I know how you feel blue. I have 46 cents to my name until next friday. for now......you should try to take out any biological media....its not needed. If you have sponges for your tank.......use them. The problem arrises when you leave your media in there too long......and with salt systems and tangs and other fish......your talking about a LOT of poop. I have a friend that doesnt even run a filter........he just uses his protein skimmer. Blue....your filter will work.....but it will need daily attention to get your nitrates down. My sump needs attention for nitrates every other day. My filter sock gets clogged up and nasty every three or four days. A refuge blue will just make up for any oopsies in your tank. Thats why I love having one....gives some ohh crap room. Blue the only thing I can think of to help you out is to clean your sponges every other day or every three days. You will see a notable difference in everything within a week.

have you cleaned it out yet?

they are still bunched up i guess you could say and one has now fallen over..... are they dead