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I recently had an alkalinity swing creep up on my reef.  Normally I like to keep the tank around 8 dKH, and yesterday I noticed the duncans in my frag tank (part of the same system) were closed up. One bad habit I've developed over the years is to watch the corals for indication of problems instead of water tests each Saturday like I used to perform.  I need to get better about that.  I did a quick check with my Elos Alkalinity test kit and was shocked when it hit 21 dKH.  So I tested again, and it measured 19 dKH.  Safe to assume it was about 20, way too high.

Due to popular request, I'm posting a video that shows the aquariums for a few minutes.

The reef continues to do well. I mentioned on the first what I'd done for the reef. I treated the tank with Phosphate Rx to knock down PO4, and have pretty much only kept up with wiping the glass down every couple of days. The CO2 tank ran dry so last Friday I refilled it at the liquor store, which maintains the lower pH in the calcium reactor around the clock. I'm keeping that level at 7.0 to dissolve the media gradually. 

Over the last couple of months, I've been busy with work and physical therapy to strengthen muscles in my back that are meant to work with my neck. The surgery corrected one area, but lots of exercises and frequent walks are helping improve and loosen up my neck and upper back muscles. I'm constantly having to remind myself about my posture, most importantly at my computer. (Don't slouch, you'll regret it later!)

This month's club meeting included a visit from Dave Botwin who did a really nice presentation about how to use inexpensive parts to make your Apex controller more handy. I had to pick him up from the airport and after he was done gazing at my tank, we talked about what kinds of things I'd like my Apex to do that it doesn't do already. The first hurdle was overcoming my trust issues regarding the return pump.  I've always had that plugged directly into the a wall outlet so nothing could disable it other than a full-blown power outage.  No GFCI outlets, just keep it powered at all costs.

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I just got back from a trip to California and was happy to see my reef alive and thriving.  Here's a quick video of some of the fish and corals from today.

When I hear about a new pest, I'm always curious to learn more.  Here's a thread about a spider (Pycnogonid) that actually eats acropora tissue.  

http://www.3reef.com/threads/sps-nightmare-pycnogonids.155311/