It's four months since this little tank was set up and all seems to be going really well. Almost a bit too well actually, I'm expecting something to go wrong at any moment, it's usually the way. I'm keeping a close eye on the water parameters now that I have added a few more corals. In the past I have really struggled to keep the alkalinity and calcium levels at appropriate levels even with the use of a calcium reactor and kalkstirrer. As soon as it was pumped in it was sucked up by the corals and clams. This time round I'm hoping to maintain good levels with careful dosing. The parameters today were:

SG 1.026
Alkalinity 7dKH
Ca 408ppm
Mg 1275ppm
Nitrate undetectable
Phosphate undetectable

The above were tested using a refractometer, Salifert test kits and a Hanna pocket checker for the phosphate. I'm fairly sure that my phosphate level is not really zero but it must be pretty low and there is very little in the way of nuisance algae growth in the tank apart from a bit of furriness on the rocks. I do not know what the furriness is but it doesn't look too unsightly and stays short. In any case there seems to be less of it now. The macro algae growth in the refugium has been disappointing to date, considering the lack of  nutrients I suppose it's not entirely surprising. As long as the reason is not down to a lack of flow or lighting, time will tell, I can't imagine this situation will last for long. I've started dosing a small amount of Reef Roids and KZ Sponge Power recently so they may affect the levels in the future.

You'd think that over 4 months I'd de familiar with all the livestock in my tank, well no actually. A couple of days ago I noticed that the Seriatopora had retracted its polyps and on closer inspection I discovered a small crab sitting at it's base. Where on earth had he suddenly popped up from?? I highly doubt that he came in on any of the SPS frags as they are too small to conceal a crab, I suppose it could have hitched a ride in on the zoanthid rock but the most likely explanation was that it was hidden in the live rock when it was first added. It doesn't look like it's chowing down on coral flesh (at the moment, heh!) so I'll leave it be for the time being and watch and wait. I hope it behaves itself or we'll be having some fun and games with extrication later on.

So my tank seems to have passed the first coral test, all of the frags I introduced  12 days ago are still alive. Phew! The Stylophora is even showing signs of growth. I think it might be time to add a few more at the weekend and maybe even another fish.

The coralline has really started to take off, I'm seeing spots of growth on the pumps and on the back wall too. I am undecided as to whether I should scrape it off for a nice clean look or leave it au naturel. I'll live with it for a while and see how I feel when the coverage increases. Spirorbid worms have also begun to appear in the DT and in the sump too.

The tank parameters as of this morning are:

Specific Gravity 1.026 d SG
Alkalinity 6.85 dKH
Calcium 425 ppm
Magnesium 1270 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
Phosphate 0 ppm

I'd like to tweek the KH and Mg up a bit more but those values are not too bad. I am extremely surprised not to have any detectable NO3 or PO4, this is a bit of quandary for me, I don't think I've ever had a tank with no (or low amounts) of NO3/PO4. I guess the Siporax and refugium must doing their thing, it is early days though and stocking is light I so expect that the levels will rise soon. I do have a bit of furry algae growth on the rocks and a film of algae forms on the glass so I know that there must be some nutrients hidden in there even if the tests say different.

The tank is now just under 10 weeks old and all the equipment is finally up and running bar the dosing pump for Balling salts (that's going to have to wait a while as I'm currently penniless at the moment).

The sump has changed quite a bit since the initial set up photos were taken. Within it now resides a Deltec SC1351 skimmer, a Schego 200W titanium heater, a Tunze 1073.02 return pump and the sensor for the Reefloat ATU-pro3. Additionally it now contains siporax in three separate baskets, two in the sump and one in the old ATU tank. Altogether they contain 5l of media and will be cleaned on an alternate basis to minimise disruption to the bacterial colonies. To the left of the sump sits a DIY refugium, it's a bit of an odd shape, tall and narrow, it remains to be see if it will grow algae efficiently or not. It is lit by a Beamswork Evo 6500K 18W LED on a reverse cycle to the display tank. Presently it contains a layer of Tropic Marin reef mud and a variety of macro algae (Cauperpa prolifera, Caulerpa serrulata, Chaetomorpha and a tiny bit of C. racemosa that sneaked in with the Chaeto). Both the refugium and the old ATU tank are supplied with water from the overflow via a small Eheim pump, they have been fitted with bulkheads to allow the water to flow back down into the sump and up to the display tank (DT) via the return pump.

I have removed the filter sock and to begin with I ran the tank without any form of mechanical filtration. Recently however I decided to add a bit of filter floss as I was starting to see increased levels of particulate matter in the DT.

The electrical sockets are sited away from the tank in a cabinet to the left, along with the RO reservoir for the ATU.