Here are a few updates from the past week:

I switched the light bulb (above) over my refugium with this bulb (below) that I found at Home Depot for $10. The benefit is the bulb is sealed and easy to clean. It is 5100K (very yellow compared to 6500K), but I was able to remove the metal reflector I had been using. So far, the macro algae has continued growing as before.

All three tanks had a water change today. I'd not tested the water in the tanks since Dec 25, but was happy to see all the results were very very close to my goal range. Salinity was slightly up in both reef tanks, but the water changes brought those back down to 1.026 again.

Seven days ago, I started growing rotifers. Rotifers are very small live food that can be fed to corals, or to newborn fish or shrimp. I wanted to try growing them and after a week, I've got a bottle that is full of tiny specks (like dust) eagerly consuming phytoplankton (their food). I'll be putting a webpage about them for those curious in trying to learn more about them.

The Orange Mandarin has faded in color, and looks relatively tattered. The Green one continues to chase it, and I just don't know if they will get along. I incorrectly stated previously that the flatworms were gone. I found more again, though not enough to be worried. Maybe 100 were visible.

All the SPS corals in the 55g have really exploded with growth recently. It took a while, but each frag has begun to branch out smaller branches at mulitple locations, which is always exciting to me.

After reading how other people name their fish, I've begun to name some of mine.

In the 29g reef:

Small clownfish - Kid

Large Percula - Kiko

Longnose Hawkfish - Parker

Flame Angel - Phoenix

White Bellied Yellow Wrasse - Chiquita

Blue Mandarin - Mandrake

Blue Damsel -

In the 55g reef:

Six Line Wrasse - Spike

Blue Hippo - 

Blue Damsel - Digger

Royal Gramma - 

Coral Beauty - Violet

Green Target - 

Orange Target - Dax

Smaller Clown - 

Larger Clown -

I'm still working on the names. :)

Both pH Pinpoint Monitors were recalibrated. I accidentally dropped my glass hydrometer today, after 6 long years of being careful. I'd say I got my money's worth out of it.

The sump under my 29g was made out of 1/8" acrylic and has lasted 1.5 years. I made a new sump this weekend to replace it, and made a few modifications to make it work better than the last. The new one is made of 1/4" material, and had a intake chamber with a lid, to avoid salt spray. It'll be installed in the next couple of days.