Time for an update, only where to start?

First of all an update of how the tank looks after a few more rocks went in and the overflow box is installed.

The whole system is now working with sump and return pump etc. All I need to do is fit the light permanently into the hood. (more to that later in the “The Build” page)

Quite a lot of interesting stuff happening with the seaweeds since the new lights but more on that in the next post.

2 bad news: The beautiful nudibranch mysteriously disappeared or at least wasnt seen again, and mysteriously the Blenny had a bit of a swollen belly the day after. Grrrr, I had warned him but I kind of knew this is going to happen so now he had to go back where he came from. They are brilliant creatures and very interactive but just too voracious on smaller critters. Really hope I will get lucky and find a nudibranch again some time. Here a the only pictures I have in his memory…

Everybody else seems very happy. I feed Live artemia approx. every third day to the goose barnacles and whatever gets washed through the sump (which is a lot) is welcomed by the sticklebacks in the Display Tank. The Hermits and Gobies are doing well on cocked frozen mussel. I am now experimenting on marine flakes and pellets to get them a bit more variety.

Some interesting stuff is happening with what must be a fairly big probably Lugworm. It doesnt seem to like my aquascaping and is reshaping the righthandside of the tank. Not sure if this can be seem in the pictures but the dome is about 12cm high and a its forming a 4cm deep hole on the otherside of the rocks. Obviously now some leftover food and broken off seaweed is collecting there on which it probably feeds.

I had the skimmer running a couple of times but I am worried that it removes the artemia or copepods that I am adding and the foam doesnt look very dirty so as long as water values stay good I try not using it.

Really happy with the setup at the moment and glad the bulk work is finished and working so well so far. Now I have more time for actually enjoying it 🙂

Here a few more shots of the the tank and its inhabitants…