SuncrestReef

I just did my first test with ICP-Analysis last week.  I used a USPS Priority flat rate envelope which cost $6.70 and they received it 2 days later.  I was surprised ICP didn't send me any email notification that they received it, or when the test results were ready.  I had to keep logging in to their website to check for results, and for a couple days their site was offline with "Internal Server Error".  I eventually got logged back in and found my results:

On their site they allow you to compare each element against samples from Fiji, Hawaii, St. Thomas, and Florida.

It's odd that they say my Silver is low, even though it's listed at 0ppm at all four of the reference locations.

Here's the full report with comparison to Fiji: ICP-Analysis.pdf

I added a nice Alveopora today:

I ended up renting a small Honda 2000 generator from Home Depot.  Before leaving for my meeting, I connected my Apex EB832 and the other power strip in my Reefer cabinet to the generator.  I also added a portable fan to an unused outlet on my EB832 and programmed it to turn on if the water temperature went above 78.5.  While at work I was able to check in on Fusion from my phone to keep tabs on everything.  The actual outage ended up being less than one hour, and after work I reconnected everything as normal.   It all worked out fine.

Looking forward to my whole-house standby generator installation in September!

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice.

1 hour ago, lewisriverfisherman said:

Your aquascape is really nice!

Thanks!  For the first couple of months the rock work was all I had to look at, so I'm glad I put some effort into it.  Now I'm just enjoying filling in all the empty space with new corals!

Here's a quick video of my display tank.  This is a Reefer XL 425, about 3 months old.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas.  It's funny, I just ordered a whole-house standby generator last week but it won't be installed for another 8 weeks.  In the meantime, I'm planning to rent a portable generator from Home Depot for the day and just start it up before I head out to my meeting on Monday morning.  I'll only run my powerheads, return pump, skimmer, and Apex for ATO.  I'll turn off the lights and UV sterilizer to help keep the water cooler.  I'll also run a fan.

Unfortunately I have a board meeting on Monday that I can't miss, so I won't be home to monitor the temperature or add a frozen bottle if needed.

Great selection today!  This was my favorite of the ones I took home:

PGE is doing a lot of work in my neighborhood to replace power poles and wires.  Today I received a notice in the mail that they will be shutting off the power to my neighborhood next Monday for up to 4 hours, sometime between 8am - 3pm.  They can't give an exact time.  Monday's weather forecast is for 93 degrees, so I'm concerned that my tank will heat up quickly without the air conditioning working in the house, plus I won't have any flow in the tank once my UPS runs out of backup power after about 20 minutes.  

I'm pretty new to the hobby, my tank is only 3 months old, so I'm not sure how much to worry about this.  Will 4 hours without power be a major risk, or no problem?  I have a Reefer XL 425 with only 6 fish, 2 shrimp, 14 corals, 1 anemone, and a cleanup crew.  I can turn off the LED lights, UV sterilizer, and refugium pump to conserve power so the UPS might last a little longer, but I still don't think it will run more than 20 - 30 minutes on UPS power.

Any suggestions?

I picked up a few more corals today at @CuttleFishandCoral:

33 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

 They're essentially blind, thus the literal 'watchman' name on the goby.  I don't sweat it because they'll eventually have a network of solid tunnels you can work around.  Just move the coral for them for now, it gets better.  Well, until your tiger hits full size and turns into a shrimp sized excavator! 

The funny thing is that frag got knocked off a rock overnight by a snail, then the shrimp dragged it about 3 inches to the burrow before beginning to bury it.  Teamwork!

The goby is trying to act innocent, but we all know it saw everything...

My pistol shrimp made a new burrow at the front of the tank so I can see the pair better now!  I also caught him red-clawed burying one of my frags:

I picked up a couple more beautiful corals from @CuttleFishandCoral.

Cyphastrea:

ORA Kelly Green Psammocora:

Today I picked up a beautiful bubble tip anemone from @CuttleFishandCoral.  In preparation I was sure to add protective covers to my WAV and Gyre powerheads to avoid any accidents.  For the WAV I used a foam cover designed for a MP40, but it fits fine.  For the Gyre FX230 I ordered mesh covers from CoralVue.  Since you need to actually disassemble the Gyre to be able to install the cover, you definitely don't want a foam version because they would get clogged within a day or two, so it would be a pain to change them frequently.

I placed the anemone on a prominent rock near the front of the tank and so far it seems happy with that spot.  The clowns have looked at it a couple times, but haven't tried going in yet.  Hopefully they will figure out that this should be their new home...

Last week I picked up a pistol shrimp and a goby at @CuttleFishandCoral.  They chose a rock towards the back of my tank to call home so it's not easy to see them, but I did manage to get a good video looking from the top down.  

Thanks everyone!

Here are a few more photos:

3 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

Very nice.  Why is your top-off reservoir purple?  

I converted the ATO reservoir into a refugium to grow Cheato.  The purple color is from the LED grow light.  For ATO I'm using the Neptune ATK and drawing RO/DI water from my mixing station storage tank in the garage.  I have 1/4" tubing running through the wall from my display tank to the garage for both ATO and automatic water changes.

I'm new to the reefing hobby and new to this forum.  I've been posting since February at Reef2Reef to document my Reefer XL 425 build, but just recently discovered this local forum.  I live in Beaverton.

My tank has been operational for just over 6 weeks now.  Here's my current list of livestock:

• 2 Onyx Clownfish
• 2 Blue Chromis
• 1 Tailspot Blenny
• 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
• 1 Pistol Shrimp
• 1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
• 5 Tiger Sand Conchs
• 30 assorted snails
• 10 hermit crabs

Corals:

• Rainbow Stylophora
• Green Slimer
• Candy Cane
• Hammer
• Duncan
• Zoanthids
• Montipora

I want to thank the guys over at @CuttleFishandCoral for their help in choosing my livestock. 😊