Well, with those last issues out of the way it was time to start stocking the system. but just to take a quick step backwards. What surprised me most though was just how quick the live rock was to colonise over the first 6-12  months. The following images show how the tank and corals progressed over that period.

1 week after initial seeding.                                                                   2 weeks after initial seeding.

You will notice in the images above that the rock initially takes on a bloom of brown diatoms that clear quickly within a short period of around a week or so as available silicates are used up. This was then followed by a very short bout of Cyanobacteria in small patches that was no doubt feeding on the nutrients imported with the live rock rubble. Although the sand bed was also seeded, no signs of Cyanobacteria became evident at any stage with this 2" deep shallow sand bed. and to date it has remained totally clear. One of the benefits of starting a  system such as this off with completely sterile rock and RO/DI salted water, is that there are virtually no nutrients available to start off problem algae blooms. Those introduced with the live rock rubble and sand samples are quickly used up by any algae that do grow and the bacterial populations that expand to fill the available space. Even when the initial algae blooms die out due to running out of available nutrients, they release what they have bound up, back into the water column to fuel further bacterial growth. So with some very light feeding to encourage larger micro fauna such as copepods and bristle worms etc that will help form the basis of the critter population, it is possible to both encourage further diversity and bacterial filtration capacity, whilst at the same time keeping free nutrients at a low enough level that most problem algae are avoided.

2 months after initial seeding.                                                       12 Months after initial seeding.

As you can see from these two images, Once the initial algal populations had run their course and a bio film had developed across the rock, Coralline algae was quick to establish itself. as were larger and larger populations of micro fauna from small calcareous tube worms to stommatella's, Dove snails (Initially imported from a friends tank as 10 or so breeding adults, which within 6 months turned into hundreds of babies) bristle worms, a thriving population of thread worms in the sand bed mixed with other boring worms and a whole host of crustaceans.

What should be noted here is that to get such results, It is important to feed the system a good mix of small particulate foods of which one of my favourites is frozen rotifers. Literally from the day of first seeding, the tank was treated to at least 1 cube of frozen rotifers every other day over and above what was fed in the way of fish food. I might also add, that whilst feeding the 'system' as well as the fish and coral population is a bonus, it should be done realistically, keeping an eye on test readings as you go. Properly done, Its like playing with a set of scales. You want to feed as much as the system will handle whilst maintaining free No3 and Po4 levels around that of natural sea water. If levels start to climb, It is merely an indicator that the food supply is larger than what the system can handle at that stage so back it off a bit. Give it time and take it steady, and you will be surprised just how much food can go into a healthy system, and for it still to maintain good water quality.

These shots show some of the introductions made over the following 12 months, to the stage the tank is at today almost 2 years down the line. As you will note, stocking in this case is very leisurely as far as high bio load animals go such as fish. Whilst corals are added as frags without fear, Fish and the respective increases in bio load that they place upon the filtration system are all spread out over a period. Rarely if ever with the exception of schooling species such as the Anthius, are there any more than 1 extra fish added within a two month period. Even with 400 plus gallons to play with, introductions are kept to juvenile fish at all times so that both they and the systems filtration capacity can grow together in tandem. The other benefit with this exorcise is that juvenile fish are both more adaptable, and less aggressive in most cases than their adult brethren. Included are examples of growth rates over a period as well.

Acropora efflorescens at 4" diameter.                                                         6 months later at  8" diameter.

An unknown Acropora as a 2" frag.                                          The same colony 6 months on at 8" across.

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