Weetie's Aquatic Ramblings & Lounge

[Sexy Shrimp]

Lovely tank! I get more envious each time I see it. Maybe envious is the wrong word - its makes me aspire to make my tank that pretty.

 

Hopefully my new RO/DI will help... It arrived in one piece and is great! Thankyou so much for you help beating anti-UK sellers and customs

 

EDIT: My new zoas have arrived just as I was typing this. Double excited!!

Edited April 16, 2008 by L34NN3

[Mr. Fosi]

Have you tried adjusting the color hue balances to see if you can get a more "true" color? I have used irfanview to do this in the past.

 

If that doesn't work, I wonder what it would look like if you took two identical pics, one with and one without the flash, then superimposed them, making one partially transparent... You'd need something like photoshop or the GIMP to do it though.

[cmador]

That's a nice looking brain. So you got your water chemistry issues taken care of? Which salt mix did you end up using and are you still dosing 2-part? Sorry if I missed this.

[Weetabix7]

That's a nice looking brain. So you got your water chemistry issues taken care of? Which salt mix did you end up using and are you still dosing 2-part? Sorry if I missed this.

 

Everybody loves my brain!!

I have to admit, it does photograph well, and I like it too.

The water chemistry issues in this tank were different from those in the other tank, although salt mix may have affected things here as well. I think it was more an issue of the tank adjusting to the addition of 2 fish in a fairly short period of time.

I am currrently using Oceanic, although I don't know yet whether or not that will be a long-term thing. Oceanic does seem to be working better for me than what I was using before.

I have never dosed 2-part in this tank cause it has almost no sps, just one small Monti. The 2-part was being dosed in the prop tank, which had several sps pieces.

 

BibleSue is right, this tank actually does look better in person than in the pics, but I will continue to keep trying to capture it on film adequately.

Mr. Fosi, I haven't messed with the color settings or white balance on this camera yet, but I will!

 

L34NN3, thank you, and I hope the RO/DI works out great for you, I'm just glad I was able to help.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Weetabix7

[Nick's Reef]

Looks great weetie! I got my rics in today and they look amazing.

[c est ma]

Weetie, super pics of a stunning tank! I really love the way you have such a variety of textures in the fts's; I agree that that feathery Kenya really adds a lot! And that red macro in the corner just has such graceful lines!

 

I was struck by the long-stemmed cloves before you even mentioned them--they look like little palm trees. Man, you've done a fantastic job choosing your specimens and putting it all together. So glad you got a camera that could do it all justice!!

 

--Diane

[dshnarw]

HEY!! LOOK WHO VENTURED OUT OF THE OTHER WEETIE THREAD!!

 

That really IS a nice looking brain...and great photos. Great aquascaping

[Weetabix7]

HEY!! LOOK WHO VENTURED OUT OF THE OTHER WEETIE THREAD!!

 

That really IS a nice looking brain...and great photos. Great aquascaping

 

YOU MADE IT!!!!

We have fun stuff going on here too, you should check out the ninja attack a couple of pages back.

[Weetabix7]

I just got some frags in from a trade with SeeDemTails, some Monti's and a zoa frag, I'll try to get pics of those up later tonight.

I need you guys' input on something though.

I have this smallish, intricately shaped piece of LR that has three different corals growing on it, xenia, EE zoas, and Orange Monti Cap. It's a really pretty piece, but a pain in the butt to work into any aquascape because of it's shape. Last night it fell down behind the rockwork and when I pulled it out just now, I saw that it had been growing some really scary MONSTER green bubble algae.

This particular piece keeps growing that stupid bubble algae and I just periodically harvest it off. I have lots of experience working them off very carefully without bursting them. This time they must have been close to bursting on their own, cause 2 of the bubbles burst as I was trying to get them off. They were just above water level when they burst, so I'm hoping/thinking the spores didn't get into the water, but only on the rock. I was scared to put the piece back in the tank for fear of the spores getting all over, so it's currently sitting in a container with tank water.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can safely get the spores off the rock before placing the piece back in the tank? Keep in mind it has those 3 corals growing on it.

I'm almost at the point where I feel like dremeling the bubble algae off with a small piece of rock under them so it doesn't keep growing back although it would ruin the look of the rock.

[SeeDemTails]

Yay I hope you like the stuff......Your stuff was certainly cool enough!

 

Tank looks great, nice stuff for sure!

 

As for the BA.....two methods....pop and pluck with tweezers, the rinse with RO.......OR.......Burn with a lighter and pull off, and repeating other method after burning.

[c est ma]

FWIW, I consider the dread about popping bubble algae to be mostly an "old-reefers-tale"--i.e., "conventional wisdom" that really has no basis in fact. I'm not saying that that's not how the alga reproduces; just that I don't think popping bubbles in your tank is a prime means of it spreading. I've done it plenty of times with no obvious increase, and I've heard the same from many others. IME and from what I've read, the spores will be filtered out, sucked up by your filter feeders, grazed by your grazing snails, etc.

 

In short--I wouldn't worry about them.

 

As to how to keep that particular rock from regrowing the bubbles--I guess you could take drastic action and give the rock a dermobrasion treatment ()--or you could keep picking them off by hand.

 

IME there are quite a few bubble species that are NOT too invasive, and are rather decorative...(I also think the bigger bubbles are less problematic than the smaller bubbled species...).

 

--Diane

[Weetabix7]

Thanks Diane. I actually ended up mostly going by SDT's recommendation and taking the bubbles off by hand and pouring RO water over the areas where they popped.

 

Here's a couple quick pics of some of what I got from SeeDemTails. I'll try to get better pics later.

 

 

[Nick's Reef]

Nice corals weetie!

[Weetabix7]

Nice corals weetie!

 

Wow, that was quick!

Thanks!

I have to do a serious cleaning and WC today and once I get everything taken care of I will try to get some really good shots off of the new stuff. The pic of the Cap was pretty accurate, but the zoas actually look better than that. My favorite frag that I got was a small frag of "Hulk" Monti. It's a very vivid and intense green, almost has to be seen to be believed!

[Weetabix7]

Here's a couple more pics of the new stuff from SeeDemTails.

I'm not satisfied at all with the way the color came out in these pics, the colors are MUCH more intense in real life, ESPECIALLY on the Hulk Monti.

But what the hey, here's what I have right now:

 

Small Hulk Monti frag:

 

Unknown zoas:

 

[Captain]

wow. Those are some sweet Zoas.

[Weetabix7]

It turns out that it was a blessing in disguise when I had a coral-encrusted piece of LR fall behind my rockscape a couple of days ago.

In dealing with the issue, I discovered that I had a nasty invasion of some kind of scurfy algae in many areas of the tank. It's like nothing I've seen or dealt with before. It's stronger than a film algae, forming a solid skin or mat. It's not hair algae either. It's really nasty, and I did a pretty thorough cleaning of the tank, removing all that I could find.

I suspect that one of the things contributing to this growth was not enough flow in the tank, so I added a Koralia 1 tonight after the cleanup.

I also think I need more snails. I had a couple of larger snails and a multitude of smaller ones, and I think the Yellow Coris Wrasse may have been taking out some of the smaller ones, although I'm not positive of that. At any rate, I hope to get more snails soon.

[Mr. Fosi]

Could it be bryopsis?

[dopamine]

bummer about the problem algae.

 

What kind of snails are you looking into?

[Captain]

Algae...ugh. I've gotten to the point where I even hate Coraline 'cause it grows on the front glass and I have to scrape it, much less a crappy "nuisance" algae. lol hate to hear about your new PITA.

[SeeDemTails]

WOW....I am really glad that every is doing well. Those zoas are SUPER fast growers, and they look like they are doing well in your tank.

 

The hulk monti frag is looking great....It was getting that same awesome polyp extension in my tank, crazy for such a small frag huh?.....You do see the second piece on the rock right? It is a fast grower too, give it a little time to get going!

 

The cap is going to turn a darker red than that. That frag came from one of the lower plates, so give it a little time and it will deepen up!

 

Yeah, I get that sometimes, have to scrape it off with a blade. Doesnt really look like coralline, more like film algae, but is just as tough.

[SPS20]

I just put a 150w MH retro fixture with a Phoenix 14k bulb over this tank, which is why the pics look so blue with no flash. I've noticed that pics taken under Phoenix 14k with no flash actually look more blue than it looks in real life. The reality is that the color is probably halfway between the flash and no flash pics in person.

 

I have had the exact same experience.

 

I recently put two 14k 150w phoenix bulbs over my tank, and all my pictures seem to come out looking much bluer than the tank does in person. I don't think the sensor in my digital camera knows what to do with that color of light. I have messed with my white balance settings, but to no avail.

 

Your tank looks wonderful, and your kids are adorable. Keep the pics coming.

[Weetabix7]

I have had the exact same experience.

 

I recently put two 14k 150w phoenix bulbs over my tank, and all my pictures seem to come out looking much bluer than the tank does in person. I don't think the sensor in my digital camera knows what to do with that color of light. I have messed with my white balance settings, but to no avail.

 

Your tank looks wonderful, and your kids are adorable. Keep the pics coming.

 

Nice to see you here, thank you!!!

One of the things I've learned is that if you use a flash the colors come out closer to true. It still takes a little fiddling though, and I still have a lot more to learn about the finer points of operating this camera. I know I've still only scratched the surface of what it can do.

 

Fosi, it's definitely not Bryopsis, it's not an actual macroalgae plant.

SDT's description seems closest. It's some kind of nasty, slimy, skin-like algae and in some places it has what seems like "Toe Cheese" growing or collected underneath it. Gross, right??!!!

[SeeDemTails]

If you have a canon, I get the best color with my Canon SD 630 under my 14k phoenix with the "cloudy" setting in the white balance menu. I love canon point and shoots, but I have found them to be challenging to use with blue lighting.

 

My Sony HDR SR5 High def camcorder w/4 mp dig still takes awesome pictures, with perfect color representation, and not to mention the macro mode. I have to clean the glass so its perfectly clear, otherwise if it is not clear enough, the camera will focus on the glass, even if the lens is touching it!

[SPS20]

If you have a canon, I get the best color with my Canon SD 630 under my 14k phoenix with the "cloudy" setting in the white balance menu. I love canon point and shoots, but I have found them to be challenging to use with blue lighting.

 

My Sony HDR SR5 High def camcorder w/4 mp dig still takes awesome pictures, with perfect color representation, and not to mention the macro mode. I have to clean the glass so its perfectly clear, otherwise if it is not clear enough, the camera will focus on the glass, even if the lens is touching it!

 

 

OO thanks! My camera is a canon point-and-shoot, i'll have to try that when I get home. (I think the cloudy setting is the only one I didn't try, lol)