I have finally beat the Valonia plague!!!
In celebration, and because I am
finally fairly happy with the way my tank is looking, I think it is time for a top to bottom update (mostly for my own records actually!! lol). Here is what I have goin on now:
Tank is 90 gallon 48x18x24"
Sump is ~30 gallon 30x16x14"
Halides are 2x250w DE w/ Plusrite 20,000K bulbs (look like 13,000K to my eyes)
T5s are 2x39w Fiji Purple and UVL Super Actinic
Halides 12pm-7pm
T5s 8:30am - 9:30pm
Return is Poseidon PS3
Skimmer is EuroReef RS-180 with gate valve mod semi-wet skimming
2x150w VisiTherm heaters
PhosBan reactor with 300 mL GFO changed every 6 weeks
Carbon run passively in a bag in sump for 48 hours once per week
BRS Drew's Dosers (x2) for Calcium and Alkalinity
Tunze Osmolator ATO
Tunze 6055 on single controller
Koralia 3 (x2)
50-60 lbs live rock (many years old)
<1" aragonite sand (Caribsea Special Grade)
3 lbs coarse shells n stuff for Jawfish (Caribsea Super Reef)
ZEOvit Coral Snow 3mL once per week
ZEOvit Spur2 3mL once a month or so to lighten SPS
Magnesium and Potassium added to water changes
10 gallon weekly water change
Temp 78-80
Specific Gravity 1.026-7 (refractometer)
Ammonia not detectable (API and Salifert)
Nitrate not detectable (Salifert)
pH 8.2 (Hanna handheld digital meter)
Calcium 420-425 ppm (Elos)
Alkalinity 8-9 dKH (Elos)
Magnesium 1350-1400 ppm (Salifert)
Potassium 380-400 ppm (Korallen Zucht)
I took a bunch of fish out recently and replaced them, so now I have (in order of addition):
Pearly Jawfish
Sharknose Goby
Hector's Goby
Picasso Percula Clownfish (F)
Platinum Percula Clownfish (M)
McCosker's Fairy Wrasse 2" (F)
Candy Hogfish 2 1/2"
Peppermint Hogfish 2" (still in sump)
Orange Lip Conch (x2)
Fighting Conch (x3)
Ring Cowrie (x2)
Astraea snail (x3) (all diff species)
Nassarius snail (small white kind)
Banded Trochus snail
Emerald Crab (x4) (one big one banned to sump)
Tuxedo Urchin
Black Brittle Starfish (4+ yrs old)
Stomatella snails (many, self reproducing)
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone (x2)
Squamosa Clam
Gold Teardrop Maxima Clam
Photosynthetic Gorgonians (x5)
Palau Nepthea
GSP on back glass
Brain (x5)
Candy Cane (neon green)
Duncan
Torch (Aussie Gold)
Acan (x2)
Blue Ridge
Pipe Organ (green)
Cyphastrea (x3) (Meteor Shower, Toxic, and decadia)
Fox
Ricordea (x4 colors)
Goniopora (x2) (pinks)
Acropora (x8) (Bali tricolor, Candlelight, Red, etc)
Deepwater Acropora (x2) (blue one and yellow one)
Birdnest (x4) (Snappy's blue polyp pink and Bird of Many Colors, ORA Green, and a sweet green and pink)
Stylophora (x2) (Snappy's rainbow and a red one)
Pocillopora (sweet green and pink)
Millepora (x2) (Snappy's SuperGrape and a red one)
Porites (yellow)
Monti cap (green w/ purple rim)
Monti samarensis (orange w/ green tips)
I think that's all the nitty gritty details.
Some near future lighting changes:
Halides PFO pendants w/ IceCap electronic ballasts w/ Phoenix 14,000K
SE bulbs
Tek 48" T5 retrofit kit
Oh, I had to move a Jawfish to another tank because the Candy Hogfish kept diving into the Jawfish's burrow and upsetting him. So I just moved him out, and there is only one Jawfish still in my reef. The Blue Assessor is also in another tank, as well as the big male Banggai, and the big female "normal" Percula clown.
I'll get some pics next weekend maybe. I have a halide burned out right now, and some of my super high light Acros are not impressed!