Sticks and Stones...My BC 29 Build

[E.Rude]

My 10 years in saltwater has been spent going bigger and bigger. I started with a 55gallon, then quickly moved to a 125 gallon that ended up being a nice little reef. I spent the last year of my life dealing with a problematic 200DD. I loved the tank and had it set up with all the bells and whistles, but what I didn't love was the time commitment. It turned this hobby into a job and I was close to giving up on the hobby all together. Bigger is not always better.

I decided to sell off everything and try to salvage my interest in the hobby by turning my Coralife BC 29 that I'd been using as a QT into a reef. I started with some rock from the 200DD:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/5988119C-A97D-48A2-A2FB-1E43854EAEF8.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/4E80E648-9811-443A-85E9-F8F4207AD799.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/52ABBDF0-198F-4A48-8E49-C755A3858A88.jpg

I decided to keep my fish room (read: fish closet) the same as when I was maintaining the 200 gallon. I should never have to worry about having RODI or mixed saltwater on-hand:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/CBB09C03-3394-4CEC-A78F-29EC89CEFD11.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/96FE9CD8-47D0-415E-8CF0-3F395A9FA06B.jpg

The existing equipment list is as follows:
-Steve's LED's with JMB color combination and Bluefish Controller
-MP10wES w/ battery backup
-Tunze 9001 skimmer
-inTank media rack (filter floss, Purigen, Chemipure Elite)
-100w NeoTherm heater
-Tunze Osmolator (was using a Tunze Nano ATO, but I had the full size Osmolator on my 200 gallon and I like the failsafes, so I'm using that on the BC for now, with the nano in storage for a backup)

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/6D9E0D4F-0413-4874-820C-2688C29CB7A3.jpg

[E.Rude]

The tank was started in early September 2015. I moved frags over from the 200DD, though they were looking pretty bad after everything the big tank had gone through. They have made an incredible comeback and in the month that this tank has been running, they've grown more than they did in the time they were in the other tank, which was close to a year. (That sounds like total BS. If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe it either, LOL).

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/64BE68B4-4221-4A7A-B23A-6B1E01EE843F.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/DF33DE52-8CD1-4F65-9E8E-FB25FF7C5DC3.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/965985C5-2259-478F-8944-C953FEBC30E9.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/EE36240E-B734-42A9-8464-EBD971811E4A.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/E7DCCB1D-AE05-43CF-9179-C8B22C6265B4.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/C04F0F58-25C4-457D-98C3-FD0B4EA455DE.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/E4CA937C-19E9-4893-8BFA-81FB3E796AE1.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/E6E96EBE-E18A-4B37-AB88-567E15BF4001.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/5CE409E6-DAA8-491E-BBCF-BA3800FADB6C.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/7A0799B1-73D9-4759-97FD-6C462DD70C54.jpg

[E.Rude]

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/D3CDA499-427D-4140-8FF5-5041EFC9A03C.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/05177B86-805A-447B-86EF-7D40E014A5AC.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/EAD7F602-E2DF-48D4-B868-E16F21CB6080.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/5781E5CF-716E-4D29-950A-2D596355FA51.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/F0CF8658-7A64-4DD4-8F43-179776F0D3DE.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/D314FC53-6063-4E66-923C-49FCBD2DBC29.jpg

[E.Rude]

So far, this tank has been an absolute pleasure and is quickly becoming my best experience in reefkeeping. Like I said, I've been seeing growth from the frags, which are beginning to encrust. I will be placing another frag order soon, which will focus more on reds/pinks, since most of what's in there is green.

The only problem I'm having is that I've been seeing caulerpa in several spots in the tank. I am addressing this with manual removal during water changes. I'm not aware of any inverts or nano fish that will help control it.

I've been doing bi-weekly, 30% water changes with Reef Crystals. I'm testing for Ca and Alk before doing the w/c's. My plan is to go from bi-weekly to weekly water changes once I see a need for them. Once the needs of the tank surpass the weekly w/c's, then I will begin dosing. My experience is with Ca Rx's so I will need to read-up on dosing. I will most likely invest in a doser for this. With the growth I'm seeing, as well as with the addition of new frags, I anticipate the need for dosing sooner than later.

[E.Rude]

Went to pick up frag glue at one of my LFS's and left with two frags:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/F4214494-AA81-42D7-8C5C-A275EABD7AFC.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/3FB4CC2A-6724-48B7-BEA1-DC9FD56A7F9B.jpg

I will glue them in place when I do my water change either later today or tomorrow.

[soulpatch]

very nice man. Almost came out to buy your 200DD but couldnt figure out a reasonable way to be able to reach the middle back without snorkel gear. HA HA.

I was just recently battling culpera in my tank as well and finally got rid of it by frying it with peroxide paste during water changes. Once a week I would hit it with the "paste" and in about a month it was gone. I of course was also manually removing as much as I could with tweezers first so that the paste fried more of the roots then the actual grape heads.

[E.Rude]

I ended up giving the 200DD away. When I decided to downsize I was really on my way out of the hobby and just wanted that thing GONE. I feel so relieved with this tank. I can actually enjoy the hobby again and I discovered something called "free-time".

I'll have to look into peroxide paste. I want to take charge on this before it can get out of hand.

[JoaoAliane]

Very beautiful

[E.Rude]

Very beautiful

Thank you!

[E.Rude]

Yesterday I got rid of a small colony that I didn't want. It's the larger green acro in the sandbed...

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/64BE68B4-4221-4A7A-B23A-6B1E01EE843F.jpg

Getting rid of it opened up some space for a scoly or clam in the future:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/0B6E8B1D-2D8C-4B42-9415-83A890B0856B.jpg

In exchange he gave me a reverse superman monti, a grape cap (that wasn't doing too good in his tank), and a frag that I need help ID'ing:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/0A69BAD0-F886-4A22-8DAD-AA6C852CD59B.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/F6F0781C-301E-47AC-808C-425965DFFDC6.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/6ED98A37-70AB-476C-B386-A8888A1A4310.jpg

I am going to place a frag order and try to coordinate delivery for Tuesday since it's my next day off.

[ReefWreak]

last one looks like a a blasto?

[E.Rude]

I think the heads are too small to be a blasto...?

[acropora213]

Cyphasrea

[E.Rude]

I don't know, but the polyps seem too small and flat to be a cyphastrea.

This morning I ordered 9 frags:
-orange digi (I'm giving-up on the one that's in the tank right now)
-setosa
-bright pink acro
-light purple acro
-4 different blue acro's
-green acro with blue tips

I think these will really balance the colors in the tank and the contrasts will make the whole scape pop

[soulpatch]

Excited to see this come alone. I love when people take the time and think about the color schemes of the corals.

[E.Rude]

Excited to see this come alone. I love when people take the time and think about the color schemes of the corals.

Thanks man! It's been a while since I've been this excited about a tank.

I've always removed frags from their plugs before placing them on the rocks, but I've not had good luck with it recently. With this order (and the 3 pieces my friend just gave me) I'm going to let the coral acclimate to the tank in the sand bed for a week, then I'm going to trim the plugs down as much as needed before attaching them to the aquascape.

[soulpatch]

I need to get a frag rack so I can raise as needed in the tank to acclimate tot he lights. I typically cut from the plugs and mount on my own when I get the frags then do a dip so as to get rid of as muchg as possible before it sees my tank. Had enough issues with critters coming in thus far...

[E.Rude]

Maybe that's where I was going wrong- I was just snapping them off the plugs. Cutting them at the base sounds much less traumatic

[homer1475]

I typically just cut the "plug" end off the frag plug, and just glue the disk to my rockwork. Eventually whatever is on the plug will just encrust over it so you never see it.

EDIT:
I was thinking blasto also.

[soulpatch]

no I cut from the plug plate. a scappel gets under the glue and op it off then onto a fresh plug. Too many chances of eggs and such in plugs to risk it for me...

[E.Rude]

I think I'm just going to leave the actual frag intact and just let them encrust the plug discs over time. I hate the look of frag plugs but with my recent track record, and the spirit of conservation, I think I'll wait it out. With the growth I've been seeing I don't think it'll take but a month or so.

[MBIETZ]

The coral in question is in my opinion a leptastrea. Nice tank and great looking bull terrier!

[E.Rude]

Thanks! The new frags are coming tomorrow and we are working diligently to train some manners into the dog. Never had such difficulty, even with other bully-breeds. I think you're correct re: leptastrea. Good call!

[smtank]

Yes to leptastrea.

Great start with the sps.

[E.Rude]

Yes to leptastrea.

Great start with the sps.

Thanks!

The 9 frags I ordered arrived and they included a freebie. I'm floating them now and will drip acclimate in a few hours. I have an appointment in an hour so I have to do a long float before I can get around to dripping. I have a ton of work to do today so I'll try and post pics later or tomorrow.

[E.Rude]

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/77A141CD-F879-4D59-83EC-FCD7FDCFDA83.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/D8525B6C-6D98-47F5-8ADD-960347B95169.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/12A46521-0A70-49FF-B778-7E7F39C34B7C.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/8F39D5D0-28A9-40EF-8684-E879A10FAB79.jpg

[E.Rude]

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/508864CA-304E-4B08-91E0-8B542CF96DFE.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/99AD3FCB-5F46-451C-A1FE-33993DA7F14C.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/E61A2445-034A-45EB-B966-1F504D489CED.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/9A11E34F-269C-4771-8552-B794783AB8B6.jpg

[E.Rude]

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/3D78E5C7-4304-4081-B506-74DE56166BE2.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/1C452D76-0E1A-4A60-9F4B-CD7501462246.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/69EC800E-3ADD-45B8-A077-168DE888F5BB.jpg

Between the frags my buddy gave me and the new order (assuming everything survives) there will be a nice balance of colors.

[ReefWreak]

Looks good. That's almost as many frags as I filled my tank with 6-9 months ago. I probably have another 3-6 months before they're all growing into each other, so just be careful with placement. Looks good though!

[soulpatch]

I gotta say out of everything I just really like what you did with your rock work. When stuff starts growing in on that it is going to look insane.

[E.Rude]

Looks good. That's almost as many frags as I filled my tank with 6-9 months ago. I probably have another 3-6 months before they're all growing into each other, so just be careful with placement. Looks good though!

Thanks. I've taken growth into consideration when thinking about placement. I'm going to sit back, do maintenance and enjoy the tank for a bit.

I gotta say out of everything I just really like what you did with your rock work. When stuff starts growing in on that it is going to look insane.

Thanks! I really like the way the aquascape came out. Using that shelf rock against the back wall really let me keep the tank open but will still give me a few spots for frags. The way things are growing I don't think it'll take long.

[E.Rude]

I've been crazy-busy with a research proposal and community health assessments recently so I decided to make a quick getaway this past weekend

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/6398E02E-1F39-4FC8-AFBA-30979E797E5D.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/907B4F5C-FF00-4564-BB65-692BE6AE6295.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/B2BCFED4-816A-47C5-9389-46A6BA0C9158.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/F4D0E680-9458-468F-B7AE-81C645E02A36.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/96D1AD67-847B-4487-ACD0-DBA7445FD263.jpg

I came home to a boat load of work but it was a welcome break. I'm mixing saltwater now and I'm hoping to get a water change in this week. It's usually not a big deal but I want to place the frags in the aquascape and I have two (easily removable) rocks that I need to pull algae from. The algae is growing around frags that are epoxied to the rocks.

[ReefWreak]

Ah the life of a PHD student (or maybe PHD?)... MPH was as far as I went, had to get into the workforce and start paying taxes! PGH is probably a really good/interesting place to be doing community health studies.

Always more work to do on the tanks... I find it to be a welcome distraction from the every day "have to do" work.

[soulpatch]

I stopped at bachelors but in the business/marketing side of things most people only care about your experience and not the degree. And for me when I can help shave millions or more off of your expenses and add to the revenue stream with my targeting skills the degree quickly gets overlooked. LOL

[E.Rude]

Not quite PhD, lol. I'm an Assistant Director of Nursing and I moonlight in the ED of a Level 1 trauma center, wrapping-up my BSN...my third bachelors degree (ugh). Starting to look at grad school...I want to be a CRNP when I grow-up.

[E.Rude]

Is there something I can dip these rocks in that will address the hair (or macro?) algae? They are small rocks, roughly the size of baseballs, that have SPS frags epoxied to them.

[soulpatch]

Is there something I can dip these rocks in that will address the hair (or macro?) algae? They are small rocks, roughly the size of baseballs, that have SPS frags epoxied to them.

While dipping won't solve the nutrient issue it will get rid of the unsightly algae for your pleasure. Though I strongly recommend also dosing some red sea no pox to lower phos and nitrates before algae takes hold again.

All that said dip in a 50/50 solution of saltwater and 3% peroxide for 5 minutes. Rinse rocks in a bucket of fresh saltwater then return to tank. I normally let the rocks sit for 3 minutes inthe mix then start scrubbing for the final 2 minutes to get everything off. You will need to change filter floss regularly the next few days as the algae continues to die off.

[ReefWreak]

Not quite PhD, lol. I'm an Assistant Director of Nursing and I moonlight in the ED of a Level 1 trauma center, wrapping-up my BSN...my third bachelors degree (ugh). Starting to look at grad school...I want to be a CRNP when I grow-up.

Sorry, I figured only PhDs and those reaching for that had time for research and community health :p

It's very confusing to me when business and academia mix.

I wanted to do hospital admin, but instead moved into healthcare analytics. Well anyway, looks like you had a fun getaway, and then back to reefing!

[E.Rude]

All that said dip in a 50/50 solution of saltwater and 3% peroxide for 5 minutes. Rinse rocks in a bucket of fresh saltwater then return to tank. I normally let the rocks sit for 3 minutes inthe mix then start scrubbing for the final 2 minutes to get everything off. You will need to change filter floss regularly the next few days as the algae continues to die off.

That 50/50 solution won't nuke the SPS I have on the rocks?

[soulpatch]

Not if you use the 3% peroxide you find at the local stores. If you step up in peroxide strength you need to change course slightly but you are good to go with normal peroxide. Done it myself without issue and there is an entire large thread on here with others being fine. Just be sure that no shrimp are on the rocks as they do not handle it well and any crabs/hermits that stay on the rock might act a bit dazed for an hour but otherwise it is fine.

[E.Rude]

Always more work to do on the tanks... I find it to be a welcome distraction from the every day "have to do" work.

This is one of the reasons I like the BC so much. The work that the 200DD required became that have to do work, so I never got a break between class, work, and the tank. I never thought that I'd be satisfied with a small tank but I couldn't be happier. When I do upgrade (because I know the BC29 will keep me satisfied for only so long) I'll do a custom drop-off, but nothing too big.

[soulpatch]

I think the deep dimension added to the level of work as it is more of a pain to get to things in there. I know I walked away from your tank since I could not see getting 36 inches back in the middle of the tank...

That said th BC is great for maintenance though should you slip at all it shows faster then a larger tank. I am dealing with cyano now because I slipped on changes slightly. Now tonight I might have to skip my weekly pod cast to do a massive water change...

[ReefWreak]

I think the deep dimension added to the level of work as it is more of a pain to get to things in there. I know I walked away from your tank since I could not see getting 36 inches back in the middle of the tank...

That said th BC is great for maintenance though should you slip at all it shows faster then a larger tank. I am dealing with cyano now because I slipped on changes slightly. Now tonight I might have to skip my weekly pod cast to do a massive water change...

Yea, with my 4x2x2 120g, no crazy reaching, pretty reasonable access to everything. Your new 5x2x2 should be no problem as well and a nice compromise with not having room for 6'.

The one thing I really like about the nano is how quick and easy it is to do a water change. I never did them on my old 120g tank because I hated lugging around jugs of NSW (did ~15g at a time) from the LFS. Now I can just do a 5g bucket, pretty quick and easy. If/when I go to a larger tank, I'd definitely just have 1-2 35g rubbermaid garbage pails within rolling distance of the tank (or I love when some people can build-in those big tanks in their sump rooms).

But yea, because of the pain of lugging the water around, I did water changes maybe quarterly on my 120. Maybe.. I'm getting a little lazy with this tank too, and it's not showing, fortunately, but at least it is easy to do a quick water change. Half of my frustration with water changes is that the make-up water, whether NSW or ASW, are always low on calcium and alkalinity, so I always have to test the water, buffer, then add to the tank, then buffer if it's still not high enough, etc.

[E.Rude]

I tried the 50/50 peroxide dip to no avail. Both frags got pretty nuked so I chalked them up to a loss this morning.

I snapped a few real quick pics to show the general appearance of the tank now that the remaining frags were placed. I'll get some detailed ones posted once the frags have a chance to adjust to their new lighting. I'm not too crazy about the appearance of the epoxy, but it'll be less noticeable with time.

FTS:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/11DBDD5A-5DD0-4DFA-B4BF-50389296EB57.jpg

Upper left:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/1DAA7AE5-C3D8-486C-AE5F-4F76629DE7A8.jpg

Lower left:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/1E757D7F-E3DD-4684-92EA-F7C0A550CB39.jpg

Right:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/3D1CC5E1-4CE8-4D29-A52D-D6455A6AB8C5.jpg

FTS left:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/013C0D19-1D37-4A96-A1F5-174A1746F529.jpg

FTS right:
http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/099A3FFE-E02B-47D2-84EB-3A46E48BCA3D.jpg

So far there's no signs of stress or dying from having to handle some of the frags that had broken off of their plugs in the process. I'm going to do another water change on Tuesday (my next day off) and start keeping an eye on my parameters.

In the interim, I need to get some fish in there.

[ReefWreak]

Looks great. It looks like plenty of room now, but give it a full 6 months of dosing....

Also, if those are both monti caps on the lower/middle left side, you might want to move one to the right side on that ledge, and one on the left, just so they don't shade each other and constantly fight.

[E.Rude]

Looks great. It looks like plenty of room now, but give it a full 6 months of dosing....

Also, if those are both monti caps on the lower/middle left side, you might want to move one to the right side on that ledge, and one on the left, just so they don't shade each other and constantly fight.


Thanks! I don't plan on adding anything else.

I was hoping the monti caps would grow into one another. In either event, having a cap in a nano is going to require regular trimming.

[ReefWreak]

Yea, I'm there now with my monti cap. It's about to start shading in my ORA Chips, and I like the Chips a lot more. I have acros already growing into each other. I just don't want to get into the fragging/gluing/frag rack game yet :(

They probably won't grow into each other, they'll start growing over each other and crowding each other out.

[E.Rude]

It's been a few weeks since my last update. Everything is doing just fine. I did a water change yesterday. I need to start thinking of a few small fish to add. I definitely want to get some sexy shrimp and some other small crabs in addition to the cleaner shrimp and pom pom crab that are in there now.

[soulpatch]

I wouldn't add any crab other then a porcelin as they aren't really crabs...

Too much risk to your corals.

[ReefWreak]

I wouldn't add any crab other then a porcelin as they aren't really crabs...

Too much risk to your corals.

Now you've seen the light :D

[soulpatch]

hush you.

[E.Rude]

I was thinking about a porcelain crab, maybe another Pom Pom, some sexy shrimp, and possibly a fire shrimp.

[E.Rude]

I went away for a few days (something that I can do with this tank that I couldn't do as easily with the 200) to test some whitewater crossover kayaks, since my GF and I want to hit some bigger water in the Spring. Before I left I snapped some top-down pics:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/A6A74083-578F-4153-92A3-A3AFC57DB024.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/614A863F-98B7-4E64-B382-48B1587E9442.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/8D2A2991-C140-4E98-91F0-FFA92D1B16A6.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/EE36F2E6-4243-4B4B-AAE8-1ECCED2D2AE2.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/429443A6-8BCA-417B-A80D-95C87DB7246B.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/D57107E5-BA85-40B6-8D07-6643FE755D3D.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/EEE04F6A-9D11-4448-9760-7407D9E1D167.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/EEE04F6A-9D11-4448-9760-7407D9E1D167.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/9F136D37-3D54-42A7-83A8-50EC8FB60890.jpg

Now, if someone were to have told me that they noticed growth on their corals after being gone for only a few days, I would say they are full of it...But when the lights came on this morning I noticed definite growth. (This is also something I couldn't have done with the big tank since I spent all of my time working on it and had no time to actually enjoy it).

[ReefWreak]

If I don't look at my tank daily, I definitely notice. And when I was away for an entire week, I was blown away at the growth on most of my acros.

Hope you had fun testing out kayaks!

Also, I'm really surprised to hear that you feel like this tank is more stable/hands-off than your 200g.... These tanks tend to be a lot more work. Thank goodness for dosing pumps!

[soulpatch]

Agreed one of the main reasons I am upgrading is for the stability. Sure it requires more work initially to get up and going but then it should be more set it and forget moving forward...


That said I agree with the growth. If I didn't take pics constantly I would not think I was having any growth. Looking back at pics 1-2 weeks ago I can see a ton of growth especially in my torch and frogspawn...

[E.Rude]

When I refer to the work involved, I'm talking about the time commitment. With the 200 I had to run way more water (10 gallons of evaporation every 3 days) larger water changes, etc. This nano, and most tanks I would think, requires the same steps but because it's on such a smaller scale it takes much less time.

[Nole_87]

How high do you have your leds turned up? I have the same set up and my corralline started turning white after slowly adjusting brightness with the knobs. Im looking into the Typhoon soon to get better control.

[E.Rude]

How high do you have your leds turned up? I have the same set up and my corralline started turning white after slowly adjusting brightness with the knobs. Im looking into the Typhoon soon to get better control.

The blues max out at 25%, the whites at 50%. The Bluefish ramps them nicely. I think I put a screenshot of the graph somewhere in this thread.

[E.Rude]

...I did not. Here's the graph:

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx21/ericb125/46416035-D1CA-4566-94C8-A239E53AB29F.png.jpeg

[E.Rude]

I'll be getting a break from schoolwork after this week. I plan on finally tracking my Ca, Alk, and Mg while I have off to see what I need to do (if anything, at this point) to maintain them. All of the frags are growing nicely. If I were to go on appearances alone, the water changes seem to be enough right now.

The tank is still fishless. I was thinking that I might head-out to one of my LFS to see what's available.