The age of aquariums

Here are two photos of my aquarium: one from May, when I first got the livestock (top), and one from last week, when I added the two emerald crabs (bottom). As you can see, the progression of coralline algae has been quite wonderful, despite the fact that I am using Compact Fluorescent lighting rather than the preferred Metal Halide lighting. Obviously my "dream" tank would have MH lighting, but I'm not quite willing to spend $400 on lighting alone. Not to mention the recurring cost of replacing the bulbs.

Also, I've added ZERO supplements to the tank. The people who sell "live rock" would have you believe that you need to add calcium and iodine to encourage the growth of this stuff, but I contend that you do not. I did use a synthetic sea salt mix that contains supplemental minerals to make the seawater, but I have not added additional chemicals to this tank, whatsoever.

So, the time difference between the photo at the top and the photo at the bottom is approximately three months. I'm starting to see some less desirable macro algae (which my emerald crabs have eradicated) and some more desirable tiny sealife (likely amphipods). I think that I've also got some tiny hard coral growing, but because I'm not dosing the tank with any supplements, I doubt that it will thrive. I'm not making this tank to keep corals, so I'm not worried about it.