[Michael Hoaster]

I installed the new metal halide bulb. It's a 5200K. It's a bit more yellow than the previous bulb, but brighter. I'm still getting used to it, but I think it'll work well. It may inspire me to reinstate the blue CFL light I used recently, for a little more color at the dim end of the tank.

I also got the new gorgonian and chondria plant placed. The gorg is around 14 inches long. I stuck it in one of the gramma holes in the back wall. As usual, I played around with multiple locations, so I hope I didn't injure it too much. So far it looks good. I placed the chondria high up on the wall, near the light, as it is a shallow water species. It kind of looks like a brown (rather than blue) hypnea. But once in place, it showed some of the iridescence they are known for. It's kind of blueish-purple. I think it will make it.

This brings me to a point regarding the tiny strombus snails we've been discussing. First of all, I have a LOT of them, so competition may be a factor. I'm having about a 50% success rate introducing new macros. Most, if not all of the failures are due to these little snails devouring the new plants before they can get established. So, I just wanted to point out a potential downside to these snails. I'm sure they prefer micro to macro algae, but macros are definitely an option!