As of last night...
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
pH 8.3 - ish
sg 1.025
temp 77
50g tank with a 12g sump. I had been using a Tunze 9002 skimmer, since replaced with a Reef Octopus NWB 110 last night. 2x Hydor Evo 550's on a controller alternating on/off every hour. (recently removed and scrubbed)
40 lbs of Fiji standard LR from LiveAquaria later supplemented with 10 of dry branch from BRS.
I drain via LifeReef HOB overflow. Return via a
Sicce 2.0 (also recently removed and scrubbed) that I split to either side of the tank. Mix of sch 40 PVC and vinyl flex to black j tubes. I've seen some brown, then green and some coraline algae growth.
Caribsea sand... ~2" Fiji white.
BRS Reactor running ROX .8 carbon and GFO. Cleaned out and replaced 2x. Also now have a bag of carbon sitting in the return section.
Refugium with 5x red mangroves (at least one growing roots already) 1 green graclia, 1 red, and a ball of chaeto. All from Reefcleaners.org. I spoke to John from there, he verified those species wouldn't cause a white cloud issue. I had had another ball of chaeto that died off due to my using a bad light. I just removed it the other day when i noticed it was falling apart.
Lights are all LED from Ecoxotic. I go dark for 3 or 4 hours over night, wrapped by a blue stunner that follows and precedes the day lights.
Reefcrystals salt only.
Recent copepod bloom. Have seen lots in both the sump and the DT.
Several dozen dwarf cerith snails
3 BIG turbos
less than 10 nassarius snails
~ dwarf planaxis snails
less than 10 astrea coneheads
a few dwarf blue leg hermits and scarlet hermits
2x chromis viridis from BlueZoo
Prior to yesterday, 2x ocellaris clownfish, now just 1. :-(
I feed spectrum small fish only at this point. They gobble it up.
Is there something I should test for that I'm not? I recently bought Ca, Mg and KH kits (
Salifert) but only used them once because I wasn't really ready for coral yet anyway... now that's on indefinite hold