This tank is about 75 days old...I made a move from central Illinois at the end of September this year. Prior to that it had been set up for about 8 months with only the Pleco as an occupant as I knew I would be moving. I transported the rock and gravel in a seperate container with tank water. There were no live plants in the tank before the move, they are all new and appear to be thriving. The rocks are varied, dark ones are lava rock, the light ones are mostly coral skeleton or dead 'live rock' from an old Marine tank. When I initailly set this one up, I decided to adapt some of what I learned keeping Marine tanks, therefore it is essentially self sustaining. The only mechanical filter is a fluval insert placed over the intake of the power head and a small carbon insert fitted into the fluval insert. I had a problem with cloudy water several months ago, and this is what I came up with to solve the problem. I know run carbon 24/7 and the water remains crystal clear. Surface agitation is at a minimum to maintain CO2 in the water for the plants. Gravel bed is cleaned infrequently. Tank temp is kept at 82 - 84 degrees. Light cycle is matched to the house plants surrounding the tank....in other words about 7:3 am to 9:30 pm, more or less. There is no noticeable algae growth on rocks, gravel or glass.