quickfinger Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 thoughts on the cad the stand is junk. the veneer peeled off within the first month, ive been all hot and bothered about that. for $200 it shouldnt do that this early on in the game. ive yet to contact cadlights about that one. i truly dislike the sump, its too small, the fuge chamber is pitiful, and the baffles going to the return chamber are too low, causing serious evap related water fluctuations. i have to get an ato. ive been topping off at least twice a day... ...other than those things all in all ive been really happy. I really like this tank (yours looks incredible, btw), and I see that Cadlights has a build-your-own deal going. I'm getting ideas.... Anyway, given what you know now, if you were to order the tank again, what would you get and not get (i.e. the sump, skimmer, lights, etc). What would you get instead? Thanks, QF Link to comment
Lawnman Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 What the heck is going on in here?I seen the title and said say what LOL.I skimmed thru the thread real quick and will go back and read it all soon.Glad to see you still have lunch.How is that skimmer doing?Did that come with the tank?I recently upgraded from the 20 gallon Elos mini to a 75 gallon rimless looks about like yours.Looking really nice glad to see you didn't sell out to LEDS and stayed MH.I think you will be alot happier. Link to comment
evo_2679 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Just read all 9 pages and all I have to say is WOW!!! Nice freaking build - love the rock scape Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 I really like this tank (yours looks incredible, btw), and I see that Cadlights has a build-your-own deal going. I'm getting ideas.... Anyway, given what you know now, if you were to order the tank again, what would you get and not get (i.e. the sump, skimmer, lights, etc). What would you get instead?Thanks, QF thanks so much QF, if i could do it again, i would have just got the tank only. also i would have asked eddie to put an external overflow on it and two returns. thats the other thing i dislike about the tank is the damn overflow box, its waaaay to large for the footprint. i would imagine that if you were able to make your own stand, and possibly a sump as well it would easily offset the cost of having the overflow customed. if youre going to get his plumbing kit, its a royal pain in the ass. be prepared for some serious leak prevention. took me the better part of 3 days to get it all running leak free. cheap chinese chit. i never did get their lights, i opted for a much higher caliber set up and ive been nothing but pleased with the lumatek ballast/lumenarc iii pendant. took a bit of finagling to get the two to work together but wowzers is the thing bright. i have to keep it almost 2ft above the water. the skimmer is sufficient, but i can see an upgrade happening in the near future if i go ahead with my stocking plans. i guess that is sort of dependent on what you are planning on keeping. ill probably upgrade for a bubble magus nac7 or larger, that depends on what i do for a sump. as for the sump, i have no friggen clue. im still working out what would be best. honestly, probably a custom sump, so i can tailor it to my needs/wants and to fit the equip i intend on running. the mp10 part is relevant to the tank as the glass is 1mm thicker than the specs for the pump. again a slight mod and it works just fine. i think an mp40 would be overkill for a tank of this size, plus using two would be gross overkill. so no syncing if you opt for the mp40. all in all ive been pleased, aside from the few flaws i stated. hope that helps you figure it out. i know how it is, i agonized over my purchase for months before i actually bought. if you go with the cad, make sure to keep your lines of communication open with eddie. he requires prodding to get a response. best of luck to ya squirrel! What the heck is going on in here?I seen the title and said say what LOL.I skimmed thru the thread real quick and will go back and read it all soon.Glad to see you still have lunch.How is that skimmer doing?Did that come with the tank?I recently upgraded from the 20 gallon Elos mini to a 75 gallon rimless looks about like yours.Looking really nice glad to see you didn't sell out to LEDS and stayed MH.I think you will be alot happier. heya lawn! were you wondering how you missed part un? poor little lunch, he has some sort of thing going on. hes loosing scales and has periodic boughts of a white film that forms on his cheek spines and at the base of his fins. he has been battling it since the wrasse was introduced. im at a loss. it may be time to pull out the heavy guns if i dont see some improvement in the next couple of weeks. though he is acting normal and eating well. he just looks kind of crappy. ive been quite pleased with the skimmer, yes it came with the tank. though i may not be the best person to ask about how it preforms in comparison to others as i only have the red sea prizm to compare it to, epic pos. lulz, i may sell out after all and go for the AI SOL, ive got the actinic itch. i havnt had them since my pc days on my little 10 gal, and i totally miss it. unless i can find something else to suit my needs there. grats on the upgrade ill be waiting for your new tank thread. Just read all 9 pages and all I have to say is WOW!!! Nice freaking build - love the rock scape aw schucks, fanks evo! much appreciated. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Great coral growth! The branching SPS are my favorites. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 hey! thanks deep. mine too, can ya tell? Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 few new shots, did some minor rearranging, im still trying to narrow down where to put a few things. sorry for the crappy shots, they were rushed. i still havnt quite figured out how to shoot under this new light, definitely changed things a bit in terms of wb and exp. ugh, i so need a real macro. lulz, my cat is so weird. he has to have a good 15lbs of clothes piled up on him. those top downs are much better representations of color. im totally fallin in love with that green tabling(?). i cant wait till its blue/purple tips come back. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 no wub? sniff.... Link to comment
cees Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 no wub? sniff.... Much wub!!! Tank is super nice and so are the pics!! Keep up the great work! Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 he he, im an attention whore, what can i say! thanks cee. ive never really attempted topdowns before. i definitely need to perfect that skill. Link to comment
cees Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Top downs look good to me what kind of cam are u using? Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 sony a200, with 70mm prime. not the best camera for sure, but i got it the 70 and a 200 all for $300 new. couldnt pass a deal up like that. i was having a hard time trying to shoot at a 90 degree to the waters surface, i was having a hard time getting a clear focus at the 45 degree angle, and at 90 i was encountering too much reflection from the light. Link to comment
cees Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 That is a good deal. I just asked my gf for a dslr i really wana start getting in to photography. I asked For one on my burfday but that's not till dec. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 oo cool! hope ya get one. if i could do it again, or in the future when i upgrade i would go cannon in a heartbeat. the iso on my sony is damn near chit, plus the interface is gawd awful. i still really havnt figured out how to adjust my aperture after two years, much less how to track my tweaking while shooting. Link to comment
cees Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Lol.. Cannons are sweet!! I was looking at the nikons the d3100 think was the model Link to comment
Rehype Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Nice shots sg. You have some awesome mini colonies. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 thanks hype, got any suggestions for taking clear top downs? those were a struggle. i need to invest in one of those acrylic camera boxes. Link to comment
Rehype Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 thanks hype, got any suggestions for taking clear top downs? those were a struggle. i need to invest in one of those acrylic camera boxes. Well firstly make sure all of your pumps are turned off. Im not sure if you have manual controls on your camera but if so try to keep your shutter at 1/125 or faster to counter motion blur caused from handshake and if possible keep your aperture at 5.6 or slower to give yourself greater dof and get most of your subject in sharp focus. Oh and try not to shoot at an angle because that will cause image distortion in most cases. BTW love the new av Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 thanks hype ill give the shutter and aperture thing a try, see if i cant come up with any better results. really i think my clarity issues were caused by the severe angle i was shooting at. i couldnt seem to find a spot dead on to my subject with out encountering reflection from the light. im off tomorrow, ill give it another go then. Link to comment
Rehype Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Np...practice make perfect..or at least close to it. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 he he! thanks, i was wondering if any one would recognize her. gotta be my fav all time comic book hero. Np...practice make perfect..or at least close to it. i prefer beating it to death until i get it right, and simultaneously driving my self mad with obsession. but that way works too. Link to comment
Rehype Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 i prefer beating it to death until i get it right, and simultaneously driving my self mad with obsession. Thats funny because thats exactly how i am...its pretty stressful Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 and this is why i have never shot in manual. yargh..... even in manual mode the damn sensor adjusts exp automatically, irregardless of my manual settings. i so wish i could turn the light metering off. friggen thing. rant, #####, moan, whine. Link to comment
squirrelieygrrrl Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 all right, so this set turned out better than the last one, but not by much. lol. thanks hype for the tips. these were shot at 70mm, f5.6, 1/50. i wasnt able to get it to shoot at 1/125, the images were too dark. even at 1/50 they were pretty dark and i had to adjust the exp in post. no color adjustments were made, just exp, contrast, a little bit of light recovery to remove the over brightened spots, and some tweaking with sharpening. c&c welcome, no needed! Link to comment
doppelganger Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 WOW your tank has just like exploded with crazy awesomeness! I swear the last time I looked it was just rock... now it's just insane! Great work! Link to comment
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