"I don't know what it is, butIwantit." ;)

Great job, your wood work is exceptional. Can we see a full tank and stand shot?
Also have you had any problems with the triggers in your tank?

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10925121#post10925121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jrsp12 [/i]
[B]Great job, your wood work is exceptional. Can we see a full tank and stand shot?
Also have you had any problems with the triggers in your tank? [/B][/QUOTE]

Ooh, I'm quite delayed in response! I'll try to get some full tank/stand shots in the next couple weeks, once I finished the doors up, so keep your eyes peeled. As for the triggers, they're actually extremely dosile, and I've not had a single problem with this species. It may be because the blue tang is somewhat domineering, and has been somewhat aggressive towards them, though. Hopefully they'll continue to do well, but I've never heard otherwise with the blue-jaw trigger.

In other news, I have actually been doing some work on the stand! All the doors are ready to be glued up, so I'll take some time to do that this week. I don't have a ton of clamps, so I'll probably enjoy doing just one or two a day, but hopefully I'll be ready to install them before the end of December! The beauty is that they actually fit the door openning this time, as I goofed it up the first time around.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/14297130_3_it_fits_.jpg[/img]

That looks nice. Is your goal two-toned, or was one part not stained yet?

No, one of them is just not stained yet. If you remember [url=http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9953061#post9953061]this post[/url], I glued the first ones up without bothering to fit it in place first. As it turned out, I neglected to account for the side rails when doing the math on the frame, so they ended up 4" too big. This time, I decided to verify everything before I glue it up, so that's what you see in the picture above.

I like my blue throat triggers. They do this after meal time.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/132_1_btt_male.jpg[/img]

Also, I'm having flashbacks to a reefcast episode, as I want to remove my blue tang from the display. after some futile attempts to snare him, I decided to build a trap. We'll see how well it goes... I'll get some pics if it's worthy of sharing!

Hey CV - so my wife really likes triggers but I've always been hesitant to add one. I've researched the niger trigger and most say they're pretty reef safe. However, i'm concerned about a large clam i have (and the various snails and hermits). Do you have a problem with yours "sampling" things? Do you have any clams?

Pete -

Check out the [url=http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/triggers/xanthichthys/index.htm]xanthichthys[/url] genus of triggers. In nature, they are a genus that does not spend a lot of time in the rock work looking for food, instead eating from the water column. I've heard that these may pick on ornamental shrimp on occasion, but I've not had any trouble in the slightest. These dudes won't bother sessile inverts at all, and I'd be surprised if you find one that bothers snail or crabs.

Interesting. I'll check out the link. I do have a couple of cleaner shrimp too though.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11070058#post11070058 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pbrown3701 [/i]
[B]Interesting. I'll check out the link. I do have a couple of cleaner shrimp too though. [/B][/QUOTE]

Me too.

Trap worked. Yesterday the fish didnt go into it at all, though got pretty close. Today, I put a bit of nori on the clip, and within 2 minutes he entered the trap and I dropped the door. I actually caught 2 fish, but I was able to open the door a little and the foxface swam out (he was right by the door trying to leave). Hopefully I can get the fish transfered without too much stress.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/133_1_trap_worked.jpg[/img]

So what was your reasoning for removing the regal tang again?

Cool trap idea by the way

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11078086#post11078086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pbrown3701 [/i]
[B]So what was your reasoning for removing the regal tang again?

Cool trap idea by the way [/B][/QUOTE]

Couple of reasons... first, he was getting pretty big, and I have too many fish in the tank. I knew this going in, and I wanted to do something about it. But he was the top of the list because he bullies other fish. He nips the fins of both blue throat triggers as well as the mimic tang. So now I just have those three fish and the foxface, and the foxface may be the next to leave if anyone (there are some smaller fish, but I don't worry too much about them).

I liked these pictures.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/134_4_peach_zoa.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/134_6_nifty_acro_pic.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/medium/135_7_fts_november.jpg[/img]

Here's a full tank shot for the new month.

I liked this picture, too. My setup does not lend itself to good top-down photos, but I used the trap as a make-shift photobox! Some pictures came out ok, but I never see these colors on this zoa colony from the front. They're more pink I find, but I like how bold they are here. I also got a new lens (a Canon f2.8 100mm macro, which Hop may try to steal at any given moment), and I was a bit nervous holding it over the tank, but it turned out alright.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/td_fi_zoas.jpg[/img]

Wear the camera strap around your neck when shooting over the water. You can use your neck to stablize the camera and reduce the risk of dropping it in the water.

Nice shot.

I got a couple of additions yesterday.. nothing too dramatic. A few smaller fish, including a zebra dartfish (who holds true to its name... watching it bolt when startled is amazing; it's made a home in one of the rocks near the bottom of the tank), a pair of neon gobies, some cleaners, and a starfish. I picked up a marble star (fromia sp.) which is really striking, but I'm not entirely confident in their hardiness. I have a lot of film algae in the tank, which is supposedly their diet, but this is kind of a live and learn (I hope, it could turn into a "die and learn"). Here it is before I started acclimating it.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/136_3_fromia_star.jpg[/img]

I also started getting the doors finished, as I want to have them on by Saturday evening (when we're having my family over for thanksgiving). That only gives me another 3 evenings to get everything stained and poly coated, so hopefully that's enough! I got the insides of the doors painted yesterday, so I'm relatively confident that I'll be able to get it all completed.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11143628#post11143628 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev [/i]
[B]Wear the camera strap around your neck when shooting over the water. You can use your neck to stablize the camera and reduce the risk of dropping it in the water.

Nice shot. [/B][/QUOTE]

good tip, Marc! Logistically it's somewhat tricky to get high enough to use the strap, as the top of the tank is 68" high, but I'm sure I can figure something out. I need to bother building a photobox, though, and maybe just use the sony phd camera that I've got. It seems to do well enough.

That is a nicelooking fromia

Finally finished the doors. Here's a full setup picture.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/medium/137_4_left_side.jpg[/img]

The doors keep everything nicely closed up;

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/137_5_doors_closed.jpg[/img]

But open 180 degrees to allow proper access.

[img]http://www.thereeftank.com/photopost/data/500/137_7_doors_open.jpg[/img]

I'll be watching pH and temp to see how it reacts, and take any mitigating steps to keep things in a healthy range. Let me know what you think!

I think it looks great. Very professional. :thumbsup:

nice work

Hey it still looks good and I'm waiting for you to come over and show me that lens and some photo-tips;)

Thanks Marc and Matt!

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11200378#post11200378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop [/i]
[B]Hey it still looks good and I'm waiting for you to come over and show me that lens and some photo-tips;) [/B][/QUOTE]

yeah, I'll bet you are! My wife would visit colorado in an instant, so that's the angle you should be playing.