Alright, starting a tank summary here to kindof keep a history of changes to the tank over time. This post is sort of a summary of where things are at right now, and where they've been in the recent past.
Current Equipment:
- 200g (72"x24"x26") eurobraced glass tank, 60g sump
- 1 month old Eheim 1262 return pump
- 2x 1 month old drew's dosing pumps
- 1.5 year old Aquacontroller 3, 6month old pH and ORP probes, 6month old AquaSurf
- Ancient ASM G3 skimmer, recirc and gate valve mod
- 2x 6 month old Tunze 6025 powerheads
- 4x 6 month old Tunze 6055 powerheads
- 3x ancient 250w PFO HQI pendants/ballasts
- 1yr old Red Sea 200mg/hr ozonizer
- Ancient typhoon 3 RO/DI system, filters are probably due for replacement again.
Most of the daily dosing/timing/etc is handled by the aquacontroller. The ozonizer runs into the skimmer's venturi, and a filter sock with carbon is installed at the skimmer outflow to reduce excess dissolved ozone in the water. The tank overflow drains into a filter sock containing rowaphos and carbon. 80-100g water changes are performed every 2-4 weeks.
Livestock:
Inverts: Several brittle stars, one black spiny brittle star that survived Charles for at least 8 years, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp
Corals: Primarily soft corals and SPS, with a few LPS thrown in
Current Fish:
- SM Blue Jaw Trigger (Napoleon)
- Bundoon Blenny (Zim)
- Lawnmower Blenny
- Black Sailfin Blenny
- Sankeyi Dottyback
- Red Stripe Anthias (Sigfreid)
- Pair of Black Oscellaris Clowns (Pudge + Sancho)
- 2x Black Bar Chromis
- 2x Yellow Belly Damsels
- Blackstripe Coris Wrasse
- Yellow Wrasse
- Sailfin Tang
- Rainfordi Goby
- Yellow Assessor (Bob)
- Misc mini gobies
- 2x Orange Spot Gobies + Tiger Pistol
Past Problems:
I had a partial tank crash this past Dec/Jan due to frighteningly low calcium and alkalinity levels, due to being too lazy to refill twopart jugs when they ran down, and then forgetting about them entirely. I'd recently switched from a CA reactor (absolutely hellish piece of equipment) to twopart and hadn't quite completed the mental switch. Lost many LPS and three tangs. Since the problem was resolved, all remaining LPS have turned the corner and are growing. All corals seem to be doing well, except for a case of red bugs on the acroporas approx 2 months ago. A double dose of Interceptor was completed and so far there is no further sign of red bugs.
Current Status:
The tank (and all its predecessors) have run Instant Ocean salt from day one. It seems to be a consistent, quality salt. In the last month I've made the switch to Red Sea Coral Pro salt on a trial basis. So far the results are impressive, water clarity and coral color has improved. The tank is running smoothly overall, and the only major aggression between fish at the moment seems to be from the red stripe anthias chasing the bundoon blenny.
Current Problems:
THE MONSTER - I have a very poor success rate with newly introduced fish. Part of the problem is that I don't QT or condition new fish before introducing them into the display. Another part of the problem is that I suspect there's some sort of predator in the tank. New fish especially (at least, the ones that survive) often show up with two half-moon sized marks on them within a few days of introduction, as if pac-man tried to take a bite out of them, and occasionally exhibit shredded fins as well. Very often new fish that appear to be eating and acclimating well will disappear without a trace within the first week. Occasionally established fish will have the pac-man marks on them. Suspects are predatory crabs, mantis shrimps, or both. I found a ~1" crab claw molt with black pincers on the sand bed a few days ago, so that's first on the suspect list.
THE PESTS - The war with majano anemones is ongoing. So far monthly treks across the tank with a syringe of joesjuice is the only way I've found to keep things in check.
