The glass is cleaned, the LED's are at 30% and everything is working as it should. Half my fish have been moved. I was stressing a little over not finding the yellow rose goby and his candy shrimp buddy and I still had not seen the 1/2 inch clown goby since I put him in the tank. I think I know where the pair might be as I had dug a starter hole where I wanted them. Finally, I see them both peek out, so I decide to drop some food into the tank and with much fanfare I see a little clown goby dart and to claim his share. All 100% accounted for.....
I sat in the rocker in front of my tank relaxing and taking it all in. The corals have great extension and are puffed up. I am watching the shimmer of light off the sand and rock, watching the flow of water in the tank. Saw the Blue tux mow a quarter size hair algae, watched the blackbar and bi-color chromis chase each other from their favorite spots, both my little Barnacle blennies shoot from hole to hole giving everyone the stink eye, watched the schooling interaction of the chalk bass and firefish. My personal favorites, the goby watch over his candy shrimp while he tidied up the house and made it bigger.
The 130 with T-5's was a nice starter intro into reefing and corals. With that being said, I am thrilled with how the reefer project turned out, the rockwork, sump and electronics area, everything is right, everything fits. Most of what I have learned has been self taught, trial and error or researched.
The house was quiet for a while and I lost a full hour in that chair alone last night. It dawned on me as the lights began to dim, this is exactly what I had envisioned and had hoped to achieve. I sat there feeling good and realized what all my time, patience, persistence and investment had bought.........a real reef in Montana and true bliss.
Happy reefing
Sully