Howdy! It's been a little later than 3 months since the tank has gotten wet! Sorry in advance for the lack of pictures, It's 1am and I'll add some tomorrow. I'll be honest, it's got quite a bit of algae because of some personal life neglect.
So far, I can't think of any complaints! sometimes I do find the adjustment dial for the drain to be a little finicky, mostly due to my own error. Fine adjustments are the key here, I find making 1/8 turn increments and then dialing it in from there to work the best. I can see the advantages this design has over the gen 1 "notched" dial.
Additions include a gallon of BRS "biospheres", I didn't realize this would be a floating media. I also purchased 3 extra of the mesh filter socks that are included with the tank. I found the media cup to clog a bit too easily when I was running my old leftover media floss from my AIO 30 gallon.
Future plans are to add the following: Reefwave 45, Apex A3 Pro, and Neptune Sky LED, in that order.
The Reefwave45 makes sense to add to my existing red sea ecosystem. I plan on getting the new rollermat eventually, but it's always out of stock. One day! Anyways, this pump would replace the Nero 5 on that side, the Nero 5 would get a nice scrub and cleaning, then get moved to the opposite wall, which is open to the living room.
I've been eyeing a new aquarium controller for some time now, but I figured with the age of Neptune's model, they would have to announce something soon. The A3 lineup is the latest offering, and it seems that this is the update I was looking for. I appreciate the matte finish on the controller. I mostly want this to tie into my "smart apartment", I've been playing with running an unRAID media server as well as a full network overhaul with ubiquiti equipment.
Lastly, the light. I'm in no rush for this, as my tank is FOWLR and I'm having mega issues with hair algae currently. I plan on adding corals whenever I move this tank to a house (hah yeah right). Until then, I'd prefer to keep it FOWLR for two reasons: To make the eventual move easier, and because...
NEW LIVESTOCK!
Nothing too crazy here, the last update was with the wrasse and dwarf angel additions. Today, I just added 3 emerald crabs (See, FOWLR!), a royal gramma, and a pistol shrimp. Unfortunately, no goby friend for him yet. The store did have a yellow line goby, but as far as I'm aware, they aren't symbiotic with pistol shrimp. I think the tank is close to capacity for what I want, a medium bioload. Currently the list sits at:
Fish:
2x Clowns
1x Bimaculatus Blenny
1x Lawnmower Blenny
1x Carpenters Fairy Wrasse (Got the wrong name in previous post, my bad!)
1x Coral Beauty Dwarf Angelfish
1x Royal Gramma
Inverts:
1x Tiger Pistol Shrimp
1x Cleaner Shrimp
3x Emerald Crab
5ish Nassarius Snails
5ish Trochus Snails
I plan to add a Yellow watchman in the future for the pistol shrimp, and at the same time some more snails. I was considering an urchin, but now with the emerald crabs I will have to look into compatibility.
This tank has been an amazing "big step" into the hobby. Being 3 months deep in my first big tank, coming from a 12.5 evo then a 30 long, I really appreciate the extra space a sump provides for equipment. Sure, the AIO's are easy, but the plumbing is easier than ikea. Can't wait to watch this tank slowly mature, and then cry when I have to move it.
:')
