11 weeks young

So we have been up and running for 11 weeks now. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but for the most, the tank has been going well. There was the little issue of a dead cleaner shrimp and the goby that wanted to commit suicide, but he is alive and happy now.

I am still struggling with algae and seem to be going through a nitrate explosion at the moment. I am not sure what the problem is but am trying to do mass water changes (3 x 25l changes in 5 days) as well as using some chemicals ( Red Sea's NO3 and PO3 remover). Before the water changes, my nitrates measured at a whopping 50ppm, but the ammonia and Nitrites were zero. Before the latest 25l change, the nitrates came down to 20, but still way to high. My phosphates were on the high side, but that is expected as i never used any phosphate remover from the start. They are gradually coming down. All this explains my algae bloom.

We also seem to have an unhappy tang. Le-Mon has a few red blotches on his skin. I am not exactly sure what has caused this - some forums say it could be ph issues, others a disease. My ph is fine and i have treated for general diseases, but the blotches are still there. They haven't got worse, but they haven't improved either :(

We do have 2 new additions. A royal gamma and a cherub angel which i got for Father's Day. They both seem to have found their place in the tank and doing well. These are the last of my purchases as i believe i may be at my limit. The angel is really pretty and is a very active swimmer, something i like in fish. The gamma is a contender for the hide and go seek championship - the mrs and I have spent a few hours searching for him in the evening. You wouldn't believe where we have found him some times!