[Dudester]

Marty - I really like the Powermodule. One problem I had was that some salt creep literally glued the acrylic shield in place, and I had to pound it out to remove it. Lesson learned, I'll just have to slide the shield in and out a few inches every couple of weeks to prevent this from recurring. Also, one of the ballasts went bad, but I received a replacement in the mail. I'm hoping to have time to switch it out this weekend. I really like the flexibility of being able to change lamps around to suit my color preference and the needs of the corals. I actually just received 2 new lamps, another ATI blue plus and a KZ Fiji purple. When I change the ballast I'll try out these new lamps, which will hopefully provide a better spectrum for my corals, and a better appearance for my eye.

Chris - Yeah, I don't think a lot of bananas make their way into the ocean either, but fish seem to love it.


Today I made a 2 lb. batch of food. First I went to Kingfish and picked up:

Brightwell Aquatics Vitamarin-M, 250 ml
Brightwell Aquatics Vitamarin-C, 250 ml
Brightwell Aquatics Fish Amino Acids, 250 ml
Selcon, 60 ml
PE mysis, 1 pack
H2O Life Cyclops, 1 pack
H2O Life Mini Mysis, 1 pack
H2O Life Fish and Reef #2
H2O Life Brown Algae

At the grocery store I picked up:
1 lb. fresh shrimp
1/2 lb. fresh scallops
1/4 lb. fresh squid with tentacles
10 live clams

I then pulled out some Cyclop-Eeze, Kent Garlic X-treme and some green algae (nori) that I already had at home. All of the fresh ingredients were kept very cold. I rinsed the PE mysis in some RO water, but nothing else was rinsed.

I split the above ingredients into 2 batches. The liquid additives were poured into the processor, then the fresh seafood and algae sheets were added. These were permitted to soak for about 5 minutes so that the seafood and nori would absorb the vitamins and aminos. I then added the frozen bits and about 10 droppers full of Garlic X-treme before grinding up the gruel. The contents were poured into ziploc bags and flat frozen immediately. I intended to add banana to the mix as well, but I didn't have any at home and by the time I realized it, I was already committed. Let's hope the charges appreciate their upcoming meals!

I've also begun adding some additional ZEOvit supplements. Included are B-Balance, Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, Amino Acid High Concentrate, and perhaps the most exciting product of them all, Sponge Power. I'm also adding a little iodide (Lugol's) to the tank, albeit very sparingly, to hopefully help with coral coloration. I really need to take some pics.