Well, if nothing else, at least I owe everybody a reply, even if it only contains text and no pictures (boooo, boooo, thumbs down for Dudester). I hate to be a poor thread host, which is what I have become, and the reason is truly that I haven't been able to get any pictures of my tank, and all of you loyal followers deserve pics. And I proclaim, you shall have pictures, once my home computer problems are solved. Trust me, it will be worth the wait. The tank looks great and is nicely stocked with healthy fish and corals.
Melev - A while back you asked about my calcium level when I reported my magnesium level. At the time I had measured a Mg of only 1200, and supplemented with ESV Magnesium. I got the level up to 1335, and the Ca at that time was 385. Oh, and thanks for your advice about the nori. I've been tearing off about a 1.5" x 0.75" piece of nori and leaving it on the clip for about 1 hour. Whatever is not finished by the tang gets thrown out, and there's very little waste. Interestingly, the sixline wrasse has even eaten the nori, as have the clownfish on occasion.
Alex - You asked why I was replacing my SCWD. Mine had a horrible rattle that literally shook the entire tank and cabinet. The manufacturers never got back to me, and I ultimately bought another device and plumbed it in ... problem solved. I cut the old one in half with a hack saw to ensure nothing was blocking the inside, and it was completely clean. No calcium deposits, no snails, nothing. To answer your question, no, they shouldn't have to be replaced in such a short time, which is why I tried to contact the manufacturer. I haven't given up on this, and I'm still trying to get in touch with them.
techreef - That closed loop is SICK, sick I tell ya. Nice job. Do you get equal flow out of all of those outputs, or do you find that some put out more than others based on their proximity to the pump? Love the black PVC.
madreefer14 - Welcome to the thread. Trust me, I'm usually a much more attentive host than I have been of late. Regarding your question about the brown diatoms, no, I do not get a diatom bloom after coral additions. In fact, I never had a diatom bloom. This was a result of purchasing top quality, fully-cured live rock. And I added corals slowly (initially, anyway), so the proper balance was never thrown off.
bcoons - Glad to hear that the monti cap frag is settling in and starting to grow. You are correct in that the coral you have will definitely lay out a broad, sturdy base. Once this is achieved, you will then notice outward growth, hopefully in a swirling pattern. Just maintain your calcium and alkalinity and you'll be very happy with your SPS.
fishypets - Trust me, it hurts me more than you that I haven't posted pics in so long. I'm going into withdrawal. I'm especially disappointed that I didn't get any pics of the frags from your tank sooner, as they have all based out quite nicely and are growing pretty well, despite the lack of color that they had while in your tank. As soon as the technical problems at the household are solved, I'll have a monster post.
Just to update you on my tank's progress since my last real post about a month ago, I've seen no flatworms in over a month! There's still a little bryopsis, but the baby nudibranch has grown to an adult and is doing a good job of keeping it under control. I've pruned bryopsis once in the last month, and it only took me 15 minutes. I've actually pulled out a lot of bubble algae (valonia) and I now have 2 emerald crabs. In addition, I got a small tridacna squamosa clam and a medium derasa clam. The derasa will have to be transferred to my 450g office tank eventually, as they grow rather large.
Here are the corals I've obtained in the last month:
green plate coral
fox coral
trumpet coral
cup coral
green star polyps (so green they make my other GSPs look brown)
acropora cerealis
montipora digitata, purple
montipora digitata, rose
montipora digitata, brown (for now, hopefully it will change to something pretty)
green slimer (acropora sp.)
