Apparently the Lightning Maroon thinks it is a better decorator than me.  With the help of its three Turbo snail buddies, every frag in the tank is getting tossed around, overturned, and generally abused.  The Lightning has taken a shining to an Aussie Green Goniopora frag, but frankly this Goniopora isn’t big enough to host a Maroon Clown just yet!  Everything in a 5″ radius of the Goniopora is fair game to be moved..and I mean picked up and carried.  I haven’t seen it in the act yet, but I know it’s going on.
Pairing – yes, I have NOT paired this fish yet.  The reasons are simple.  #1.  I’m really wanting to let the fish heal as fully as possible from the damage it suffered while I was away at Next Wave and #2. Since next wave I’ve worked every day except one (when I had a big local club event I organized to manage) and I’ve been working on average 14 hours per day.  So no time to tackle any big projects let alone pay close attention to a new pairing.  It will happen.  Maybe as soon as tomorrow.
Have been having some unhappy corals…maybe a bit of bleaching going on, so I took a water test.  The results don’t lend me any help:
pH (Seachem) – 8.2
Total Alkalinity (Seachem) – 4 meq/L
Calcium (Salifert) – 420 ppm
Magnesium (Salifert) – 1230 ppm
Nitrate (Salifert) – undetectable
I’m guessing any nitrates and phosphates are being sucked up by the algae bloom, which has died back a bit.  I also should mention that in an earlier post I may have doubted my Salifert Nitrate test given it is 3 years out of date according to the sticker on the box.  Well, all I can say is that I tested another tank I knew would have high nitrate levels and sure enough, it did…25 ppm.  My take – the kit probably still works just fine.
I owe you guys pictures.  Lots of them.   I owe you updates too.  I’ll let you know I added on a Ecotech Vortech MP10w ES with the Vortech Battery Backup – sold a used MP20 to pay for the MP10 basically – the battery backup, well you can partially thank DFWMAS and Next Wave for that.  They also helped indirectly finance a Neptune Systems Aquacontroller Apex Lite (the majority of that coming from the rest of my birthday funds – thank you wonderfully generous family members!).  The controller is not hooked up yet..I just haven’t had the time and I think I’m going to need a wireless bridge in the long run for what I want to do.  All of these accessory additions are being done not because the Ecoxotic tank needs them (it’s awesome all on it’s own!), but to do what many people have criticized me in the past for not doing – having some “insurance” policies in place for a one of a kind marine fish.  Message heard, investments made.  More on those in future installments.