Wspangler, thanks for asking. The tank is doing well. I've been busy helping out with the kids and didn't see much interest in the thread so I haven't been keeping up with the updates. For the last two months I have been working on dialing in my Apex programs, dosing, etc. and slowly adding livestock.
I currently have the following in the tank: 6 Bartlett's Anthias, 4 Firefish (2 Purple & 2 traditional), 1 Royal Gramma, 1 Algae Blenny, 1 Golden Head Sleeper Goby, 1 Melanurus Wrasse, 1 Engineer or Convict Goby. I figure I am a little over half of my potential stocking level. I have currently been looking everywhere for a One Spot Foxface to add as I have some bubble algae issues and I think these are great looking fish. Finally, I have two Gladiator Clowns in QT that I recently picked up at Aquatic Tech.
Parameters are fluctuating some, but I am getting them dialed in. Currently I am testing around 7.8 dkh for ALK and 370-400 for CA. I was getting slightly higher numbers but I did send some sample over to Aquarium Water Testing and got back the above results. They also said Silica was high and my SG was 1.028!!! I have checked the SG using multiple tests and consistently get 1.026 with a Refractometer and 1.26 on my Pinpoint Salinity monitor. Seems after further research that AWT results have shown errors in the past, so I am now trying to lower my SG to 1.024 via the Refractometer and this should be in the range needed. I also replaced my DI resin and added more GFO in case the Silica measurement is accurate. I do have some minor diatoms showing up, but despite a little more algae than I like all the corals are showing nice growth. I also have a clam and a RBTA that are doing fine so I have to assume my water parameters are decent enough. A couple of the Anthias developed pop eye, but they fully recovered in about a week with no intervention from me other than trying to make sure they were well fed.
This weekend I added an auto feeder and programmed my leak detectors for added piece of mind. I have also cleaned out the frag rack in preparation for the upcoming LEAR swap at the end of the month. I'll try to get some new pics up in the coming days. Thanks again for your interest.
