6-month Update
I've hit the 6-month mark and feel like I need to update the journal.
Overall, everything is ticking along nicely. Algae is generally under control, and I feel like I have a good thing going with my maintenance regime. The corals are mostly happy and the fish and invertebrates seem to like their new home.
At the next available opportunity, I plan to do a big 6-monthly maintenance day to clean out the return pump, skimmer and gyre. My routine maintenance schedule is basically a 25-litre NSW water change every 8 days (I work on an 8 day roster cycle), daily glass clean and manual alkalinity and calcium dosing as required. This routine seems to be keeping the parameters in check and the nuisance algae under control. I do have some brown diatoms still, mostly due to me ramping up the light settings recently. And I also have a few different macro algae crops which don't bother me at this stage.
The only major loss so far was my Bangaii, which never really thrived in the tank and eventually just stopped eating.
My Flame Hawk is the boss of the tank and is quick to let the other inhabitants know if they step out of line.
My little Kole Tang has been in the tank for a few weeks now, smashing the food and settling in nicely.
Inverts now include a red star, a sifter star, a bunch of snails, a RLC shrimp and maybe one or two pep shrimp.
The RLC had its antennae trimmed by the Kole Tang after its last moult. It doesn't seem too bothered though!
Corals now include Lobo, Scoly, Duncan, Blasto, Hammer, Goni and Alveopora, Zoas, some encrusting Montis. All doing pretty well except a chalice which I bleached pretty badly and some zoas which melted.
Next plans for the tank are to set up automated dosing and investigate possible flow and lighting upgrades to allow me to start adding some SPS to the tank. I also need to get the wife to teach me how to use our DSLR!
Sorry about the poor quality photos.
Overall, everything is ticking along nicely. Algae is generally under control, and I feel like I have a good thing going with my maintenance regime. The corals are mostly happy and the fish and invertebrates seem to like their new home.
At the next available opportunity, I plan to do a big 6-monthly maintenance day to clean out the return pump, skimmer and gyre. My routine maintenance schedule is basically a 25-litre NSW water change every 8 days (I work on an 8 day roster cycle), daily glass clean and manual alkalinity and calcium dosing as required. This routine seems to be keeping the parameters in check and the nuisance algae under control. I do have some brown diatoms still, mostly due to me ramping up the light settings recently. And I also have a few different macro algae crops which don't bother me at this stage.
The only major loss so far was my Bangaii, which never really thrived in the tank and eventually just stopped eating.
My Flame Hawk is the boss of the tank and is quick to let the other inhabitants know if they step out of line.
My little Kole Tang has been in the tank for a few weeks now, smashing the food and settling in nicely.
Inverts now include a red star, a sifter star, a bunch of snails, a RLC shrimp and maybe one or two pep shrimp.
The RLC had its antennae trimmed by the Kole Tang after its last moult. It doesn't seem too bothered though!
Corals now include Lobo, Scoly, Duncan, Blasto, Hammer, Goni and Alveopora, Zoas, some encrusting Montis. All doing pretty well except a chalice which I bleached pretty badly and some zoas which melted.
Next plans for the tank are to set up automated dosing and investigate possible flow and lighting upgrades to allow me to start adding some SPS to the tank. I also need to get the wife to teach me how to use our DSLR!
Sorry about the poor quality photos.
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