BoTom (Emperor) and Growth Updates

BoTom is about 3" long now and eating everything being offered to the tank. His current diet is heavy with algae sheets along with a daily offering of meaty foods soaked in either Selcon or Angelixir for nutrient enhancement. There is noticeable retraction in the SPS corals as BoTom has a steady practice of nipping at them throughout the day. This is somewhat annoying but does not seem to be causing any real damage to the corals.

Beach Bum Montipora

A buddy of mine was struggling with this piece of Beach bum the size of an eraser head. He gave me the piece to get it going we're going to track and see how it does.

The other Monti's are growing very strong so hopefully like enjoy similar conditions.

Overfeeding Ooopsy

I have been traveling for work and personally more frequently the past few months. This has left me more dependent on the tank functioning without any assistance for longer periods of time. During a trip in February the automatic feeder had been set to feed 4 times throughout the day. What ultimately happened was food went over the overflow and spilled into the sump 4 times per day. Nutrients spiked, and I believe only the skimmer and mainly the Chaetomorpha saved the day. Over only a 5 day period the Chaeto in the refugium grew to the size of a basketball, and the skimmer foam was as thick as it gets.

On the most recent weekend getaway I elected to not feed at all which much better results. In a well establish tank with a refugium there is a steady supply of natural algae and pods to sustain a modestly populated aquarium. Outside of any longer trips (week+) I am likely to leave the fish to fend for themselves on what is naturally available.

Favorite SPS Progression - Part 2

Full Tank Shot 02.14.19

Urchin and Hammer Colonies

Coral Growth Updates

Refractometer Issue

I have been using the same refractometer for 7 years and calibrate it regularly. Despite that I started to  notice something off with the amount of salt I needed to reach my desired salinity in new batches made for water changes. Recently I purchased an electronic salinity tester from IceCap. The tank was measuring 1.026 with my hydrometer but was actually 1.022! The ability to maintain elevated levels of calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium amongst other trace elements at lower salinity's is nearly impossible. Returning my reef back to the correct levels should have a very positive reaction.

Part 2: I read about where the instrument was reading well below actual salinity. After a factory reset the aquarium was reading 1.026, same as the rwfractrefrac. This will like measurements much faster.

FTS 01.21.19 - YOY Comparison

January 2019

January 2018

Radion Schedule and Layout

January 2019 Tank Photos