Ultralith Begins

So I did get around to starting Ultralith on July 30. Been running it a couple weeks now, not really anything to report. Sometimes I see clearer water, sometimes I think its all in my head. Its a pretty slow acting system so I really don't expect to see any changes until at least 6 weeks in.  The system is relatively simple but whoever wrote their instruction manual needs a good talking to, it constantly contradicts itself and is poorly organized.  I never really know if I'm doing it properly, for all I know it could be a truly fabulous system but I'm not doing it right (I wasn't last time and didn't figure it out until 4 weeks in, but there was no instruction manual back then).

Some things are coloring up after the vacation brownout, others are really resistant including my purple cross and tropical paradise. Both remain unsightly shades of brown and shadows of their former selves.  Some of the yellows are still a bit on the dark side but are returning to vibrancy. Its funny how some corals are so affected while others are just as lovely as they were before I left. Oh well, gives me something to do I guess. It would be boring if it were all perfection all the time :p

I got a couple new fish, one of the stores down south got a fish order in and posted the list online. Lo and behold they had gotten in orange spotted blennies!!! I was going down there anyways but um, wheeeee!!!! I got the orange spotted blenny and a linear blenny (Ecsenius lineatus) which had some crazy European name like Klausewitz's blenny or something. Never heard of that before.  There is potential that he might nip at the bases of SPS but I have lots so hopefully he doesn't do much damage (LOL, no doubt in 6 months I'll be referring to this post).

After the introduction of the second nori feeder I noticed that the powder blue tang has started to eat mysis as well as nori and now has quite the voracious appetite for it.  I can see him looking healthier (read: fatter) and the ick is slowly disappearing. However it still has a stronghold on the lavender tang which has quite a number of spots on his back end (but he is developing a double chin, he's quite portly). He's a bit more timid (although who would have thought, he gave every new fish the gears) so I would imagine it might take some time for it to be completely eliminated on the lavender.

In other news, the orange shoulder tang is growing like a weed. Seriously I don't think I've ever seen such a fast growing fish, he and the lavender were the same size when I got them, the orange shoulder is now about 1.5x the size of the lavender (who has probably put on a good inch or so).  I can see him challenging the regal for pig of the tank. Both of them are like hoovers at feeding time, they just can't seem to get enough.

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I lost a pyjama cardinal while on vacation. I'm not overly surprised, they were incredibly timid and I think the flow in my tank was a bit of a shock to them. I did turn one of my powerheads down and turned off two others but none of them were eating overly well and it likely wasn't the greatest timing in my purchasing them. Anyway, the other two are much less timid now and are all over the tank, sometimes at opposite ends of each other, sometimes they "find" each other and hang out for awhile. I hope they don't end up being two males or something.

My little ricordea forest is coming along nicely, I guess with the extra nutrients in the tank while I was away everything grew in together and it really looks quite fabulous. I think I might try to get a couple blue ricordeas in there too.

And a few more gratuitous pictures just because they turned out half decent ;)