So after the algae bloom subsided it became clear that I needed some snails. I've always favored Astraea snails and was lucky to find some at my local livestock purveyor, Fin and Feather in Eureka, CA. I also picked up a mini-clump of zooanthids and a mini-mushroom rock. It took the two Astraeas about a week to polish up the glass, filter tube, and heater.
My choice of base-rock added some proverbial cheese; the decision was based on convenience more than anything. CarribSea Glow Rock was used, which is calcareous and reef-safe......and glows. I don't know if my camera can capture a good shot of the rock glowing. I may need to enlist a friend's DLSR to do it justice; look for it in an upcoming post. It actually looks cool, in a nuclear sort of way.
Water parameters remain stable: no measurable nitrate, nitrite, or phosphate. ph 8.1, calcium 300ppm+. I have yet to do a water change. The tank still has the original 15-inch fluorescent tube and getting roughly 17 hours of light a day. Sooner or later I will need to decide if I'm going to go the LED route or stick with an off the shelf min-T5 unit, when I upgrade the lighting. A Hagen rep. I spoke with a couple days ago said he was hoping they would be coming out with an LED kit soon. In any case I'm in no hurry.
I've started adding PurpleUp everyday and the coralline algae is starting to grow rapidly (for coralline algae, which is slower than grass IMHO).
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