What a difference 11ish months makes~

[Superdave]

Greetings all..

 

August of last year, I decided to get serious about my tank again and bring it back from neglect. While by no means am I "finished" with the tank, I am quite pleased with the progress I've made since about a year ago. I honestly feel like I haven't had to do that much work to get it to where it is now. Regular water changes (about 1 true gallon a week or so), dosing, and adding a clean up crew (emerald crab, peppermint shrimp, dozen or so small blue legged hermits, and half dozen or so snails (cerith and astrea).

 

Other than the clew up crew and regular water changes, I also believe the lighting upgrade has played significant role. I went from a single 13 watt dual power compact bulb to a couple of LED fixtures: a BeamsWork 18 LED, 18 inch fixture (mostly white setup, with some blues) as well an all blue fixture from eBay. I can't find a link to the BeamsWork at the moment, but here is the all blue:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271267652654?var=570182933573

 

Currently, I have "easy corals: a variety of mushrooms, zoanthids, and some GSP. GSP has really taken off and I've included a pic of what it looked like when I bought the frag 7 months ago.

 

As far as filtration goes, I rely upon the live rock and sand. I probably have more rock than I see on average and while I've thought about taking some out to make space for more frags, I don't want to meddle too much with the good conditions I have going thus far. For movement, I have this:

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA_SubCurrent_Internal_Filter_w_Pump_Water_Pump_Driven_Filters-Current_USA-CU08026-FIFRITWP-vi.html

 

Sadly it's been discontinued as I think it's perfect nano item; has adjustable nozzle as well as room enough to conceal a thermometer (which I do in winter months). Also has a saw tooth cutout at top, which combined with a small piece of blue filter floss (which I rinse out a few times a week), has done a great job of keeping the surface free of gunk. I do have some live rock rubble in the bottom of the filter, but not bio-balls or carbon.

 

I've had my ocellaris for a few months now and will be my only fish.

 

I think that about covers it--feel free to ask any questions.

 

--Superdave

August of last year..

Left side

Right

Center

Center

GSP frag

[VABumpkin]

The green algae actually looks nice with that sparse growth. Well done on bringing the tank back.

[Superdave]

Thanks VA--the emerald crab was added when green algae got out of control a few months back. It had completely knocked out the algae, but after I added the fish, he's taken a likening to the fish food more it seems. It has been fun to have something worth looking again.