Three years,what a differance

[Reefbound]

Its been a long while since Ive posted a pic of my tank. I was checking all he pics I have uploaded and came across pic from 7/2006 and thought I would post a before and after shot. The tank is doing ok except for the brownish algae on the substrate that Im fighting and I think something is wrong with my four year old Mandarin as his tail seems to be disapearing and he has been hanging out in one spot for two days.Im not sure of their life expectancy in captivity but Im told he has lasted longer than most.Well,here are the before and after.

 

[Bosco83]

Your tank looks great! It's always fun to look at before and after pictures you usually just don't realize how much it has changed when you see it every day.

Brian

 

[Damsel13]

It does look great. I agree with Bosco. You just don't notice all the changes seeing your tank on a daily basis. Sorry about your Mandarin. It looks like you have rearrange and added some things. What is the most successful coral that you had then that you still have now?

 

[Reefbound]

Thanks, You really dont notice all the changes until you see an old photo.
Actually Damsel13, I have not moved a single piece except for the removal of one piece of live rock on the left side of the tank and the addition of some acro's along the top of the rocks. The rocks have eigther settled or have toppled over and I just let them stay where they have fallen.
There are actually five corals in the first photo that are still there today and have fragged many,many times over the last couple of years. They are the yellow Fiji leather, Devils hand leather,Galaxia coral, Green star polyps and a hitchhiker paly thats been there since the beginning . (August will be five years) The maxima clam thats in the first pic is still here as is the trachyphyllia brain coral. The most growth has come from a purple tip acro on the right side of the tank. It was a 1" piece when I bought it and as you can see in the second its over 10" wide and the tips are sticking out the top of the water and have to be continuously trimmed.

 

[luke33]

Looks nice! So you added a sump?

 

[Reefbound]

Looks nice! So you added a sump?

Thanks, The sump was added about a year after the tank was setup(almost 5 years ago).
My sump is 18 feet away in another room fed back and forth with 1" 1/2 tubing, its a 40 gallon breeder tank setup with a octo extreme 200 skimmer at the inlet. Next is the refugium then the return sump powered by a Reef flo dart pump which is tee'd and feeds my octopus calcium reactor.The plus with doing it this way is I only have one pump to run everything.
Growth has been good and my only problem is the brownish algae I have been fighting.