I spent a few hour today literally ripping apart the tank and removing 27 Frags. Strangely enough, it might have been a good thing.
As I was trying to determine which Frags could be most easily removed, I noted that, that despite 1000+ GPH flow in a 12 gallon tank, there were a few dead spots where detritus and cyano were collecting. The aquascaping was just too dense to allow for proper flow in this long/narrow tank.
The flow problem coupled with the fact the tank looked overcrowded with rock convinced me to remove the right pillar and all the corals attached to it. Thankfully I designed all the rockwork to be modular. The pillars are all stand alone pieces. Even the bridge pieces are not permanently attached, they simply "key" into the pillars. The additional open space allowed me to adjust the other two pillars, creating more negative space, which I think looks much better and greatly improves flow throughout the tank.
In addition to the pillar, I removed two of the chalice islands, a bunch of Favias and a few Acans and SPS and misc corals. The tank was a bit cloudy from all the moving around - I'll get photos and the revised livestock list updated on Friday.
I think I also decided what to do with the reverse side of the tank after to conclusion of the contest. The Reefbrite LEDs are angled to provide higher PAR to top shelf and obverse side of the tank. The reverse is lower lighting and provides 3' of perfect Zoa garden space. All the "nooks and crannies" will be perfect for tons of Zoas that can grow throughout the aquascaping.
So when it's all said and done - it was a good tank day