[Quiet_Ivy]

Update also.

This week I've been: running small amount of GFO, feeding rfa again, did one blackout, wrap tank after 3 hours of lights on to keep ambient light down,
and (gasp) I added 1/2 litre of conditioned tap water to my 4L top off jug of ro/di. I know! I have raised freshwater inverts (ramshorn, apple snails, ornamental shrimp) in only our tap water so it's probably safe, despite the known ammonia, nitrate, phosph, silicates. I figure feeding is making detritus pile up due to my bad rockscape, and lack of cleaners, but I want to add nutrients.

The good:

Cyano is receding from the sandbed. Still looks bad on rocks/glass, but at least red on the glass is a change from dinos on the glass? Possible diatoms on the glass too. Different brown than the dinos. Can't tell the diff with terrible hobby microscope.

Starting to see life! Fed the rock flower nem today and there was an epic battle of the creepy crawlies as a bristleworm, mini brittle star? and some kind of HUGE pod went after the same mysis. Tried to get pics but they're too blurry. Do amphipods get 2cm? None of the euphyllia seemed interested in eating tho' mysis did stick to their tentacles.

My alk is much more stable, and high. Haven't had to dose daily to keep it at 8. Didn't realize dinos affected alk!

The bad:

Dinos are pretty happy in the bends of the tank, along the sides where I can't scrape, and on the back likewise. Bad rockscaping due to oversized rock on my part. They're not making long fronds anymore, and they aren't coming back so much on the areas I *can* scrape.

My ricordea melted. Dang that was the most expensive living thing I've bought for the tank. Frogspawn which is periodically ticked off is ticked off again. Other corals look their usual level of bad. I suppose there's hope as long as it's not rotting, but it's sure showing a lot of white.

There used to be little worm tracks in the sand along the front glass. Those are gone. I don't see the spaghetti worm tentacles either.

New small (1cm maybe) red patches all over 2 of my live rocks, the ones getting the most ambient light. Not coralline I don't think, colour is wrong, but they're hard and don't scrape off. Good/bad? Weird?

Plan:
Small water change on Sunday to get cyano out. No blackout. Scrape all the things! Increase photoperiod slowly to 4 hours. Try to source worms. Wait impatiently for tank to be ok enough for me to start adding life.

ivy (that was a novel)