Long overdue update
Long overdue update
Many ups and downs over the last year. But I think things have finally stabilized. Briefly here is the just of what has occurred:
* I had lots of issues balancing calcium, alkalinity, and pH with use of calcium reactor (likely user error), so I took it off line and went back to 2 part + kalk. Using bubble Magnus dosing pump and kalk stirrer.
* though I saw ich on a fish, so I got a trap and was able to catch about 50% of my fish. They went through TT method fine. While waiting to catch the other fish I decided to treat them with paraguard. On my way out the door for work one day I noticed color change on ammonia alert. With out thinking I added a dose of prime. Came home to all dead fish in QT. I WAS DEVISTATED. it took months for me to regain interest in the tank.
* adding insult to injury, some how my radions switch backed to factory default at 100% from max 70% I had been using and some of my sps bleached out. I don't have a lot of sps but now that I am successfully growing sps I am slowly adding frags.
* upgraded to a larger biopellet reactor. Still using GFO, but I am slowly reducing the amount. Still use carbon 24/7. Phos stays <0.03, nitrates <1-2. No algae in DT aside from slight cyano.
* recently started dosing amino acids (15ml twice per week).
* I started making my own fish food a few months ago and fish and coral love it.
* I have added to my water change system (bunch of PVC and valves plumed to a utility pump and drain line for house). I added 2 additional lines (in and out) with quick disconnect for water hose. Therefore I can drain or add water to any additional tanks (ie QT or sump) without use of buckets. I can also use this to drain water from DT to any other tank. I can literally do water 50% water change on my 40g QT & 20g QT, and 10% change on DT within about 8-10 minutes without using any buckets. What a relief.
* current fish include: rusty/flame hybrid, regal tang, 4 lyretail , 2 green chromis, 1 fat mandarin, 1 orange spot blenny, 1 PJ cardinal, 1 pyramid butterflyfish. In QT I have 1 zoster butterflyfish, 1 schooling bannerfish (heniochus diphreutes) and a yellow wrasse.
Please give your thoughts on my future fish (some are very difficult, I am aware). I have a very strict QT in place and an established 20g tank for adjustment period for wrasses). Either powder blue tang or Achilles, Desjardin's sailfin tang, yellow tang, blue star leopard wrasse pair, copperbanded butterfly (owned one successfully until above incident, willing to keep live blackworms in fridge again if necessary), more anthias, magnificant foxface, and possibly potters angelfish (still on fence about this one).
Will post pics in just a few minutes. Apologize again for iPhone pics. I've got to get a better camera.