Lets see everyone's current FTS of their display tank!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...904&ref=nf

This is all I have for now sense the camera took a crap.  So here is a phone picture

Here is my FTS. I had a recent accident that killed a couple of my Acros but most every thing is in good shap. Droped a screw driver in the tank and didn't find it until it was almost rusted to nothing. Opps.

Since i started the post figure i better get my pics in too!

40g Cube Zoa/softie tank



30g LPS/Clam tank



wife's 3g mixed reef

Madjabjoe tank looks great! Love the colors!

Ok here it is without the link to fbook.  It is a 12g Aquapod with 150 watt MH

great looking nano Gered! Nice colors for a small cube! Everything looks really happy!

This is a few months old so the tank looks a bit different now.   Several things have grown a lot since this was taken.

This is a great thread...love these pics! I just posted that we will be doing a photo book for the Iowa Aquaria Swap Meet to show them some of the sweet tanks people in our club have. We will likely display it at Fall Fest too. If you want to have your tank featured in the photo book, post your pics! Full tank shots, individual coral/livestock shots, etc..we'll take them all! Also, I will request permission before using any photos.

--AJ

wow JB more pics please!!

Posted By AJ on 08/10/2009 12:08 PM
This is a great thread...love these pics! I just posted that we will be doing a photo book for the Iowa Aquaria Swap Meet to show them some of the sweet tanks people in our club have. We will likely display it at Fall Fest too. If you want to have your tank featured in the photo book, post your pics! Full tank shots, individual coral/livestock shots, etc..we'll take them all! Also, I will request permission before using any photos.

--AJ

AJ, you can use any of my pics i do have a bunch in my build threads!

Posted By JB on 08/10/2009 12:02 PM
This is a few months old so the tank looks a bit different now.   Several things have grown a lot since this was taken.

We should take two or three pics of your tank and stitch them together to make one wide pic that gets everything...great looking tank JB!

Here's a full shot of JB's :

And a side shot:

Lee, got those in hi-res that I can print on photo paper?

JB,
Your tank looks great. Any tips for us other than the obvious concerning coral growth and health? Some of us on not on your level...yet. What things were a good investment for the reefkeeper on a budget? What things were a waste of money or not such a good investment?

Thanks,

I think it's a combination of a lot of patience and a little luck. Keeping things stable is key, so IMO the best investment you can make is in some type of controller (like an AquaController or ReefKeeper). Next to that I'd say just avoid the temptation to constantly mess with stuff.

Also, I don't go nuts over trying to keep all of my parameters just right, but there are some "key" parameters that I try and keep in range. These include temp, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. PH is important, but I don't worry about it too much because if my alk and calc are in the right ranges, the PH stays good. Magnesium is important to help keep Alk/Calc "in balance". I do try and keep my alk anc calc in balance whenever possible as it does make a difference with growth, but as long as they are both in the normal ranges, you should still see great growth. On a small tank, Alk/Calc can easily be maintained with DIY 2 part additive, but on a large tank there is no substitute for a calcium reactor. As for temp, I vary it seasonally from the mid 70's to the low 80's (my controller handles this) and my daily temp swing is usually less than 1 degree.

As for feeding, I feed a variety of foods (flake and frozen) on a random schedule. I also grow caulerpa for my tangs in my frag tank below the frag rack.

That's really about it. Just keep things stable, simple and hands off.

-JB

new frag-note the hitchhiker sponges

clam

torch someone may have to show me how to frag this one, its getting big.....





everything's doing really good
even the cyano and algae