Reef Blog

I recently purchased some new ballasts and bulbs for the 400g.  I've been observing the livestock and debated whether to change the current configuration to only 250w bulbs or to upgrade all the way across to 400w bulbs.  For the past 10 years, I've been running 250w - 400w - 250w bulbs because the center bulb was always a 20,000K bulb and the outer bulbs were 10,000K. This worked nicely, and it looked like the sun was shining down in the center.  PAR was equalized since the bluer bulb's lesser intensity was punched up with the additional watts.

Thomas Brown did a nice compilation of the interviews at RAP-Orlando, and my interview is interspersed within several segments of the episode.  I made it a point to mess with him the entire time, so it would be fun.  If you didn't get to attend, here's some of what you missed. http://youtu.be/ovDQO1lPK9Y

On the six month anniversary of the livestock in their new homes, I shot an iPhone video for you.

For the past two weekends, a big Melev's Reef booth was set up to tell others about the new site, the new products available for purchase, and to meet and greet with fellow reef enthusiasts. Logistically, getting a booth set up in time before the doors open can be challenging but it is always rewarding.

"When I'm just not feeling all that great about my tank, it's always nice to take some time to enjoy it from above. Stopping the pumps and gazing down or using a Top Down Photo Box to give me crystal clear access to look at each coral gives me a whole new appreciation for the life growing in my closed eco-system, which helps spur me on for another duration. This reef setup is only 5.5 months old... so much more to come."

So I updated the website to the latest software, following the instructions to a T.  And it broke the site.  I should have saved a screenshot. 

One coral in my reef turned very pale. And oddly enough, that same exact species is in two other locations and did the exact same thing. It's very light, after shedding its zooxanthellae for whatever reason. I dont know why it did it, and I'll have to see if it survives.

It took me about two years to redesign melevsreef.com, my main website that I've cared for since roughly 2002. It has helped countless people over the years, and during my travels people come up to me often thanking me for said information provided assisted them in their reefkeeping. In early 2012, I began building a new version to replace the aged website -- using a database-driven CMS (content management system) instead of HTML-code that I was so very familiar with. 

The tank is running very smoothly, and is oblivious to the weather outside.  It's been icy cold, and then a few days later in the 80s.  They call this winter, but it doesn't feel like it to me. Here are a few pictures from February.

The 400g has been running with livestock for almost two months now.  I need to do better about updating this blog section (I've been blogging about my tank on Reef Addicts since 2010), so I'll endeavor to get those updates made here as well. Here are a few pictures taken today.

This A. millepora was purchased last month.  It's not very hairy during the daytime although I haven't seen any fish bothering it.