Hey All,
This month’s TOTM is Ellen’s tank. You can see her awesome tank here: http://delreefclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=1 Ellen, has some awesome SPS, with some amazing growth, and other mixed reef corals. Check out her awesome tank and ask her any questions you might have 
Enjoy
Hey everyone. Since there hasn’t been any questions and the photos I sent to Icy are now a few months old I thought I would post some updated shots. I will try and get some growth shots up in a few days also.
WOW! Super nice. Much better pics with the flash off. Corals are amazing and the tank looks SO clean!!! Im so jealous!
YES YES YES!!!
Absolutely gorgeous. I love the rock. I don’t know I’ve ever seen aquascaping that allowed for so much coral placement but leaves so much room open for fish to swim. Very very nice!!
Very nice Ellen, your colonies/tank is gorgeous.
what a great tank, keep up the good work!!!
I agree the photos look much better without the flash. I find it very hard to get accurate photos of the tank and corals. I really want to get some pics up showing the growth of the corals, but I get so frustrated when the pics don’t show the colors correctly. :-("
I gave Icy the info on the tank back in May and since then I have started dosing a little vodka and MB7. The tank has responded very well. It stays looking nice with twice monthly water changes and daily dosing of 2 part along with the vodka. The best part is I can keep feeding my fish 2-3 times daily without running my nitrates up.
Thanks for looking and commenting.
Okay I am going to try and post some growth series for some of my corals. It really is amazing seeing how much they have grown.
Brown/Green Polyps Acro: April 08- July 09
Pink Milliopora: April 08- July 09
Tabling Acro: April 08- May 09 This has grown some more but I don’t have a more recent pic.
I absolutely love the concept of the wave tanks… Nice tank
Tank is looking awesome Ellen. I was thinking maybe I could post some pics of one of my frag tanks up just so we have some new content… Mine can’t compare though. Really jealous.
How did you come to decide on all of the wrasses in the tank? I am not sure I have seen anyone else with a fish list like yours. I really like your fish.
Do you have pictures showing the growth on your Duncans?
How high is your light fixture typically above the water? How clean do you keep the glass/plastic shield on your light fixture?
[quote=“Gordonious, post:12, topic:1836”]
Tank is looking awesome Ellen. I was thinking maybe I could post some pics of one of my frag tanks up just so we have some new content… Mine can’t compare though. Really jealous.
How did you come to decide on all of the wrasses in the tank? I am not sure I have seen anyone else with a fish list like yours. I really like your fish.
Do you have pictures showing the growth on your Duncans?
How high is your light fixture typically above the water? How clean do you keep the glass/plastic shield on your light fixture? [/quote]
Hey Jon,
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner to your questions. I clean the shield on the fixture about 2 times a month. I think the fixture is about 5 inches above the water.
I think you should most definitely post some photos and info on your frag tanks.
I will look for some growth pics of the duncans.
Great pictures Ellen. Your tank is looking really nice. and still lots of room for some of those acro’s to mature and grow large.
Most Excellent!
[quote=“Gordonious, post:12, topic:1836”]
How did you come to decide on all of the wrasses in the tank? [/quote]
I was wondering what draws you guys to acropora, for some reason they all look the same and basic to me
aside from personal preference… the acros r tough to keep. and when most of these guys have done it all, u gotta challenge yourself somehow.
ellen NICE!
i had the same feelings as you when i first started and then i started to get a real appreation for them. now i cant wait to set up a tank just for them. like anything in this hobby it will grow on you.
Hmmm isee… i would go for rarity rather than difficultyness…
[quote=“Marchingbandjs, post:16, topic:1836”]
I was wondering what draws you guys to acropora, for some reason they all look the same and basic to me[/quote]
I think you need to look at some really awesome tanks featuring acropora. Their colors and growth forms are truly stunning. My tank does not even come close. I just don’t have the time to spend to get my tank to that level. The frequent and lengthly trips for work make it doubly hard to maintain things. It is a constant cycle of the tank looks great for 2-3 months, then 2, 2 week trips back to back, and I come home to slime and a dead coral or clam. It takes me a month to get the tank back into looking great then I just cross my fingers that I won’t have to leave again soon. I am seriously considering replacing the sps with lps, zoas, ect… as they die off. I may just let a few species take over the tank and not replace them with anything. We will see how this tank evolves over time.
I like all corals really, but I wanted to try the sps. Like fishguy said when you have been in the hobby for many years you will get around to trying the more challenging corals just because. My smaller 45g will be softies,lps, and clams mostly. I am sure an sps will end up finding its way in eventually.
Ellen