3 Foot Long Nano

[Scorched]

New Pictures

 

A unique look of the tank viewing it length-wise

 

The psuedo is always wondering what I'm doing.

 

The starfish was crawling along the glass this morning

[Hexadron]

Gorgeous pics! How big do those starfish get?

[Scorched]

Gorgeous pics! How big do those starfish get?

 

Thanks! Live Aquaria says about 5-6" but I think about the size of your palm is pretty common. Its about 2" now.

[Seattle05]

Jebus! How do you keep your tank so algae free?

[Hexadron]

Duh, starfish ...

 

She's a 'beaut. Poor thing would probably starve in my tank. Maybe someday when I get a larger tank...

[Scorched]

Jebus! How do you keep your tank so algae free?

 

Glass cleaner magnet everyday - Run small amounts of GFO and carbon changed often and regular water changes.

 

Duh, starfish ...

 

She's a 'beaut. Poor thing would probably starve in my tank. Maybe someday when I get a larger tank...

 

The tank is probably too clean for the starfish but I add in quite a bit of food and try to place small pieces near him if hes on a rock.

[Seattle05]

Glass cleaner magnet everyday - Run small amounts of GFO and carbon changed often and regular water changes.

 

 

I guess it helps when you have that nice chunky substrate. I have that crap sugary stuff that gets caught between the mag-float and the glass, so its kind of a pain.

[Scorched]

Another pictures of the purple guy with his clear fins.

 

 

My yellow/orange tip torch though hasn't been looking the greatest these last few days, and this was the very first coral I bought for the tank. So its been through many ups and downs. Now that the tank is doing really well this one is declining.... any ideas why??

I guess it helps when you have that nice chunky substrate. I have that crap sugary stuff that gets caught between the mag-float and the glass, so its kind of a pain.

 

Ya its good for the magnet so nothing gets stuck inside and also for using the water change vacuum. I can get all the crap out and most of the sand swirls around but is too heavy to get fully sucked out. The only problem with it is that it looks a little big for a nano tank, but its pro outweigh that con for me.

[Seattle05]

Maybe I'm running my lights too long? What's you light cycle?

[Scorched]

Blue on at 9, Whites and Blues on at 10, Whites off at 3, Blue off at 6. So for me its 4 hours of blues only and 5 hours of white and blue.

[1reefluvr2]

So you feed seaweed for the star?

[Scorched]

So you feed seaweed for the star?

 

I've just been placing small amounts of flake soaked in water or pellets near his body.

I don't have any seaweed or nori but according to live aquaria I'm doing what they recommend if there isnt anything in the tank for them to eat. They are more like scavengers than algae eaters.

 

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+528+578&pcatid=578

[Seattle05]

Blue on at 9, Whites and Blues on at 10, Whites off at 3, Blue off at 6. So for me its 4 hours of blues only and 5 hours of white and blue.

 

Yeah, that's about what my schedule looks like. I just recently reduced it from 11 total hours and it seems to be helping. Also I think its about time I sell my Yellow Tang. He outgrew my 40g a long time ago, but he was my first fish, so its tough to let him go.

[Scorched]

Yeah, that's about what my schedule looks like. I just recently reduced it from 11 total hours and it seems to be helping. Also I think its about time I sell my Yellow Tang. He outgrew my 40g a long time ago, but he was my first fish, so its tough to let him go.

 

Less hours of intense white LEDs for me have improved the corals colors and probably reduced algae as well,

 

I hear, its always hard when its your first fish. My first clownfish of almost 6 years jumped out of this tank about a week after I set it up. It was so sad. So having to trade your first favorite fish back is sad too. But at least the fish is still living and growing, best thing to do is keep him healthy even if it in someone elses care.

[Seattle05]

Less hours of intense white LEDs for me have improved the corals colors and probably reduced algae as well,

 

I hear, its always hard when its your first fish. My first clownfish of almost 6 years jumped out of this tank about a week after I set it up. It was so sad. So having to trade your first favorite fish back is sad too. But at least the fish is still living and growing, best thing to do is keep him healthy even if it in someone elses care.

 

For sure.

 

Well continued success with your beautiful tank.

[Grimmpls]

I love the Length-wise shot. Just an amazing view. Thank you for being awesome

[joel sandoman]

Shhhhh don't let my fish hear you! Im dosing 1mg/hr of crushed Zoloft and Abilify for 8 hour after lights out.

 

 

Those vortechs... pfft, who needs em

 

Thanks for checking it out.

Lol. I agree. Go back and look at the TOTM from before vortechs came out and compare them to the tanks with vortechs. They look just as good.

[LivingStrong08]

This tank is gorgeous. Great build. These are the types of threads that inspire people. Great work!!

[Scorched]

I love the Length-wise shot. Just an amazing view. Thank you for being awesome

 

Glad you like it. It is a unique perspective and I've been looking at my tank from more of these strange angles. Thanks but the tank deserves the awesomeness, I'm just a guy.

 

Lol. I agree. Go back and look at the TOTM from before vortechs came out and compare them to the tanks with vortechs. They look just as good.

 

Yep just get the water circulating, if its changing direction or intensity even better. I can't change the intensity but by having two opposing streams crossing each other there is a randomness to where the water eventually ends up.

 

This tank is gorgeous. Great build. These are the types of threads that inspire people. Great work!!

 

Thanks LivingStrong08. I've inspired a few people to try out the overflow design in their tanks, other than that I hope people just enjoy the pictures and videos.

[kevreh]

Beautiful tank, I've always wanted to do a long tank like this. Couple random questions after reading the whole thread;

 

- Shooting dark images RAW you showed how you could lighten them, but I dont get how the data is there since the shot is underexposed. Do/can you edit nikon RAW images in photoshop, or other app?

- What kind of polyfill do you use, and does it need to be fine?

- Your probably over it, but for the drainage problem I would get a mini air/water valve from mcmaster.com, with 1/8" or 1/4" mpt, then buy a tap set at home depot, tap a threaded fpt hole, then screw the valve on. The valve will let you control the air intake.

 

ps....your so lucky you work at such a cool place, and they let you keep a tank there.

[Scorched]

Beautiful tank, I've always wanted to do a long tank like this. Couple random questions after reading the whole thread;

 

- Shooting dark images RAW you showed how you could lighten them, but I dont get how the data is there since the shot is underexposed. Do/can you edit nikon RAW images in photoshop, or other app?

- What kind of polyfill do you use, and does it need to be fine?

- Your probably over it, but for the drainage problem I would get a mini air/water valve from mcmaster.com, with 1/8" or 1/4" mpt, then buy a tap set at home depot, tap a threaded fpt hole, then screw the valve on. The valve will let you control the air intake.

 

ps....your so lucky you work at such a cool place, and they let you keep a tank there.

 

Thanks for checking it out!

 

For the RAW image discussion I was trying to show that it was easier to recover an image that was underexposed. As there is a lot of hidden detail in the shadows of images. However it is a lot more difficult and sometimes impossible to save an image that is over exposed. The white areas become solid white and there is no way to bring back any detail. So if I know there is going to be an area of full blown white values I will often underexpose and bring the shadows and midtones back to normal, creating a wider range in value. Its basically a poorman's HDRI by only shooting 1 photo.

 

But previous to that I was saying that I found it easier to take photos of my tank under LED lighting by setting the camera to jpeg format and manually white balancing. Because even if you manually white balance and shoot raw the color temperature of the photos exceeds the limit in photoshop and lightroom. So by using the jpeg format the color temperature (the amount of blue or yellow in an image) is baked in and it looks correct on your computer monitor.

 

 

The polyfill I use is nothing fancy. It probably is the finer stuff but it is just from a craft store and is normally used for pillows and stuffed animals. It works really well at quieting the water coming out of the drains and catches lots of debris that normally would clog the socks. Instead I just pull out the polyfill every few days and replace it with new stuff. A huge bag of polyfill can last me months and it only costs a few bucks.

 

 

The valve and airline tubing connected to the top of each elbow would probably increase my draining speed. But somehow with the polyfill and enough tinkering I was able to turn my pimp on full power and it drains just fine silently without overflowing.

 

 

The tank has been great at work. By having it right next to me 5 days a week for multiple hours I get way more enjoyment out of it. It also forces me to keep it clean since I have other coworkers and clients that can see it at anytime, so I make sure its always looking its best.

[1reefluvr2]

Lucky you hows the new pics coming along?

[Scorched]

Lucky you hows the new pics coming along?

 

New pictures of .... what .... ?

Did I promise some and not deliver?

 

Otherwise tell me what you'd like pictures of and I can snap a few tomorrow or Thursday

[ArabTanker]

Otherwise tell me what you'd like pictures of and I can snap a few tomorrow or Thursday

Sump, bulkheads, plumbing and that starfish.

All the things that I need to take care of.

[1reefluvr2]

New pictures of .... what .... ?

Did I promise some and not deliver?

 

Otherwise tell me what you'd like pictures of and I can snap a few tomorrow or Thursday

New pictures of .... what .... ?

Did I promise some and not deliver?

 

Otherwise tell me what you'd like pictures of and I can snap a few tomorrow or Thursday

New pictures of .... what .... ?

Did I promise some and not deliver?

I ought

Otherwise tell me what you'd like pictures of and I can snap a few tomorrow or Thursday

i thought you were talking about taking pictures figured you were going to take some guessshhhh sorrrrryyyy....!