Thanks Betta,
I haven't checked for Calcium, and will do so as soon as possible. As for water changes, I do one about every 3 weeks and when done it's usually about 10 gallons (1/5 of the tank roughly). I usually mix up the water the day before and let it set 15-24 hrs. w/conditioner added to treat for the chemicals in the water. I also use a powdered PH buffer about every 4 weeks. I have a dual Aquatech filter w/carbon inserts that I change about every 4 weeks. Not the best filter I'm sure, but it is doing a pretty good job (as far as I can tell). I don't add any supplements to the water or to the fish diets. Also, no skimmer and no UV.
Do you have a quarantine tank? I would suggest one, especially with no skimmer or UV. Quarantine should be a standard procedure when setting up any aquarium, and is often overlooked until it is needed, and then often it is too late. Fish diseases are highly contageous and can be difficult to treat in a main tank. New fish should always spend 2 wks in a quarantine tank to be sure there is no illness that could spread to the main tank. Running a skimmer and UV would help to ensure you don't have to deal with disease issues, though it is not 100% fool proof. Most illness issues tend to stem from stress, water quality, and parasite issues.. and sometimes 2ndary infections stemming from injury, too. Skimming is important in removing surface proteins, the "oil slick" at the water's surface. These proteins are typically the organic waste that can't be filtered out by other means, so they collect at the surface, which also interferes with oxygen supply in the tank. This is a very useful piece of equip, and I will suggest you consider adding one. The UV will help to filter all the little nasties out of your water, including parasites and some bacterias. Basically, it kills the organisms using UV light, doesn't harm the tank's inhabitants. So provided the circulation is good so that the water actually makes it through the UV, very little is able to contaminate your fish and/or your tank, and if something manages to get through, the UV helps to ensure a much faster and easier recovery process.
To recap (and I know there are a lot of posts) here's the scoop:
FOWLR
12 lbs. of live rock
Apprx. 25 lbs. of base rock (most of which has been in the tank for 3 mos. w/live rock)
40 lbs. of live sand
3 lbs. of actual sea sand on top of the live sand
Aquatech Dual Filter w/Carbon inserts
Instant Ocean salt
1-1 3/4" Yellowtailed Damsel
1-1 1/2" Ocellaris Clown
1-1" PJ Cardinal
1-1 1/2" Royal Gramma Basslet
1-2 1/4" Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel
1-2" Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
8 small Blue Leg/Red Leg Hermit Crabs
Numerous small Serpent Starfish (actually a population explosion) and copepods
Temp a steady 78 degrees
Ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25 or less
PH 8.4
salinity 1.022
I would encourage premixing your saltwater at least 48 hrs in advance, and in using a power head in the bucket/tub when doing so, to be sure it is mixing evenly. I would also try to slowly raise the SPG/Salinity to 1.023
As for cleanup crew, the shrimp and the crabs are it for me so far. Can you suggest something else or is that enough? The crabs do a great job of pretty much eating anything and everything and they are only about 1/4" to 1/2" in size. The animals are fed once or twice a day, usually in the evening and night times. Lights are on in the aquarium for 7-10 hrs. per day.
With so few hermits, you certainly have room for plenty more. You could easily add another 2 dozen comfortably, especially with such a heavy feeding schedule. Be forewarned, the reg leg/scarlet hermits will get larger than the blue leg hermits, and will likely eat the blue legs. It's a good idea to choose one or the other and stick with it, and providing extra empty shells for the hermits to choose from, as they like to change shells often and can be quite brutal to obtain one they take a liking to. They are known to kill another hermit to steal the shell. There are other inverts you could work with for a cleanup crew, such as emerald crabs and snails, and these are all useful to your aquarium. Turbo snails eat a lot of algae from the glass and the rocks, margarita snails, astrea snails... there is a long list, but those would be the easiest to find and do a good job for you. Those are known to be pretty sturdy, also. There are also starfish that would be compatible to your situation, such as sand sifting stars, brittle stars, linkia stars (more sensitive and slightly harder to keep), fromia stars, and various other species. Some stars are scavengers, some are algae eating, some are carnivores. You'll want to make sure you don't obtain a carnivorous species which has the potential to eat your fish (such as a chocolate chip star).
I was looking to add 1 more fish, but if you say that would tip the scales, then I'll hold off. We got awfully attached to the Pacific Pearlyscale awfully quick. The sheer beauty of this fish was amazing and it went with my tank very well (for the short time I had it). We actually like the Butterflyfish better than the Coral Beauty (isn't this the way it always happens) though both are beautiful.
I would suggest against adding anymore fish unless you first upgrade to a larger tank. These fish will need room to grow, and that is something that happens constantly and tends to happen very quickly. A pj cardinal, for example, in 6 months time can go from the size of a nickel to the size of a 50 cent piece. Clown fish (ocellaris) grow to about 5 inches for females, 3 inches for males, the yellow tail damsels reach about 3 inches average, the royal gramma about 4 inches, and coral beauty about 5 inches. If you have a difficult time picturing how full your tank is, take slips of paper and measure them to these sizes, and hold them against the tank together... you'll see that you will quickly run out of space as they begin to grow, which is when problems develop. By telling you now that you have reached your limit, allowing these fish the amount of space they all need to grow properly and keep your water quality stable, I am saving you heartbreak when fish get sick and/or die, saving you money in trying to "fix" what is suddenly wrong (problems can appear to happen just overnight), and saving the fish that would suffer in the process.
I understand your love of the butterfly fishes, but they are very difficult to keep. The hardest part of keeping them is in feeding them and in stress issues. They tend to be very skittish, and most are still wild caught. A wild caught butterfly is likely eating corals in the wild environment, and some species of butterfly only eat specific corals. Teaching them to accept prepared or "other" foods can prove extremely difficult. I have found that many LFS's sell them without ever getting them to eat first, thus they get stressed from yet another move and then starve to death soon thereafter. Butterfly fish should be saved for something later... a bigger tank and much more experience under your belt first.
Plans:
I'd like to add at least 3 more lbs. of live rock, a couple of Hydor Koralia 1's or 2's for water circulation (which I'm definitely lacking) and some other items for color (the tank's background is royal blue, w/white sand and then "rock").
Any suggestions would be more than welcome.