Well, here is a quick update.
Start with a FTS. My photography skills remain remedial.
The tank has been in maintenance only mode from summer until about mid November. My good freind Mike Leonard (aka acropora nut) broke down his 500 gallon tank to move to Oregon. He bestowed upon me some freaking awesome SPS. I ripped out a bunch of live rock to make room for it... and you might notice the look of the tank is more open now. I pulled out the two center tunzes and now just run two 6200s, one on each side (one is hidden, one is not). The big pink table, and huge teal stags are the main ones that you can see in the FTS. Two other tables, unfortunately, just suddenly RTN'd last week. One is gone and destined for the calcium reactor. The other is fragged into a few surviving little chunks. Other bad news includes simultanous RTNing of some frags I had purchased online, which had done well until just suddenly. Two other acros have lost color and turned brown... but appear viable. The cause of all this is a mystery so far... but the process seems to have stopped. Besides extra water changes, new carbon, and prayers I have no other interventions in mind at this point. My prized red echinopra is also showing patchy bleaching... but... is still alive and hanging in there. I have come close to pulling it from the tank (it is to "massive" in mophology to frag)... but... it seems to live on. So I have left it in.
On a more positive note, the fish, LPS, clams, and the rest of my SPS is doing great. I picked up a bunch of ACAN frags to try out, and I really like those. Mighe be getting more of them.
The only other thing of note is a major aiptasia invasion since my last Copperband suddenly died last summer. I put in 20 Berghias which cleared off the center rock where I placed them... but two months later, there was no more progress. I put in a new Copperband and went on a "kalkpaste rampage"... and there is now not a single aiptasia in the tank. TAKE THAT YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!
Current plans are to reduce the substrate in the bottom. I have found that I have to vacuum it or it turns into sand boulders.
The Ich issue is under control. When I am lackadaisical and add fish without QT, I see a couple spots. Nothing worse than that though. One other project is to set up a more sophisticated QT... one easier to maintain so I can keep it up. God knows I have enough spare equipment lying around.
The last change was to replace two of my reeflux 12k bulbs with two radium 20ks. The tank was photographed with the two radiums on. Full light at "noon" = two 400 watt radiums and two 400 watt reeflux 12ks. I like the more blue look.
Thanks for looking.
