May Update

The corals have been in the tank for two months are beginning to encrust and gaining color. The Mystery Wrasse has developed a strange red bump on its lower lip, I am not sure what it is.

My ZEOvit dosing schedule is:

Daily

0.5 mL of ZEOstart3 

Shake rocks daily

Twice per week

4 drops of ZEObak

15 mL Micro-Lift Special Blend

5 mL Brightwell MicroBacter7

4 drops of ZEOfood7

4 drops of KZ Sponge Power

4 drops of KZ Amino Acid Concentrate

Current parameters:

Temperature: 79

pH: 8.1

Salinity: 35ppt

Alkalinity: 9.3 dKH

Calcium: 430

Magnesium: 1240

Potassium: 430

Phosphate: 0.11

Nitrate: 2.5

I am running ROX 0.8 carbon and GFO passively in a mesh bag in the sump.

Updates . . . Well from my frag tank

Since there isn't much to show in my display tank yet here is a picture from my frag tank.

I run four ATI Blue Plus, one ATI Coral Plus, one ATI Purple Plus and two ATI Actinic Plus in a TEK 8x54 watt T5 Fixture. I do not run a protein skimmer but I do have macro algae growing and two fish living alongside a few snails.

Happy New Year

Happy 2015, since my last post I have changed out my UVL Super Actinic T5's for ATI Pure Actinic 03. I borrowed a PAR meter and surprisingly the level was higher on the ATI bulb despite The Grim Reefer's findings in 2007. I have also taken the ATI Power Cone 250 I-Series offline because it does not pull out much waste and the frag tank I have running does not utilize a protein skimmer and the nutrient levels are 0 ppm even with daily feedings and fish in the tank. It is very nice not hearing the protein skimmer running anymore. I will keep everyone updated with my results.

Quick Update

The tank may look like it did not grow much over the past few months because I fragged a lot of coral this summer. I will let the corals heal and grow out more before I take more pictures.

Ricky's Poison Ivy

Time For An Update

Its been two months since my last update and the tank looks great! I installed a three pump dosing unit in June for calcium, alkalinity and kalkwasser. The corals grow much faster with the stable parameters. I added one liter of DeNitrate rocks to help lower my nitrate from 25ppm but after a months use they have not dropped at all. Today was the first water change in two months, I have been frustrated with the tank and took a step away from the tank but now I am back.

PAR Values

I am currently running two (8 month old) 250 watt Phoenix 14K metal halides with Lumatek dimmable ballasts on HQI mode and two (two month old) 54 watt UVL Super Actinic T5's.

Time for an update!

I removed a few corals and replaced them with new frags. I also added a few more fish :) I was having trouble these past few months after upgrading my protein skimmer because my corals lightened up a lot and looked a lot like the ZEOvit tanks (not a look that I prefer). I started feeding heavily and bumped my nitrates up to 10 mg/L and saw my colors come back. They are a little darker than I would like but in a few months they will be back to normal. I am also going to add a refugium back into my sump. I feel that my tank was more stable when I had one with the old protein skimmer. Here are a few top down shots.

 Banana Caroliniana

 Tyree Purple Dragon Eyes

 Ricky's Poison Ivy

Ultimate's Rainbow

Skittles Granulosa

Tyree Purple Monster

PC Superman

Reefermadness Rainbow Nasuta

20,000 Leagues Dragon

 Cornbred's Ice Dragon

 Battle Corals Doomsday Lokani

ORA Hawkin's

 30,000 Leagues Lokani

 Cebu Pylei Fairy Wrasse

 Geometric Pygmy Hawk

Pink Margin Fairy Wrasse

ORA Pearlberry

ATI Powercone 250 I-Series Protein Skimmer

I purchased a new piece of equipment for my tank. I added an ATI Powercone 250 I-Series protein skimmer. I know it is oversized for my tank but it will be perfect for my next upgrade. It is rated for up to 500 gallons and is currently pulling 3,485 lph of air! It comes with a digital air flow meter and a DC pump which allows me to adjust the water flow rate at the pump. I really like the grid wheel design on the impeller vs. a needle wheel impeller. It is very energy efficient as well, ATI has the pump rated for for 35 watts but at full speed mine only draws 28 watts according to my Kill-A-Watt meter. The pump is dead silent, I couldn't even tell it was on. I read online many Powercone users did not like the way the skimmer cup was designed but personally I love it because it allows for easy removal. My old Vertex skimmer cup was hard to remove and I would sometimes spill the waste back into the tank. The only drawback to this skimmer is its massive size. I had to removed my refugium in order to make room for this skimmer. I also had to assemble it inside the sump. So far I am very pleased with my purchase and I cannot wait to see what the skimmate looks like once the skimmer is broken in after two weeks of use.

February Top Down Pictures

PC Superman

Tyree Purple Dragon Eyes

Cornbred's Ice Dragon

ORA Hawkin's

ATL Shades of Fall

Ricky's Poison Ivy

ORA Purple Plasma

Tyree Red Dragon

Aquascene IceFire Echinata

Full Tank Shot

Most of the sand has been siphoned out :)