Tank Entry

Granted you have to plan your method in advance, but once it is set up, you can do a simple task quite easily without even getting your hands wet. The first thing you need to do is install a floor drain.

I turn off the skimmer, return pump, top off, and manifold pump. I also power off the heaters (via the Apex App) to avoid cracking them if they were to attempt to cycle on when exposed to air. The tubing is inserted into a small deflector box to keep the water flowing into the french ...

This month has been very busy for Melev's Reef, and I've been building and shipping orders as quickly as possible. With all of that going on, my reef ran on auto-pilot the entire time. Days would go by where I didn't even clean the glass. Once a week, I'd move the sandbed back where it belongs in one patch that constantly shifts.

Last Friday, the calcium reactor needed to be emptied, cleaned and filled with new media. While removing it from the sump, I snapped off a tiny 1/8" ...

Unlike other aquariums, my fish seem to duck and cover when I get near the tank. I don't really know why since I'm here all the time. When I go to the main tank at the LFS, those fish are right up against the glass and hundreds of people walk past them week after week. For the most part, I try to keep my hands out of the tank and try to leave my livestock alone as much as I can, even though I'm shooting pictures or feeding them often. But if I take down the temporary light shield, they dart into ...

Here are the pictures I promised for today; I almost forgot to take them.

Now that I'm back in town for a few weeks, I'm going to clean out the calcium reactor and refill it. Alkalinity has been dropping and I'm having to dose baked Baking Soda to keep up with demand.

Whenever I have to head out of town, I have to trust all will go well with my reef in my absence. When I walked in the door 30 minutes ago, it was great to see everything looks perfect and all the corals look right.

I had a nice time in Louisiana at Fragniappe this weekend. I visited a couple of fish stores, got to stay with a hobbyist and see his tank, worked the event as a vendor as well as a speaker, and ended my day with a tour of Coralvue's warehouse. My flight home today ...