.

so any advice on how to either setup flow or the procedure for removing my sand without screwing the tank up. only thing i care about in the sand is a melanurus wrasse and i can keep a little dish in his favorite spot to sleep

 

[davocean]

I like flow heavy, but that's a lot for a mixed reef IMO, a BB sps dominant would typically be that strong.

It may be hard to not stir sand w/ that much flow, but you could try back panel and bounce off the front, or you could place a thin flat rock in that bald spot.

You could remove sand, but at that age of run time I personally would not want to disturb setup too much, (and I personally prefer some sand)

You could probably easily remove one vort IMO

 

[Porpoise Hork]

You can mix in crushed coral substrate in and leave the existing sand there. It will not blow around and your wrasse can still easily burrow into it. Get a bag and rinse it very well with RO or tank water to remove the dust and toss it in. I have a canary wrasse that loves to burrow into this stuff on my 75g. You will want to have something that turns it over frequently as it will start to grow coraline if it sits undisturbed for too long.