Monochrome5's 8g Biocube Build *NEW PICS 4/18*

[Monochrome5]

So my Radioactive Dragon Eyes haven't opened since Tuesday... They closed when I floated a bag and haven't come back since. I did a water change last night (I usually do them every Sunday) and still nothing. The bag brushed them and they all closed... Any idea why they aren't opening back up? All my other zoas (5 other kinds), my GSP, my duncan, my brain and my monti are all looking wonderful. The duncan's even sprouted a new head! Are the dragon eyes just being pissy? Or should I be worried?

 

PS: The bag just had 4 nass snails.

[divecj5]

I wouldn't worry at this point. Probably just being temperamental.

[Monochrome5]

And hey... they're back. It's like those little guys knew I was talking about them and now they've started opening up again. Oi.

[Monochrome5]

Yay new corals!! Thanks to VicSkimmer for hooking me up. And I mean hooking me up! That man sold me a good $150+ worth of coral for $35! I can't thank him enough for the new additions.

• Frogspawn
  
• Pink Flamingo Zoas
  
• Fire & Ice Zoas
  
• Puple Sea Whip Gorgonian
  

 

 

Frogspawn

Two head frogspawn. This thing is awesome. It just may be my new favorite coral!

 

Pink Flamingo Zoanthids

Just gorgeous. Vic added these FOR FREE!!! How nuts is that? They really look great in my tank and add an an awesome splash of color.

 

Fire & Ice Zoas

Sorry the picture isn't the best. Hard to shoot through the curved glass on the front of the BC8.

 

GSP

Had to get another GSP shot in. These things look absolutely stunning under the LED system.

 

Onyx

Another shot of the Onyx. She's a camera hog.

 

Purple Haze Montipora

A crummy shot of the purple haze montipora I added a few weeks ago. The brown area is (hopefully) growing back... See, I dropped the frag while trimming the plug and my greyhound grabbed it and thought it was a toy or something. Needless to say it took some battle damage. It's growing back nicely though.

 

Full Tank Shot 2/27/11

New FTS. It's not as super blue/purple in real life. Still trying to figure out how to compensate for the LEDs. You can see the purple gorgonian in the back in this shot. Not sure if he's gonna make it or not as the flow where he isn't isn't that great... Don't know where else I could move him though. You can see the Radioactive Dragon Eyes starting to open back up, too. Didn't help that a snail had just cruised over them...

[iAquanaut]

I'm jealous of your frogspawn! Haha! I've been waiting for one to show up my LFS and so far I haven't had any luck.

 

I'm also really liking your gorgonian. I've been getting really fascinated with them lately.

 

P.S. LEDs look amazing!

[Monochrome5]

I'm jealous of your frogspawn! Haha! I've been waiting for one to show up my LFS and so far I haven't had any luck.

 

I'm also really liking your gorgonian. I've been getting really fascinated with them lately.

 

P.S. LEDs look amazing!

 

Thanks man! I love frogspawns. They've had a few at the LFS, but they've always been 5+ heads and therefor too big for my tank. When I heard VisSkimmer was selling his, I had to get it. Two heads, room to grow, and awesome color.

 

I'm worried about the gorgonian. I've read they need a ton of flow, and I just don't have a ton to give him. Granted I upgraded the pump to the MJ606 (163gph vs stock 106), but that doesn't mean it's going to be whipping around in the current. Hopefully it won't mind the intermittent current from the Hydor FLO and will do just fine

[divecj5]

Looks fantastic Kyle. Really like the placement of all of the new additions and the updated FTS. Looks awesome!!

 

I'll have to snag a frag of that GSP once it starts to fully encrust that rock. It's hella bright!!

[Monochrome5]

Looks fantastic Kyle. Really like the placement of all of the new additions and the updated FTS. Looks awesome!!

 

I'll have to snag a frag of that GSP once it starts to fully encrust that rock. It's hella bright!!

 

Indeed. I should sell frags with a free pair of sunglasses. You're #1 on my list once stuff reaches frag size

[Monochrome5]

Added a peppermint shrimp today. No aptasia... I just think they're neat

 

In other news, the zoas I got for free from the LFS aren't looking so hot. Only two have opened/stayed open, and those both look alright. The others are melting (probably didn't help that I got superglue on some). I moved them to the sand to see if they'll recover.

 

Anyone know what they are?

 

[snookman03]

WOW this tank is looking great, keep it up.

[Monochrome5]

OMG NEW ZOAS!!!

 

Man... the LFS has really kicked it up a notch lately. They've switched suppliers and have started getting in what they call "nano corals" frags. Which basically means I get badass zoas/corals for $15 or less. The new additions:

 

Whammin' Watermelons?

These didn't have a name (called "fancy zoas" at the LFS), but I think they're Whammin' Watermelons. Cost me $10 for a colony with 30+ polyps.

 

Yellow Jackets? Pirate's Booty?



These things look like they were colored with a highlighter. No Idea what they're called, but man are they one hell of an awesome score for $5.

 

Radioactive Dragon Eyes



Not new, but they've all opened up again!

 

Fire & Ice



A much better shot of my Fire & Ice. Seen growth in them already!

 

Pink Flamingos



I can't tell you how much I love these. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

 

FTS 3/12/2011



Can't believe how much this tank has taken off in two months. I'm in love with this thing!

[divecj5]

Looks really killer man!! Really hate that I was out of town when those zoas came in at AOA. It looks like we might be able to make a nice zoa/paly trade here in the near future.

 

Really really like the FTS. Looks A LOT bigger than 8g.

[Monochrome5]

 

I know it's a bit blurred, but I had to wait for the powerhead to blow my duncan's tentacles up so you could see... BABY DUNCAN!!!!! It now has wee little tentacles!! And there are two more budding already! That's right... from 1 head to 4 in under a month. Go Duncan Go.

[divecj5]

Go Duncan GO is right Kyle. It really looks fantastic and glad to see that it's putting out so much growth. You must be doing something right

 

Where did you snag it from again? Tideline or AOA? I'd really like to get my hands on a single head like that but haven't seen any locally.

 

Also, what camera settings are you using? I ask because the colors in the FTS look really pretty spot on for how I remember your tank in person and just wondering if you're shooting RAW, in Av (aperture priority) or if you're setting the color temp in camera.

 

I can't wait for our trade down the line. The Nightmares are going to look killer in there.

[Monochrome5]

Go Duncan GO is right Kyle. It really looks fantastic and glad to see that it's putting out so much growth. You must be doing something right

 

Where did you snag it from again? Tideline or AOA? I'd really like to get my hands on a single head like that but haven't seen any locally.

 

Also, what camera settings are you using? I ask because the colors in the FTS look really pretty spot on for how I remember your tank in person and just wondering if you're shooting RAW, in Av (aperture priority) or if you're setting the color temp in camera.

 

I can't wait for our trade down the line. The Nightmares are going to look killer in there.

 

 

You're gonna hate this... but I'm not shooting in RAW when I shoot my tank. I've found that the LEDs destroy the color sensors in dSLRs, so I shoot in jpeg. For whatever reason the compression of the jpeg helps eliminate a lot of blue edges/ghosting. I shoot in Shutter Priority (S) mode. I've found that a tripod + my 105mm fixed macro lens gives a great picture at a shutter speed of 1/3sec (I play around with the speed, but the majority of my shots are between 1/3sec and 1sec). My aperture is generally controlled by the camera, though I like to use an eV of -2 for shots that have a lot of blue. It helps keep the blue LEDs from washing out the blue tones. It makes the image a bit darker, however it captures more true-to-life colors once you balance the tones in post-processing. Hopefully this helps... I really don't fiddle much with the camera settings, and I basically just brighten/crop images in photoshop. Editing is hard for me since I'm colorblind.

[divecj5]

Hey man. I've been at the point where I'm damn near ready to pull my hair out trying to capture anything remotely close to the coloration with RAW so thanks a TON for the suggestions. Like you've noticed, the spectrum produced by the LEDs just throws the sensor for a loop. Even if I'm shooting in RAW and adjust the kelvin to say 50,000 post-process, there are still areas of ghosting/blue edges and trying to keep the highlights from blowing out, even shooting manually, is a nightmare.

 

Thanks for the suggestion of shooting jpg and using shutter priority (Tv) as well. I spent the better part of an hour last night trying to get some shots in RAW (with little luck) so I'm anxious to give these settings a whirl tonight.

 

If all else fails, I might have to have you bring the Nikon (gasp) over to see what you're able to get

[DaveFason]

Kyle,

That stuff looks killer under the loaner unit!

 

-Dave

[Monochrome5]

Hey man. I've been at the point where I'm damn near ready to pull my hair out trying to capture anything remotely close to the coloration with RAW so thanks a TON for the suggestions. Like you've noticed, the spectrum produced by the LEDs just throws the sensor for a loop. Even if I'm shooting in RAW and adjust the kelvin to say 50,000 post-process, there are still areas of ghosting/blue edges and trying to keep the highlights from blowing out, even shooting manually, is a nightmare.

 

Thanks for the suggestion of shooting jpg and using shutter priority (Tv) as well. I spent the better part of an hour last night trying to get some shots in RAW (with little luck) so I'm anxious to give these settings a whirl tonight.

 

If all else fails, I might have to have you bring the Nikon (gasp) over to see what you're able to get

 

 

You, sir, need a Nikon. End of story

[divecj5]

You, sir, need a Nikon. End of story

 

[Monochrome5]

Vote for me in this month's photo contest!!!

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto...mp;limit=recent

 

Long exposure = sucketh.

[snookman03]

Hey mono, i didnt forget about the egg crate been super busy...ill try n get it out asap. By the way your tank is looking super

[Monochrome5]

Got a new coral today... An Acan coral. It has two huge heads and one baby head growing (in the back). I've been hesitant to purchase an acan, but I couldn't resist this bad boy.

 

Still deflated (it's only been in the tank about 45 minutes) but already throwing out some major colors.

 

 

 

 

[divecj5]

Sweet piece man. Really great colors on it already. Should look even better all puffed up and happy.

[Monochrome5]

Time for an update! The LED hood should be done in the next few days. I'm getting really anxious waiting for it to come in... Argh! HURRY UP DAVE!!!!

 

In other news, I mounted my favia finally. It's on a partially shaded ledge. I've been reading up on them and read that they seem to like a bit of shade, so we'll see how it does there. One of the heads looks to be splitting. You can see a second mouth forming inside the right-most head and the wall is starting to pinch. Hopefully it likes it's new home!

 

Now, on to the peeeechurs!

 

The Camera Hog

 

The Unknown LFS Zoas



If you've been following along you'll recognize these as my first coral in this tank. 21 polyps for $8 at the LFS. These things are growing like weeds... I've got well over 60 polyps easily now and getting 5+ a week. Still don't know what they're called, but I have started fragging them and giving them to people for free. Spread the love!

 

Whammin' Watermelons



Another shot of the watermelons. You can see my (still recovering) Purple Haze Montipora growing to the left. It's had a little over an inch of growth since switching to LEDs!

 

Baby Duncans!



Look how big the baby duncan head has gotten!! There are two new ones on either side of the first baby head. That makes at least 3 new heads since it's arrival!

 

Meteor Red Favia



I know this shot kinda sucks, but I was experimenting with "spotlighting". Yeah... Lets just say the experiment was a failure haha.

 

FTS 4/4/11

 

I'm really shocked at the growth these LEDs have given my tank. Once the hood comes in I'll be flooding this post with even more pictures. I can't wait to see the full 18 LED rig. 6 more LEDs plus all the controllability of the custom drivers/controller... Whew. Gonna be sick.

[divecj5]

Great update Kyle and fantastic pictures. I have to be honest, I've been amazed at the growth with the LEDs from Dave as well. Not that I was too skeptical, but I really loved the color that the T5s that I used to run would produce. That said, the shadows and ripple effect is a welcomed return.

 

Keep up the good work man. I can't wait to see how things look in another few months. The tank should be sufficiently covered in zoas/palys by then.

 

-Adam