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September 17, 2023 No major changes. The pho4 is low, so I stopped using AB+ and increased the phyto to three drops per week. Will monitor and adjust. Not sure what I’m targeting, but over the past couple weeks a gallon water change every five days seems to take it from 0.04 to 0.01. I'm...

August 25, 2023 I was at High Tide in Oakland getting water and I finally asked about a wait list for a bright yellow coral that I had been really impressed with ever since the first time I went there. Kenny said there wasn’t one, but then he offered to cut me a $40 frag! I was pretty excited...

August 22, 2023 I bought some corals online. I got stuck in a cycle of shopping for expensive chalices, but balked at spending that much money on something I haven't seen before. I felt like I had to break the fever. I ended up getting some zoas, a tyree red watermelon chalice, a rock flower...

August 15, 2023 I went on another buying spree at my LFS, High Tide Aquatics (which I really really like and will write something about soon). Florida Ricordia peach Acan lord red Chalice orange Zoanthids pink/red I'm very happy with the colors from this batch. The red acans are very...

CaribSea FragZone Coral Mounts. The color didn't work for my tank. It was a little too purple. The company's photos had them a little more red. Otherwise, it seemed like nice dry rock rubble. Box is brand new. In downtown Oakland...

This is great advice and definitely along the lines I was thinking. I appreciate the chalice recommendations. It's hard to tell which just photograph really well and which actually look cool IRL. Will happily take recommendations for other nice chalices and acans. I'm trying to be patient but...

I've been thinking about tank occupants, aggression, and encrusting corals. I'm thinking of a peaceful section on the left with zoas and maybe a really nice, peaceful encrusting something. Then maybe a more aggressive section on the right either underneath the torch (which I understand is...

Thanks! I haven't heard of chemipure. I wonder if there's a way I could hide it somehow behind the rockwork. Clearer water and less evaporation sound like real plusses. For supplementing, my hope was the water changes alone would add enough elements. My understanding is that insufficient trace...

July 22, 2023 Added some more corals (and took pictures this time). Plating red montipora cap and a bubblegum montipora digitata. I was very torn between a forest fire digi and the bubblegum. I'm not sure I made the right choice. The bubblegum definitely has a certain elegance under the full...

June 27, 2023 I added some more corals I got from BAR member Alexx. A slimeball anacropora, armor of god zoas, a purple and green-rimmed favia, and some orange zoas with yellow centers. We're off to the races. (I forgot to take pictures at this stage.) I'm still having some new tank diatoms...

June 23, 2023 cont'd The ATO gave me some problems. The model 3155 ATO does not have a button to temporarily turn it off. This put me in a pickle for the following reasons: (1) I can’t reach the plug, I can only unplug the whole system (i.e., lights, powerhead, etc.); (2) whenever the unit is...

June 23, 2023 The Tunze 9004 skimmer is continuing to pour large-ish bubbles out the back. My new theory is there’s a small hole in the housing where the magnet attaches. It’s supposed to click into a pair of plastic clips, but one of them was mangled. I understand the skimmer needs a few weeks...

June 20, 2023 Update: I put the initial occupants in. A cotton candy type torch, two trochius snails, and a fire shrimp. It’s a little nerve wracking to fork over torch money for a first coral, but it seems like they are basically hammers (I don’t remember many torches from 2005), which are...

I like that thinking. That is definitely the dream. When I live in the right place or own a home, I will definitely be doing some version of that. I'd much rather turn a few knobs or keep a reservoir topped off than slosh buckets. For this system, it's hard to find receptacles that are the...

June 3, 2023 Added water and a few chunks of rock seeded with a couple pieces of live rock. I’m very surprised by how quickly ATO water evaporates. I’m adding almost a liter/quart per day. My ~6 cup vase is slightly too small for me to leave over the weekend and not have to sweat it. I'd like...

May 31, 2023 I’m back in the hobby after a 17-year hiatus. I am working with several requirements: (1) It has to be a small, tidy nano that fits in an old built-in bookshelf. (2) I hate water changes, and I’m willing to throw money at anything that will reduce them or make them less painful. My...