bvhtaz

@YHSublime wondering what you mean by, “peninsula style” and thank you in advance ?

I figured it out: operator error! 1-dead snail on a caulustrea causing tissue loss; 2-kessil left on 48 hours at ~15%; 3-bio media > 500 days old; and 4-not enough algae in the tank Solutions: 1-Leave the timers,set up alone; 2-inspect tank every day for detritus & such;I 3-replace eheim pro with marine pure ceramic biomedia; 4-increase algae (nori) feelings for invertebrates. Additionally, I have decided at least for the next phase of the tank, to focus on soft corals and a few LPS while I get the GHA under control and reach a new homeostasis.

I like the idea of working on the GHA and picking a theme. Sthsolomon, what do you mean "since I have a Kessil?" I don't understand the inference. Thanks for the ideas on things to focus on. Great list. I really like/Love coral, especially LPS like Acans.

Oh wow, do I feel guilty! Sheesh, I thought the urchin was great and noticed that it ate all my coralline. Ah that makes sense, it was mowing down algae and now there isn't anything doing that every day except snails. So, if I do more research is there a chance I could find a feeding regimen that would enable a healthy environment formN urchin? It has me bummed that it died. I think I am trying to come up with what to focus on in the tank. There is plenty going on- now I get to battle a teeny bit of GHA, water testing every week, and trying to find the right balance of coral in the tank. Would it be better to focus on the wiping out GHA and learn whether I could keep another urchin alive? What do you focus on after the first year?

Yes :(

Nitrates .04 (Red Sea test kit) Phos unk I am running carbon and GFO. The way I have the canister it acts like a reactor. I was feeding very little directly to the urchin. I noticed he DEVOURED the coralline and would scarf up an dried sea weed I put in the tank though I admit that was infrequent.

506+ day funk - not 506+ day funk - not LARS I have an25 gallon mixed reef cube that is 18 inches x 3 with a Kessil 360w, 75 watt heater, 680~ gph Koralia (250 and 400 something) with a canister filter that has been up over 500 days. Parameters ======== 80 degrees 1.026 SG 9.2 alk 420 calcium 1380 magnesium Livestock ======= Royal gramma Bengai Cardinal 6 line wrasse Coral ==== Mushrooms Zoas, palys Toadstool Fingerleather Frogspawn, hammer Duncan Acans RFA Monti Cyphastrea Blue ridge Various snails Brittle stars Routine ====== Feed ROE, 1/4 cube frozen, oyster feast daily Check temp & salinity daily Scrape glass at least every other day Test water parameters every week 20% water change every week Clean canister EVERY week Change carbon & GFO every month I know, I know. So, most folks run a sump. This is my first foray into an aquarium. I read contentious aquarist and a lot of online material before I set up. I didn't do that because I didn't want the hassle or extra equipment. Also, I didn't understand the whole idea of nutrient export and tank volume. In the past month, my short spines urchin started losing his needles and I have noticed GHA. I LOVED my urchin just because he was unstoppable. Now I am in a bit of a funk and could use some advice about how to not fall into Lazy A** Reefer Syndrome and how to not get into a funk while caring for a tank. Maybe it's time I ran into an issue like GHA. I didn't have any issues setting up http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/351554-taz-25-gallon-rimless-cube/ Thanks, in advance :D