A lot has happened since my last post on this thread. Dave at Concept did a beautiful job on my 75g and sump. Love the look of a one piece eurobrace. Went straight to 2 Radions. Kevin and the team at Red Coral have been really invaluable for advice! (Thanks!)
In February I had to leave suddenly to attend my moms side after my step dad passed away. I knew I would stay there for a bit to support her, so had to combine my 2 nanos into the larger tank before I had plumbing set up (Deltec skimmer IN the tank, LARGE pail of Kalk/vinegar RODI mix dosing via ATO (purely evaporation based dosing). My mistake with that setup was adding Vodka to the mix. Had been doing that for a few weeks with success but in my rush, I added 3-4x the normal amount. When I arrived back, the tank was about to crash and the water was mily looking (bacterial explosion). I lost a few SPS, but most survived.
I've been buying coral like a madman... filled up the 3 nanos.. It took 12 hours to incorporate all this stuff into the larger tank (half filled with water because iof the skimmer needing to be IN the tank) without everything touching. And yes, I brought MORE coral back from Ontario, some from Reefermadness. That guy has a stunning tank, and worth the 2 hr drive to see it. Unfortunately, the insulated case cracked open at some point in the flight back, so I lost about 1/2 the corals due to cold shock.
Now, the tank is about 80% set up.... and we decide we are having a house built and moving to deep S. Calgary. My poor corals!
I may be selling some of the "extras" just to make the move easier.
So..after all this time, I know I can grow SPS well. Learned a lot from the setbacks. I wonder sometimes if working in healthcare gave me a little advantage in maintaining these high maintenance organisms?!
I'll post some pics soon.
|