[bluespotjawfish]

Today I am going to try and recap some of the trials and tribulations of the past year.

Let's start with the fishies...
It started with the loss of my original Bluespot and my Naso Tang when the 125 was cycling. I still miss these guys! Then, the loss of my other fish, including my beautiful Emperor Angel and Foxface as a result of stupidity on my part for treating them all in the QT instead of just the sick ones. I caught Mr. Palani taking his last breath in a very cloudy tank at 4:00 in the morning. I plopped him into my brute container that had my fresh WC water in it. Although the E. Angel had taken a liking to my polyps and was helping himself to $100 lunches, I still loved him. Other loses include several Bluespots (BS#1, BS#2, BS#3, some unnamed, BB, GG....). As a result my tank is without a Bluespot. I also tried to reestablish a few Naso tangs without success. My 50 is setup for my anemones and I have a single skunk clown in it, and a misbarred perc in a HT that probably isn't going to make it. My daughter's tank (that grandma now takes care of) lost a few fish when a pink cucumber got stuck in the pump and released toxins (I was standing there and noticed it and a quick major WC saved the other two fish).

The canopy and lights –
I replaced my old canopy with a new one so I could get MH lighting. The old canopy didn’t have enough clearance and had broken hinges too. The new canopy turned out very nice, but didn’t match the stand since oak colors as it ages. It was very frustrating to spend that kind of money for a new canopy and not have it look right. Fortunately, my lfs that I got the canopy from really wanted a happy customer. They offered to let me return it, or restain it. After much deliberation, I decided to restain it. It looks purdy now. As for the lights, I decided on three Aqua Medic HQI single pendants. I started out with two 150 watt, and a 250 watt pendant, running 20k bulbs. This made the tank look very dull. My lfs was very patient once again, and after a few exchanges I eventually ended up with all 250 watts. Two of these are running Aqualine 13k blubs and the other a 20k bulb. I am supplementing this with two of my original VHO lights, and have since had to replace the Icecap ballast (because I sold the extra one I had, silly me). I also had to replace a ballast on one of the new lights, but this was covered under warranty.

Sump Stuff –
When the tank crashed, I was more interested in updating my old equipment than getting new corals and fish. Everything I had was 8-10 years old. My overflow box flooded most every time the power went out, which earned me the nickname of Mrs. Flood A House. So first on the list was to replace that darn box! After reading up a bit, I chose a LifeReef single overflow box. I didn’t intend on replacing my pump and it was only rated to handle what the single could handle. Of course when all the equipment had been replaced, the old pump went out and I replaced it too. Had I known this was going to happen I would have chosen the double overflow box. I also had LifeReef make me a custom refugium tank to fit in my stand next to my sump. I asked for two drains, but it arrived with only one and it is a bit undersized, so I have to be careful how much flow goes into this tank (I’m still called Mrs. Flood A House because of this, but it was really my cucumber's fault). I've also experimented with several different lights for the refugium, still haven't found my dream light. Replacing the skimmer was a no brainer (kinda). Research led me to the ASM skimmers. I wanted the G-3, but my UV sterilizer was over my sump at the time and I didn’t have enough clearance for the G-3 so I got the G2. Again, later I decided to replace the very old UV sterilizer and no longer have the sterilizer over my sump. I got the 24w Gamma UV sterilizer and had a very nice day putting this puzzle together. Several trips to Lowes, and I finally found a way to hook it up. The pump that runs the UV sterilizer now also feeds the refugium. I have a valve on the pump, and T drain pipe that allows me to control the amount of water going into the refugium. Back to the return pump. I had difficulty finding a pump that provided enough flow, but not too much for the overflow box. With a few exchanges, I ended up with the Iwaki 30RT. I still use a control valve on it and a split return line. Maybe someday I will exchange the single overflow box for a double and let’r open all the way. I still want a double and a black box too. (I did have them replace the blue box once, but they sent a clear one and I decided that would have been worse than the blue one so I sent it back.) I’m still using a sock in the sump, and have added a carbon and phosban reactor. I quickly replaced the Kent Marine reactor I bought first with two daisy-chained Two Little Fishies Reactors. I like them much, much better.

The Auto Topoff and Kalk Reactor –
I started with a 4 gallon topoff container, gravity drip fed to the sump. After quickly learning that this provided about a day’s supply of water I gave in and got the Tunze Osmolater with the 7 gallon bucket. Well the Tunze Osmolater was a bit tricky to figure out, but now I like it. As for the 7 gallon bucket, it was still not big enough to prevent almost daily refills. I tried a few other containers and have now found a 13 gallon container that is just right. It lasts 3-4 days. During this time I was also experimenting with kalk. I quickly learned that the Osmolater pump doesn’t like to run kalk through it and so I had to replace the pump. I didn’t get the kalk reactor that is offered with the Osmolater and I am really glad I didn’t. I eventually got a Precision Marine Reactor and hooked it up to the ATO. Overall this works very well. I might eventually run this differently as I do get a drop in my pH at night with this method. For now it offers a pretty safe way to run my kalk.

And some odds and ends -
Hitckhikers - Flatworms yuck! Gorilla crabs yuck!
Mag pumps – Aren’t what they used to be – My old one still runs, both new ones have had to be replaced.
Aquazone 100 Ozonizer – Couldn’t get it to work right with my skimmer, Blue_eyes now enjoys a sparkling tank!
Controllers - Reefkeeper II = easy; Neptune Jr = hard; both are sweet!
Heaters – Had to replace several.
Electricity - Stray voltage is bad, GFCI is good.
RO-DI – Bought a brute container, bought an even bigger brute container, now use both! Float valve failed this past week, but I caught it just in time.
Yuma Rics – Cost a lot and don’t like my low pH.
Seahares/Anemones – They do bad things when they get sucked into a pump.
Montis – Purple didn’t stay purple, brown is ugly! Peach didn’t stay peach, orange/red is fine but I already had that.
Jump-proof tops – Even when you think they are, they aren’t.