My 120g was 2 years old on New Year's Day (pics)

[Shooter7]

I wanted to post up pics on the actual day, but I got a late Christmas present of a new camera and it's taken me awhile just to get used to taking some halfway decent pics with it. Tank started off as mainly softies and LPS, but is now starting to lean towards mostly SPS. I'm going to try and dig up some of my initial frag shots for some of the corals to post up with the up to date shots taken today:

First up, the orange monti cap on initial start up of this tank:

and now the big gun it's grown to be today (from above):

My green mille then:

and now:

And my "peach with light blue/green polyps" mille then:

And now:

more coming....

 

[Shooter7]

Some more current shots:

Blue mille that choked out a bunch of green zoanthids, but you can still see one hanging on surrounded by encrustation:

 

[Shooter7]

and more:

And some wider view shots:

And full frontal :

 

[breutus]

Wow the tank is beautiful! ! !

That monti has grown a ton over the years it's huge, I'm ready for a frag

 

[breutus]

Oh and what kind of camera did you get the shoots look great

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks very much.

The camera is a new Canon A650. I wanted it because, while still being a point and shoot camera that could be used pretty easily for normal stuff around the family, it also had the capabilities of a lot of manual settings and adjustments that you can do somewhat like a DSLR. I had to do some reading up on the camera settings, then I had to do some reading in the photography forum stickies for some settings to try with my aquarium pics. Really, the pics could be considerably better if I had really taken my time to set up each pic and used a tripod or something stable to set the camera on. All of these pics were taken handheld and without much alteration in the settings I had put in. Some of them could have had much better color to reflect more what the coral actually looks like, but I just didn't have the time to mess with it. Anyway, they turned out pretty decent, so I was happy. Thanks again!

 

[MO Will]

Very nice - thanks for the pics

 

[Reefer Wannabe]

Wow--great job. I remember well your struggles in deciding if you were going to set it up or not. Looks awesome and I love the aquascaping.

 

[Shooter7]

ah yes, the days of doubt. This thing still hangs by a shoestring budget most of the time even now.

Thanks!

 

[kirby_32]

Do you have a build thread for your 120. I'm thinking of setting up the same tank and would be interested in your experience.

thanks

 

[Shooter7]

Hi Kirby. I had to go look and see what I had posted back then. I don't really have a "build" thread, but this one introduced my tank as it was first getting filled and going live. I talk about a lot of my equipment in it:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=741028


However, it is important to note that much change has occurred since that thread. I am running the same sump and same skimmer and same plumbing/return pump, however, I have different lights and pumps now. I do not try to run a refugium in that center section of the sump anymore, the skimmer is housed there. And I have added a controller, PO4 reactor, and Ca reactor to the mix, along with a 20g RO/DI reservoir tank with Tunze osmolator topoff system. This, as I think many tanks are, is an evolving system.

Feel free to ask me whatever you want about it. I enjoy talking about this stuff.

 

[jbarone]

Very nice Dave.

Oh BTW...That frag you gave me a few months ago is growing great!!

 

[Shooter7]

Great to hear. I'm going to have to frag that one some more soon because it's getting close to my glass and in the near future I won't be able to get a glass cleaner through there!

And just to let him know if he reads this.... FADE, the frag I gave him was a branch off of that one fast growing acro you gave me a frag of awhile back, just to let you know I'm passing on the good coral karma. Thanks again for your donation of it to me.

 

[SSTG]

Hey dave. Tank looks great.Good job.

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks! Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Shooter7]

Forgot one of my favorite corals!