Cheryl's 165 Gallon upgrade

[CherylMcKay]

So It has been just shy of a year since I posted on this tank. Amazing how easy it is to let life get in the way of your hobbies and relaxation. Unfortunately my tank has suffered for it. I have decide (yet again) to make sure I get a much time doing what I like as I do, doing what I have to.

With out further ado:
FTS-20140322:


I am fighting hair algae again. Fighting this stuff is crappy!!! It is slowly choking out some of my favorites and this is my record of before and hopefully after. I am also talking to my husband about getting LED's as we pay a 300 dollar power bill every month and with a 6x54Watt fixture that doesn't even light the whole tank... we could be saving and I could be getting more light.

Corals:

My poor Candy Cane coral... Don't want to scrub on it with a toothbrush, so I suck off what I can every week.

Some seem to be thriving though? This is low to the rocks and seems to be holding it's own:

Blue Ridge ... (forgot the rest of the name and I couldn't find a picture to match):

Here is a FTS of my sump... Not a lot in it but I am looking at either a Phosphate reactor or Bio-pellets... haven't decide which will give me the best gain, long term. (Although with my reading... I am leaning towards the bio-pellets as keeping the bacteria up in the tank, makes more sense then trying to just remove phosphates):

It has not also been 6 months with my Apex and while I am liking it, I have a hard time trusting the Salinity probe as my refractometer reads, a couple of points higher (35 on Apex is about 37 on my refractometer) and my refactometer is easier to calibrate: