Your testing methods were meticulous, mine were reckless, nuff said.

Table is a POS, so no worries there, lol.

Not sure I'm bringing any corals home, think it's still too early. Maybe a LPS, as Rich has suggested, we'll see.

Good plan

Too many corals right now would probably starve/bleach etc. Hence the birdsnest experiment

Hope you're picking up some more test kits soon. Your birdsnest will appreciate it

LMK when you want to talk about dosing and bulk supplies

Picked up 3 corals from the swap today. A blue/green hammer and 2 chalices that just don't photograph well at all.
Seems one of the chalices has a feather duster living in the centre of it, bonus.
Hammer is all upset after the dip!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8630/...d9a443fc_b.jpg

And so it begins :whoo:

Yup... I foresee an even emptier wallet!

Here is a video of the feather duster in action. Since I only have 1 fish at the moment and feeding sparingly, does this new invert have any special feeding requirements?

https://flic.kr/p/r981SP

I believe the feather duster is a filter feeder, so no need to feed it.

In my experience, hammers are the more temperamental of the 3 euphyllia (hammer/torch/frogspawn). I'm sure it'll be fine after a few days of settling in. Nice colours on that head!

Wow. Day 44 of keeping my first reef tank and the learning curve is still huge! The livestock are all good, but I am making new discoveries every day in regard to my setup and hardware.

I say this because today, I preformed my first water change.

I figured mixing fresh s/w in a 20 gal tank on my dining room table next to the tank was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using a 75W heater to bring the water up to temp was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using a Rio600 to mix the salt was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using the same Rio600 with some 5/8 hose to drain the tank to the kitchen sink 18 feet away... was a good idea. No, it really wasn't.

Needless to say, I'm going to build a brute container water mixing bin, with hard plumbing, a much stronger pump, larger heaters and a wheeled caddy. Stay tuned as this needs to be built before my next w/c.

In the end I changed around 18 gals in my 80 gal system. Not bad. I was able to take a few pictures, when I had free hands.

Looks like a short distance and an easy task, yes? Ummmmm, nope.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8597/...6d5d0a45_c.jpg

Draining the tank to the tape mark, a calculated 18 gals.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8577/...3b436c66_c.jpg

Needed something to suck debris out of the sump. Had to sacrifice my favourite chop stick. Worked like a charm.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/...e19fff54_c.jpg

Crap built up in the sump. Might need a few CuC down there in the future.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8561/...f38313b0_c.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/...af78c16f_c.jpg

Thanks for looking.

Looking good buddy, I would love to stop by one day and check out the system.

Diatoms appear to be receding, and the test corals are looking good, having settled in nicely.
Birdsnest continues to show excellent polyp extension. Skimmer is tuned properly and cup needs to be emptied daily.
Yellow Tail continues to hide throughout the day, but has ventured out during feedings. He is showing no signs of ailment and no signs of ick.

Tested yesterday with my now complete set of kits.

Alk : 7.2
Ca : 420
Mg : 1450
NH4 : 0
NO2 : 0
NO3 : 1
PO4 : 0
SG : 1.026
Temp : 78
pH : 8.2

Adjusted the Zeo dosing slightly, as I thought it might have been the cause of the excess amount of diatoms.

ZeoStart : 0.3 ml 2X daily
Sponge Power : 2 drops daily
Zeobac : 2 drops Sun, Tues, Fri
Zeofood : 2 drops per week

Frankly, sometimes I forget to dose Zeo.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8600/...1079a07d_c.jpg

I'm surprised with how well things are going with the tank. I thought for sure the rocks were going to be leeching phosphates, but I guess the bleach and acid baths did the trick.
The wife is showing a little more interest now... "When are we going to J&L so I can pick out my own fish?" I wouldn't be surprised if she picks a MI, lol. I did tell her that I can veto anything unsuitable.
Been meaning to pick up some crabs and snails too.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8614/...30c89667_c.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8673/...370ccde4_c.jpg

That would be my choice :)