After the first week...

The first week of the 60-gallon reef build has passed. I don't have too much to report. On the equipment side, things are working well. In my last post, I talked about a Current LED lumen Pro Light strip. I'm really pleased with the color and light so far. I connected it to my ReefKeeper and have set up a dusk/dawn light effect. The LED strip comes on 1 hour before the first T-5's come on and then 1 hour after the t-5's come off.

The aquarium has developed an algae and diatom problem. I'm not sure if it is normal or if it's caused by my water. I will perform water tests tomorrow to check (among other tests) my phosphates and nitrates. The last time I made product water, I had a feeling that my RO/DI unit was producing product water too quickly, so I'm suspecting a water quality issue may be the culprit. I will be purchasing a new DI cartridge and an inline TDS meter to help with the water issue, and I'll know more after some water testing.

My sump and skimmer are still noisy. The waterfall from the overflow and skimmer is not as bad since I played around with some acrylic sheets, but it still can be distracting. My AquaC Remora has produced almost no skim which I am not sure is because there is a low bio load or because the skimmer is unhappy. The water fall of the sump's baffle and the skimmer's return are creating micro bubbles that the return pump is efficiently chopping up and sending to the display. My Koralia powerhead is then sending the bubbles throughout the tank (I have plans to help rectify this very soon). I am still very happy with the Sunlight Supply TekLight and the Giessman bulbs I am using. The color is amazing.

The livestock are adjusting well. The yellow watchman goby and coral banded shrimp have picked their homes and are eating well. They seem happy and comfortable. My coral are adjusting mostly well with the exception of the Blasto's; they have yet to fully come out again.

My clownfish (who is in quarantine) is doing well. I see spots kind of come and go, but they don't appear to be signs of ich. I have treated using Ruby Reef products. Whatever the problem, it seems to come and go. If I continue to see it, I'm going to switch over to a true ICH/Parasite medicine or copper treatment, but I try to avoid the hard stuff if it's not necessary. (I'll talk more about my clownfish later.)

I was given a sump (another sump), so that will be my project for the weekend. The sump is larger and will be a little better suited for the size of my aquarium, I just need to find some acrylic sheets to add some baffles for a bubble trap. I'm leaning towards a new skimmer as well- I really want an AquaMaxx skimmer, but the vertical clearance of my tank stand limits my skimmer choice. The best find for the price is looking like a Reef Octopus Needwheel skimmer.

So that was week number one. Lot's more to come.