Day 591 Since Starting Up The RedSea Max C-250
Just a brief update, now that we are 19 months down the road since setting up our first Reef Aquarium.
All going pretty well, but still battling a bad infection of Aiptasia.
In spite of frequently using Aiptasia X to kill visible ones, can't eradicate them, so have resorted now to using a number of Peppermint Shrimps [correct variety] but no sign yet of them eating this pest.
I have been experimenting for last 6 months with a very simple maintenance routine.
Got so tired and irritated by the various water quality tests that need me to compare colored water with a colored paper disc that I decided to go a period without doing any tests, other than Salinity, on the water chemistry.
So my maintenance regime is really simple:-
Every Week
Do a 10% water change once per week using RO water mixed with Instant Ocean Crystals to a Salinity of 1.026. Check the salinity of the tank after doing the water change.
Clean the skimmer cup.
Every Month
Remove the black sponges and rinse them in the old salt water.
Every 3 Months
Change 2 of my 4 filter media bags.
The fish are all fine and growing, so are my corals, I have no SPS at the moment, and will reassess adding corals in about another 6 months.
Corraline algae covers most of the live rock and much of the rear wall, so I am assuming that the tank is now pretty much established.
Here are some photos taken this morning:-