Thanks chrisqueenz!
Dan... you're killin' me over here... I'm gonna have to hunt down one o' those colorful rock 'nems and use it to bribe you to take some pics of my tank.
too funny Mel!
Hey, anytime you want pichurs, just holla...
lemme tell you no lie... that rock nem at TRS almost makes me happy on a level only a girl can make... LOL
Oh and for those that asked, the sparkly thing was from ARC. they are zoos. . .nicest zoos ive ever owned i must say

My first frag was pretty melty, but this new one seems to be doing quite well knock on wood.
Lastly,
The camera is a nikon d3000, stock lense (ugh) set on manual everything, from white balance, to shutter speed and f-stop, to manual focus (sometimes if im in a rushy mood ill do autofocus)
for example... the LED deepwaters:
Color Space: sRGB
Compressed Bits Per Pixel: 4
Contrast: Normal
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Date Time Digitized: 2010:03:04 05:36:05
Date Time Original: 2010:03:04 05:36:05
Digital Zoom Ratio: 1
Exif Version: 2.2.1
Exposure Bias Value: 0
Exposure Mode: Manual exposure (can set both shutter speed and f-stop/fnumber, etc... some modes the camera automatically sets some of the settings based on the settings you manually set the camera to do. I find using these "automatic or semiautomatic" modes overexpose reef tank/coral shots. My photographs are always considered "too dark" or "underexposed" by the camera.)
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Time: 1 / 3(as in 1/3rd of a second the shutter was open... which is a LONG time in terms of photography. Most people can't hold a camera steady while exposing at 1/20-1/30. Most people can get clear shots with a 1/60 shutter speed. I recommend the use of a tripod, if you cant hold the camera steady enough at lower shutter speeds. (as well as a 10 second shutter release timer delay, to prevent the camera from moving while you press the shutter release button)
Flash: Flash did not fire(no flash lol... flashed coral and fish shots look washed out most of the time... unless flash is done right. built in flash... in front of glass pane (aquarium) is not a good idea)
FlashPix Version: 1.0
FNumber: 5.6 (I like to go higher, around 7.1 at least, however this worked just fine depth of field wise and exposure wise)
Focal Length: 32
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 48
Gain Control: None
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Light Source: unknown
Max Aperture Value: 4.5
Metering Mode: Pattern
Pixel X Dimension: 800
Pixel Y Dimension: 535
Saturation: Normal
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Sensing Method: One-chip color area sensor
Sharpness: Normal
Subject Distance Range: unknown
Sub-second Time: 50
Sub-second Time Digitized: 50
Sub-second Time Original: 50
User Comment:
White Balance: Manual white balance (I CANT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! this is the key to getting corals to "pop" in photos. If i took a photo of a white piece of paper... under normal sunlight, using the "white balance" for my actinic shots... paper would be ULTRA literally ultra red to basically put it... if i use the white balance setting for "normal" photos under sunlight... the corals look blue... everything looks blue )
-dan