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Thanks!
First, thank so much for the welcome Ed and Marian! (though I was kind of hoping for a "glittery" welcome from Ed ;-)
Second, thanks for the "shout out" Serg.
I think what I'm looking/hoping for is something that makes the tank seem more alive than perfectly clear water (which does not exist in the real world). Like I said, I'm a huge (marginally compulsive) fan of virtual aquariums, so I've checked them *all* out over the years.
Besides the fact that I enjoy them for aesthetic reasons, I feel that they are ultimately FAR more important from an environmental standpoint in that when done well, they may become (and in my case have already become) a plausible alternative to keeping an interesting "real" saltwater tank.
Although an increasing number of marine species are being bred in captivity, many commercially available exotic species are still harvested from living reefs - a practice that is very harmful to both the fish as well as to the reef itself (partially due to the practice of using toxic chemicals which 'stun' the fish, making them much easier to capture). I was recently in Hawaii, and was warned while diving to try not to use regular sunscreen if possible, much less the kinds of poisons used to incapacitate fish.
Anyway, I know I'm preaching to the choir here. While I'm definitely not recommending SimAquarium (mostly because I have absolutely no idea to whom you would be sending your money if you bought it), "Tank 4" does a pretty good job of generating the particulate effect I'm talking about. It helps to turn off the "bubble column" and the fish (which are a little funky) if you want to see the floating bubble-bits.
and thanks for listening to me rant a little. :-)
Cheers,
Davethegecko
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