Update
Lots of updates, though the tank probably doesn't look that different.
I thought I knew a decent amount about saltwater tanks until I started encountering alot of pitfalls people have. Since the thread started I've had a massive cyano outbreak, phosphates skyrocketed, cleanup crew dieoff, and just general frustration and learning. It's been very rewarding so far.
The tank has been heaterless...so I got online and ordered two eheim jager 300 watt heaters and one 75 watt version (for the quarantine tank when that gets used). I keep one 300 watt in the refugium, and the 75 watt in the sump along with the skimmer, refugium pumps, return pump, GFO media bag, and a cycled sponge filter. I wanted to put both heaters in the sump, but the 300 watt is just too large. It fits in the refugium, and while the flow going through there is a little slow, it's better than putting it in the display tank as far as I'm concerned. If it becomes an issue, I'll move it if necessary. The house ambient temperature is about 75 degrees, and with the pumps, the tank is about 79 during light hours, and probably down to 76 during night time. I am hoping the heaters will keep it at 79 degrees 24/7.
I used the second 300 watt heater to replace the heater in my 75 gallon planted tank.
That update was done today actually.
Like I said, phosphates and cyano became an issue. I suspect this was from stirring up the sandbed in the move and not rinsing it. I've started running a GFO media bag in one of the sump baffles so it gets decently high flow. It has seemed to help. It's not as efficient as a phosphate reactor, but it has lowered them substantially to where the liquid test reads zero. After learning, I realize liquid tests are useless in saltwater tanks because they don't test for the range you're looking at, but results don't lie, and the cyano is all but gone.
I did two months of weekly water changes of 15 gallons, switching to Reef Crystals salt. That has helped maintain calcium at 420 and alkalinity at 9 dkh. I also aquired a spectrapure csdi 60 unit with all new filters. So with a combination of switching to RODI water, weekly changes, higher quality salt and GFO my water quality has improved substantially since I got the tank, and the corals are recovering. The brain coral is less bleached and you can see from the picture is getting some of its purple color back. The hairy mushroom still isnt doing so hot, but still lives so hopefully it will bounce back. My watermelon and dragon's eye zoas are healthy looking but havent been reproducing. Hopefully that will come soon.
I'm growing alot of macroalgae in the main tank as you can see. It was on the rock which I love and seems to grow pretty well
I've added some hermit crabs and a couple turbo snails to cut down on the biofilm since it is unsightly. I removed ALL mechanical filtration from the tank. Some people swear by sponges and filter socks, but i didnt want to be bleaching and replacing them on a daily basis, and I've seen enough convincing evidence that if you run your skimmer well, and maintain water quality, you dont need socks and sponges. I haven't noticed any negative effects from doing this, and it is less maintenance. I have actually noticed more pod growth in the refugium and my rock flower anemone appears to be looking fuller. I am really aiming for the tank to be fairly self sustaining, and to get down to one monthly water change, feedings, and top offs only. No dosing or other maintenance. So far so good. Anyway. Here are some pics!
Sorry, even with a dslr camera, my photog skills are aweful, but you get the idea. this camera at least captures the color more accurately. The actinics freak out my phone's camera and it all looks like blacklight pics.