Time to try to resurrect this thread, for better or worse. I went back and forth in my head about posting, since most of the update is
bad and not much
good 
. But I wanted to share my experiences to see if it would benefit anyone else to learn from my mistakes/missteps. It won't be pretty
The tank is pretty much a "ghost tank" in so far as SPS goes, there are a few LPS and zoas left also, but we did suffer some losses in that area as well. We also lost probably 40% of our fish, with a few notables.
Here is a picture of what it looks like right now :
You can see the desvastation that has taken it's toll on our tank (I did say that it wouldn't be pretty
). The way things went I would swear that some sort of toxin made it's way into the water system somewhere/somehow.
We rearranged the rockwork and took one of the larger pieces out, to open the tank up more and help w/ the flow. We moved the large sqaumosa clam further back a bit and one of the clown pairs started hosting in it :
So, here is what we have left fish-wise :
1 orange shoulder tang
1 tomini tang
1 powder brown tang
1 golden angel
1 cleaner wrasse
1 ornate wrasse (aka christmas wrasse)
1 orchid dottybacks
1 indigo dottyback
pair of ocellaris (hosted in a squamosa clam)
pod of 3 ocellaris (hosted in an RBTA)
1 female spotted mandarins
1 geometric hawkfish
1 Squamosa clam
Equipment update
We had been trying different Gyre flow patterns w/ our Vortecs, and had pretty good results from it, but we currently have two of our Vortecs in for service, so hopefully we will have those back before EOY so that we can continue to work on getting the flow patterns to where we want them.
Our skimmer is working a little better since we made some changes to it (outlined in the Volcano users thread here on RC). We are waiting on a modified volute for a new recirc pump for it which should take it up to where we want it's performance to be.
I added a doser (from Bulk Reef Supply) to dose vodka since when I tried dosing I couldn't keep up a good regime and a steady daily dose. Now I just check the PO4 and NO3 levels every couple of days and adjust the timer for the doser accordingly until I get it dialed in.
I also throttled back the lighting schedule and coverages (coverages since there weren't that many light-needy corals in the tank at this time, so I could centralize them adn the ligthing).
I have new filters to swap out int he RO/DI unit, but it is still producing 1 tds water (some feel anything over 0 is bad, others wait until it hits 3 - 5). I plan to try to swap it all out this weekend, weather permitting (since it will have to be done in the driveway, and I have had to scrape the ice off my windshield several times in the last week).
I also insulated the entire tank, to try to keep in some of the heat and keep down our electric bills for heating the tank this year. Being an In-wall tank that basically sits in the garage, I have to do all that I can to minimze heat loss.
I have removed the mesh screen from the top of the tank, as it was directly responsible for the death of at least 2 of our fish. I am working on a design for a replacement, but this one will be more of a tent than a cover (think of something like mosquito netting used for camping, but to keep the fish in, not mosquitos out). With the new design I should be able to use plain, cheap old netting from Home Depot, since it won't be under the lights, but "over" them.
I added some more switches and automation, but nothing major, just added another set of switched outlets for the Vortecs, so that I can turn them off one at a time for maintenance, instead of having to unplug them, etc, risking getting either the power supply or controller wet. I had bought the swtich set earlier in the year, but only just got around to installing it a month or two ago.
I did clean out the fuge last week. There was alot of chaeto and what not, but I also have a nice infestation of aiptasia in our top sump. Luckily it hasn't spread dramatically to the main tank (just a few visible in there).
So far I have refused to put anything new into the tank, either fish or coral, not until I can get it stabilized and showing signs of growth. Parameters all are reading in the "good" range, but I just feel like I am missing something. I want to do a massive water change, but this time of year is tough for a WC of any size (w/o drastically lowering the tank water temp w/ the "new" water). I hope to have more upbeat updates as soon as we get our pumps back, new skimmer pump and stabilize whatever else I am overlooking in the tank. We have reached out for assistance from both local and online sources (including vendors) and have to say that, with a few exceptions, everyone has really stepped up to try to help us out. I was surprised at the outpouring, adn without going into detail will say that we say more outreach from the vendors from than locals that we have known for years (and no, it was not about any cash transactions from the vendors, most all that I talked to offerred assistance w/ no strings or fees).
