First, a loss. Emiril has passed on. He was a good crab and I don't know why he croaked. Could be I didn't have enough algae for him to eat, but to be honest, I'm happy not to have an algae problem.
Then there's the equipment update. I bought an RO/DI off Ebay. It's pretty cheap, and probably isn't that great. I didn't hook it up to my plumbing. Instead I spent ten bucks making a sink adapter. At the end of the day, it's working. I don't have algae and I'm not running to the store every ten minutes to buy ten gallons of distilled water. It was a good investment.
The next equipment project is lighting. I want to replace my 48" PC fixture with a really sweet 36" MH fixture. 48" fixtures just don't fit the 92 corners becuase even at it's longest point, the 92 gallon fixture is way less than 48". There's just one problem: money. I just don't have it. But I may just be able to pull it off. The MH fixture on Craigslist is $150. I posted my current light on Craigslist for $70 and have several people interested. If I can get the full $70, then that knocks me down to $80 out of pocket. The other thing is that if I keep the current fixture, I'm gonna have to buy new bulbs, which would cost $40. So if I can sell my fixture and buy the MH one, I'll really only spend about $40 for a much better fixture that actually fits my tank. I'm really hoping to pull this off. If I do, my set up will be sweeeeet.
In later news, our original four fish (Jaws, Fins, Red, and Blellow) are all doing really well. Fins is still not over his HLLE, but he seems to be getting better slowly.
The corals are okay, but need better lighting. If the PCs that came with the tank needed to be replaced when I bought the set-up, then more than ever now. Greeny is persisting, but one of the reasons I want to get a new light is to make sure he survives. Him and Red make for great entertainment.
Now for the best part: the additions!
We picked up Hippo off Craigslist for $30. Considering that baby 1" Blue tangs are going for $40, picking up a 4" blue tang for this price was a major steal. Blue tangs have always been one of my favorite fish. They are smart, friendly and beautiful. Just an awesome fish.
Blenny 2 I picked up at Living Sea as one of their specials. When I first threw him in the tank, I really didn't think he was gonna make it. Red and Blellow were really going after him. But a week later he's totally comfortable. I guess the others realized that he wasn't much of a threat. He swims all over. (He gets the name Blenny 2 because "Blenny" was our first fish ever, a midas blenny, with the greatest personality of any fish I've ever seen. Blenny perished in the 75 gallon tank crash last year, but his memory lives on in Blenny 2, who is a lot like him.)
Finally, Chromis is what he is: an out of place green fish. I went to Living Sea and bought three Chromis and threw them in the hospital. A week later, two were dead. I was annoyed, but they were cheap. In any case, Chromis is the last of the three stooges left and seems to love the display tank. Hopefully in the future I'll throw in another three chromis and get a good school going!
And now everyone together!
