Here is a recent picture of my new 55 gallon that I'm setting up. The picture shows my latest attempt at aquascaping. The tank is in it's 4th week of cycling.
i still have traces of ammonia and nitrates/nitrites are flucuating right now. so i would say i'm near the end but i'm going to let it go another 4 or so weeks before i think about adding anything. i'm going to do it right this time! when i was a teenager i hurried things and lost alot of critters due to my ignorance and all.
i really haven't had a huge algae problem. i have a tiny bit growing on the glass but nothing like i thought i would have. everyday i use a powerhead to blow off the living rock and i go around the glass. maybe that has helped.
yeah, slowly getting there....i am proud of the progress.
i'm redoing the hood now so i can add some metal halides in a few weeks. i'll end up redoing the aquascaping as well after i get the sand from you. right now my DSB is a little over 4".
i'll post a recent picture in the next day or so. the algae growth is a little more...but not a whole lot. tonight it's kinda cloudy due to my recent snail spawning event.