February's featured reef profile is our member c est ma and her 5.5 gallon nano reef!



Click the picture above to check out her reef profile! You can find c est ma's tank journal here in our Members Aquariums forum. Feel free to post any comments or questions you may have for c est ma, and she'll try her best to answer them.

Congrats Diane You totally deserve the spotlight I love your tank.

i love the pink ric's in the middle! congrats

Congrats Diane! Your tank is beautiful and your write-up was eloquent and inspiring. Well done.

Congrats Diane! This has always been one of my favorite tanks and it supprised me how many corals you could fit in such a small tank.

Congratulations on a beautiful tank. Gives me something to strive for with my own tank.

Congratulations Diane.
Your system is awesome and you completely deserve this.
I can't think of a better tank to be profiled.
And I helped!

Very NICE......

Out of control for a 5.5!!!!

Props on a beautiful tank.

Great stuff and wonderful recognition. You are a blessing to this forum as you are always positive in your responses to everyone.

100%

Perfect pick for the TOTM. I think this should be TOTY for sure. So much stuff in a 5.5 and the most helpful person. The livestock in there is all flourishing and your successes have been very impressive.

Congratulations. It's well deserved.

Bill

those rics on bottom left are amazing.

beautiful tank!

Super Grats Diane very well done.

Much deserved Diane!!!

And an excellent write up... as I've heard you say in the past... Thank you for sharing that!

Great tank Diane! Thanks for sharing with us!

always a great tank to look at, admire, and aspire to.

Hip hip hoorah, hip hip hoorah! Very much deserved and very beautiful Congratulations!

Four years without an upgrade to a larger size? I'm jealous!

Congrats, it reminds us all what a little patience can accomplish.

WOW. Four years, huh? Looking at your FTS, I'd say you've been giving it as much attention as a growing baby. While many tanks become neglected over time, yours becomes even better with age. Congratulations, Diane.

Beautiful tank and great write-up. Thanks for putting so much effort into it, and congratulations!!

congratulations! a beautiful and innovative tank!

adding my congrats!
I have always admired your tank.
One of my favorites I have ever seen.
So beautiful and you are always so friendly and helpful on the forum.
very much deserved.

Thank you so much, friends!

This is rather overwhelming and, luckily for you, I'm more or less speechless.

You're all too kind.

Gratefully,

--Diane

Congrats good looking lil tank. I have but one question can you explain your sump to me I might want to try it how do you get water into the 2 gal.?

I love these mature tanks, good job on maintaining such a great looking tank for 4+ years.

Congrats Diane!

5.5 gals of wonder and awe who's FTS suck you into a world of beauty that inspires us all.

Some well deserved recognition for such an achievement by one of N-R's star members!

A member who we are all fortunate to have among us.

WELL DONE!!

Congrats!!! You have an amazing tank... BE VERY PROUD!!!

Thank you, everyone! Once again, you're all too kind. Needreefunds, you make me blush.






Xtank,

The 2 gal is connected with a large U-tube siphon:




For more info on the 'fuge set-up, see this post in my tank thread:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=1454796

HTH,

--Diane

Wow Diane! I have said it many times before and i will say it again. Your tank is one of the greatest tanks here on N-R. I have always loved it and always will. You deserve this!!

Congratulations! Your tank is looking better every year! Here's a bouquet for you!

Congrats on an awesome looking tank!

Congrats Diane!

Let's go Giants!!! too much beer pong!

Btw very nice tank. I have been following it for a long time now..... go Giants!!!!

Yay congrats Diane!

I dunno who the committee for picking these reef profiles is comprised of, but they're doing a stand-up job so far!

im not suprised this is tank of the month... you have the greatest 5.5 i have ever seen... congrats

Diane your tank is fabulous! And I know fabulous.

It’s very inspiring to see how great a small simple tank can look with a little patience, determination and an understanding of Maslow's hierarchy of needs! lol I absolutely love the story behind your tank and every single one of its inhabitants—they’re every bit as engaging as they are informative. Your tank is definitely worthy of its title.

Congratulations, Diane. Your little captive world is truly deserving of being picked as Nano-Reef's Tank of the Month. And I have always appreciated your observation and interpretive commentary skills SO MUCH - you're one of the highlights of the forum!

Congrats!!! How many rics did you actually buy? Those things are expensive!!

awesome tank. Keep up the good work.

Your tank is awesome! I have a 5.5 that I rescued out of the trash and I have to say that after seeing your tank it is tough to leave that thing sitting in the basement. I may have to set up my own "dirty softies" tank in the near future. Great job and congratulations

Mp,
What do you mean by "dirty sorties"?

c est ma light heartedly refers to her reef as a "dirty softy" tank in this great thread:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=1236398

That is an awesome tank indeed!!! Congrats!

Thank you so much, everyone! N-R won't let me quote you all (exceeds allowable limits), but I really, really appreciate all the kind comments.



You are a sweetheart. :)




You are a sweetheart, too! Thanks for the flower. :D




So nice to hear from you--I feel as if we go "way back." :D Thanks!




Ah, you are so nice! Glad you liked the story--I had some trouble producing it...sounded dumber each time I reread it... <_<

I'm really not comfortable tooting my own horn...

It's reassuring to have the 'Fabulous' Seal of Approval. :D




Thank you so much! I am blushing...



Yes, well...one of the advantages of a 5.5 is that it fills up quickly. Advantages pocket-book wise, that is. I guess I usually bought one of each kind of ric, occasionally two if they were on the same small rock. I did pay what for me was big bucks for some of them. $50 for the first orange polyp...about that for the rock of 2 pinks. But the others were smaller and less expensive, maybe averaging $15 a piece. Luckily they have multiplied/grown nicely for me. In fact, I really need to start thinning soon...




Thank you! I will have to be on the lookout for a tank thread by you!




And thank you for supplying the answer! NanoCube-boy, the term "dirty softies tank" was one I ran across on N-R well before I actually had one myself. It refers to the fact that many softies seem to thrive best in tanks that are rather nutrient-rich, compared to the uber-clean conditions that favor many sps, for instance. Turns out to be a husbandry style that suits my ambitions perfectly...I'm not sure it goes so far as to include plenty of detritus, etc., but I've got that covered too, just in case. :lol:

Renee (seahorsedreams), thank you. That means a lot coming from someone with your expertise.


Most gratefully,

--Diane

Edit the second: OK, after getting inconsistent scoldings as to the number of emoticons I can use (and after removing most of the ones from those I quoted), I see that N-R has still had its way. Apparently, if you exceed the number, they just don't appear as actual pictures. Well, I guess y'all can still tell what they are. :)

Diane,
Your tank is absolutely amazing! Great job bringing it back to life!!
~Andrew

I love this tank! I'm so happy you got TOTM, this one is certainly worth an award or 2 or 3! It's an awesome job; I have to congratulate you for taking on this type of task. My Mom changes water on her own when you can't see rocks anymore, she's not into like you are. Anyway, congrats on the tank, it's my favorite besides our own.

Hey Andrew, nice to hear from you! Thanks for checking in and for the kind words.




to Nano-Reef! We've heard a lot about you...

J/k--only a little, and it was all good.

Thank you so much. Your Mom's tank-cleaning philosophy is my house-cleaning philosophy. If the Board of Health shows up, I hope they really like coral...

Let me start off by saying your tank *is* amazing.

Your patience and persistance are staggering.

But that write up about your tank, wow. I havnt read all the congratulatory posts, and im not sure if anyone mentioned this, but that write up was fantastic. It really gave a great insight into the evolution of not only your tank, but your passion with the hobby itself. I admire your patience and persistance in pursuing the end goal if there is such a thing. I wish I had that, I find it hard to be so atentative with such a small tank ( mine is 10) especially when things go haywire here and there. Your post gave me hopes that someday I may find myself with a tiny replica of the reefs that is as exquisite as yours.

Thank you and congratulations.