Overall, things are going pretty well. Have been taking my time with livestock, currently have a couple of Banggai, Royal Gramma, and most recently a Midas blenny (who claimed a perch next to the autofeeder), Yasha goby, and I thought I’d give a Court Jester Goby a shot, he is a mesmerizing fish to watch. I also got an absolutely tiny pistol shrimp, he and the Yasha goby entered the rock work within 6 inches of each other, but no sign of the shrimp at all. Wondering if he didn’t make it.
All the fish have been sourced from a local business, Dr Reef’s quarantined fish! All fish have arrived healthy, no losses. Got a gift card from the wife for Dr Reef’s, so my next order will be from them as well.
Corals and CUC have been sourced from my LFS. A couple hammers, the 2 acans, and a ricordea Florida.
I have a ton of pods, some from LFS and lots more from
@Dinkins Aquatic Gardens along with their phyto. The uglies thus far have been kept to a minimum. For now I’ll attribute that to establishing a lot of pods right at the end of the cycle, and the fact that I’ve managed to keep the nutrients from bottoming out.
I think the next thing for the tank is going to be a CO2 scrubber. Can’t get pH above 7.8.
Also ordered a lid from TopLids, should be done in the next couple weeks if their estimate was correct.
In terms of fish, I’m thinking about a couple of wrasses, but honestly overwhelmed with all the choices. Wife and kids say the water column needs more fish moving through it, which to me sounds like wrasses and maybe a single tang. Not sure yet. Been waiting on more algae to pull the tang trigger honestly.