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Tank Log: Month 14 |
General Observations
The tank continues to have some cyanobacteria and a small patch of
dinoflagellates which persist despite my efforts to eradicate it. Other
than that, the tank is doing pretty well although the coral growth seems to have
slowed on some of the SPS corals while other continue to grow fast. The
only thing that I have not done so far is to replace the lamps which are
admittedly getting pretty old. 2 of the 400W MH and the Actinics have been
in the tank since it was setup 14 months ago. The other two MH were
already about 8 months old when the tank was setup. I've decided to bite
the bullet and start replacing lamps. I replaced the two oldest MH at the
end of July, putting them in the center of the tank and placed the older lamps
at the ends. I have also changed the cooling fans on the tank to get the
temperature down an average of 3-4 degrees. I replaced the 4 muffin fans
with 1 large fan which blows from the back corner of the tank across the to the
other end where I leave the end door open. This has worked quite well to
bring the temp down to where I like to see it. I would still like to
reduce the temperature swing a little, but 3 degrees is not too bad.
Current water parameters:
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Alkalinity - Not measured |
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Calcium - Not measured |
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pH - 8.10 Night to 8.45 during the day |
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Temp - 77.5 to 80.5F |
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Salinity - 1.0245 |
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Attempt at an artsy shot from the right corner of the tank. |
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The spawning pair of ocellaris clowns have finally adopted the Rose BTA after its been in the tank for 8 months. Lucky, the stunted ocellaris clown still inhabits the xenia. |
New Additions
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I added a very nice Achilles tang specimen this month. It is one of my favorite fish, but also one of the most delicate tangs. They tend to require larger tanks and better water conditions than most other tangs and can be very nervous in nature. This specimen was very healthy and is about 5" long. |
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Here he is with a couple of the other tangs in the tank including a Yellow and a Kole Tang |
Deaths/Specimen Problems
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The green maxima clam died for no obvious reason. I had him for 2 years. The other clams in the tank appear to be unaffected including a blue maxima that was sitting right next to him. I noticed that he was gapping a little before I went on a 3 day trip and he was dead upon my return. |
Tank problems and opportunities for improvement.
As noted for the last several months, I continue to battle a low level of cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates and a general low level malaise of the tank including some hair algae growth. There has also been some growth of red flatworms. Again, none of this is at a level to get alarmed about, but I do need to get the upper hand. At this time, I am replacing the lamps as they are getting pretty old and the intensity and color shift changes may be aggravating these conditions.
Maintenance
Doing mostly normal maintenance at this time. 10-15 gallon water change each week. I am also dripping a couple of gallons of Kalk each day to keep the pH high. As can be seen from the readings last month, the pH has increased by about 0.10.
