actually.... yes....
This tank has been cycling for about a year now. Somewhere along the way I got hit with a massive algae outbreak. One of my Kessils died… then another one followed. So, I just let the tank go dark for a couple months and let the algae burn itself out.
While that was happening, I dug through some of my old reef articles and decided to finally turn them into books. The first one is already submitted for copyright. On top of that, I started up a little reef-themed T-shirt company. Got a couple shirts up on Etsy already and, surprisingly, I’ve sold more in Europe than anywhere else. Go figure.
Now that the algae has finally calmed down, I’ve started stocking a few basics:
Filefish
Chocolate tang
Yellow watchman goby + tiger pistol shrimp
Starry blenny
Red mandarin
Also added some more CUC to help with the Caulerpa racemosa var. peltata that popped up out of nowhere. I did have a foxface in there at one point, but it mysteriously vanished while I was out of town. No skeleton, no body. Just gone. (Pretty sure my cat didn’t eat it… though she’s been pulling hair out of her leg lately, which doesn’t help her case.)
For lighting, I decided to try the Viparspectra 165W fixtures. Amazon had them on sale for $119, so I grabbed three. Honestly, I’m impressed—they’re plenty powerful. Currently running them at 60% blue and 15% white. I might dial the blues back a bit, but so far the corals are responding well. I’ve tested a couple LPS and some mushrooms, and they’re all looking happy.
So now it’s just a matter of collecting more fish and coral as the tank keeps maturing. Excited to see how this one turns out.
