Update
1st, I put in the DOS based AWC system. There's another thread here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a-week-in-with-a-neptune-dos-pump.518447/
That discusses it in detail, but IMHO, AWC's may be the best new thing to come along in reefing in many years. Check 'em out.
So... because of the AWC system, I've disabled my dosing system. Just don't need it. I'll wait and see, as corals grow in, I may need it again, but for now, I just shut it off. I've also left my GAC reactor off. Used to need it periodically, don't anymore.
ATO system: I had a Tunze. Nice system, I'd highly recommend it, but I've had some issues. DIY Auto Fill system on my ATO Reservoir was causing me problems, so I bought the Tunze Solenoid, and went direct to my RO/DI system, eliminating the reservoir and the auto fill system. Problem is, my well output is low, and depending on what other people are doing around the house, sometimes it's WAY slow. This caused the Tunze system to timeout, waiting to fill, if someone was in the shower, or if we were adding water to the hot tub, whatever. When it times out, it disables itself... and because I can't hear the alarm in the closet, I won't know about it until the return pump starts sucking air.
So... I went old school. Put a float valve in my sump, ran that to my RO/DI system, and put an alarm on the high level sensor in my sump. So... WHEN the float valve fails, and yeah, it will... I'll get an email alarm saying that the sump is high. Since I work at home, and am rarely elsewhere, I figure that's 'good enough'. I was going to put a solinoid into this as well... and still might, but I've not had much luck with them for long term reliability.
On to the big one: Bubble Algae.
Over several weeks last fall, I was slowly increasing intensity and duration of my refugeum lighting (still running the Zetlight E200S), while at the same time, decreasing lighting in my display. Currently, I'm running 15 hours at 100% in my ref, and my tank lighting is never more than 4 bulbs at a time, mostly blue for 2 hours, mostly white for 4 hours, with a total 'day' of only 6 hours.
Corals are tolerating the short day well. My hammer never looked so good, zoanthids, palys, softies... all are doing very well. The only real SPS I have, some monti caps, are not doing so well at this short day, but those are free frags from a friend, and there's lots more where it came from. If I need to, I'll re-start the colony after I've increased the photo period.
Anyway, my bubble algae coverage, I once would have estimated 75% coverage of exposed rock throughout the tank, is COMPLETELY GONE on one of the two 'islands' of rock, and somewhere around 30% left on the 2nd island. What is there is not healthy looking, some of it even going transparent. My ref, on the other hand, is growing very well. I've not had to actually harvest any macro algae yet, but I've gone from a 5" ball of chaeto to half of my 12 x 12 x 28" ref full. Oh, and the C. Mexicana that I thought I'd eradicated has come back... several healthy looking fronds of it growing through the chaeto ball.
In short... I'M WINNING this battle. Never had any doubt... well, almost
Once I've eliminated the bubble algae, I'll start lengthening the tank photo period SLOWLY. Then, perhaps, I'll put a few monitporas back in, and probably get back into some clams
