Demm's 20G Long

[Demm]

So i had the urge to order a refractometer last week for some reason. Ive always used a hydrometer. People always say that it's alot more accurate then a hydrometer. I'm always like yea yea my hydrometer works fine. So when i got it in i tested my water with the hydrometer and it said 1.022. I tested it with the refractometer.....1.038. No wonder stuff was dying! i couldnt believe the difference. i did a couple water changes over the course of several days and brought the level down to 1.024. Most of the corals were not very happy about the high salt levels. Now that i adjusted it, some of them look like they are starting to recover, but time will tell. The coco did loose it's crown, but it's growing a new one now. It's still very responsive when it senses danger, so i take that as a good thing. I did also take 90% of the chaeto out. I have a clump in my aquaclear filter, thinking about getting a bigger aquaclear to hold more. None of it is in my tank anymore

On the other hand, i did get a little damsel to see how it would fare. The damsel is showing new symptoms that the clowns didnt show. It is swimming around with it's mouth open, and it does have a spot or two now on it. Ive narrowed down the parasite that i have to marine oodinium. I was reading on it earlier today and the symptoms of it are exactly what the damel and the clowns show. I found a couple medications that were reef safe that'll cure it apperently. One of them being reef herbtana, and the other being stop parasite. But i dont think i feel comfortable dosing that in the tank with the inverts and corals in there. They also said that a UV Sterilizer would help. So i might get one of those. But for sure if the damsel doesnt make it then i will just sit fishless for a month or two, which is what i was doing before.

Anyways, with that being said i did redo my aquascape. It's alot more simple now, and i think it looks alot better then before.

Front View:

Side View:

 

[Demm]

update:

All those little specs on the glass you see are all copepods. I seem to have a TON of them.

Green Birds nest didnt do to well with that high salt level. As soon as i corrected the water perameters it started to do alot better. It looks ugly but it's been doing great. The polyps are coming out everyday and it's a night bright green color. I'm just waiting for it to encrust all the way again

 

[didz04]

Your scaping looks much better than before and the simpler the better.

 

[Demm]

Found a hiding spot:

I pick your back and you suck mine?

 

[Demm]

Here's another update. Things are coming along slowly, but surely. Havent had any real big losses or anything. One of my lightbulbs went out, which caused the otherone to stop working as well. so basically i was going with only 2 actinics for about 2 weeks, and never even noticed since i'm not home when the daylights come on. I noticed it on the weekend, and the realization hit me lol. My blue digi seems to have started dying. Not sure if it's from the light, or something else. But it seems to be doing fine now. I also got another clownfish (they only had one, so i'll be getting another shortly), and a blood shrimp, and bangai cardinal.

Blenny:

Favia

Yellow Polyps

Clown (they say it's a percula, but looks more like an ocellaris to me)

Purple/Green cap (sides are supposed to be purple, but it was dying in the other guys tank, so i got it for free)

Green stars (which are starting to spread like wildfire)

Birds Nest - still trying to make a comeback:

zaos

Mushrooms (think they are watermelon ones)

Cardinal

Kenya tree

Frogspawn:

bloodshrimp

digi

crab

full tank

 

[Demm]

Here are some "progression" shots:

Full Tank:

Frogspawn:

Green Stars:

Kenya Tree:

Digi:

Favia:

Mushrooms: