hey great pics of the wennie hunting! lol i guess they're not hippies after all eh?

Things are progressing slowly. Today, I added two more fish. The first is a Blue Throat Trigger. He is proving to be difficult to photograph at the moment as he is a bit excited at the new surroundings.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0266.jpg

The other new fish is a Yellow Tang. Every tank has to have one of these right? Actually, I'm hoping he has more of a taste for filimentous algae than the Naso Tang. We'll see. The Yellow and Naso seem to be quite pleased with by each other's company.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0275.jpg

Here's an update on my phytoplankton efforts. I think I'm having more success now. This is an example of what I'm currently brewing. This batch has been going for 2 weeks now and still has a rich, green colour. (not the yellow-green that I was getting before).

Although I've played with the recipe, I think the improvement is because of:
1) Daily shaking to prevent anything from settling on the bottom.
2) 2nd and 3rd time using the same bottles. It's possible that the bottles weren't absolutely clean the first time I used them, but now they are behaving better.

I've manipulated the amount of fertilizer in the mix, but get very similar results no matter what I do.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0280.jpg

Aw dude you have no idea how jealous I am right now. Blue throat trigger flanked by those cool gorgs; awesome picture. :cool:

OK...requests have been made for an updated "full tank view". All these close-ups make it hard to see the big picture.

Here's a room view...
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0132.jpg

Here's a shot that is a bit closer, but not too close.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0136.jpg

Here's a shot of the left side, front view. You can see that I haven't cleaned the left side of the aquarium in a few days.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0137.jpg

Here's a shot of the right side, front view.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/100_0138.jpg

If you look closely, you'll see that I'm starting to have a bit of a cyano problem. I'm trying not to panic about that. It is a new tank, so it is likely to go through that "phase". I just have to monitor it to ensure that it doesn't get so bad that it smothers the life out of anything. I am running some phosphate media, maybe I'll add some more or refresh the stuff that is in there.

The tank looks really good IMO I think that it looks more natural then anything.



well done

Man alive, look at those gorgs ... I hate you .. oops I mean .. wow, awesome. ;) (Just kidding. I really am quite envious though. Awesome awesome awesome. :) )

I use photos to monitor the progress of those gorgs. The large ones..and the golden brown ones are laying down additional body and filling in where they were damaged...so they are going to thrive.

I've not been able to be yet certain if the purple/white gorgs are growing or receeding. I'm sure they don't have xooanthellae, so they are dependent on my feeding. I have some finely powdered sea fan food and I target feed when possible. Jury is out on those ones. Their polyps respond to food, but I can't tell if they are ingesting anything I'm giving.

Meanwhile, the blue throat trigger is fast becoming a VERY friendly fish. I would describe it's behaviour as "begging". The moment anyone is around, he/she swims over and gives you the puppy eyes.

I second what Asmodeus said.

Truly a very natural looking reef so far. That blue-throat is a an amazing fish as well!

How are you cleaning the acrylic?

Brett

I have a Great White Cleaning magnet that does a pretty quick job on the main panels. There are a couple of areas that I have to do with a wand. So far, I've not needed to remove any coraline as the magnet seems to be keeping it at bay. I plan to scrape coraline by hand when necessary.

Here's my rules:
1) Wipe down the outside of the tank prior to cleaning to remove any dust
2) Never leave the magnet inside the tank for storage
3) Never allow the magnet to touch the sand bed
4) Examine the inside panels closely for small snails before starting
5) Use a diaper lubricated with brillianize between the magnet and the outside panels
6) Never allow the acrylic cleaning pad to be put anywhere it could pick up dirt or grit.