Rehype Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I think I may have been a bit crazy when I stocked up on bulbs, I plan to change them out annually which is probably still too often. Well maybe not since bulbs that arent actively cooled dont last as long as bulbs that are. I have the same issue in my current fixture and have had to swap out bulbs after 6 months. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Well maybe not since bulbs that arent actively cooled dont last as long as bulbs that are. I have the same issue in my current fixture and have had to swap out bulbs after 6 months. Hm, you're right they aren't actively cooled...the pressurized cooling fans on my LED rows do pull air from inside the enclosure and exhaust it outwards but it would be much more effective with a splash shield sealing the unit from the tank but might help a tad. I'll stick with my annual change out and try to find a an old Purple Plus to see the color. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 "Macro" shots dump...can't afford a real 100mm F2.8 so I'm shooting with my 50mm reverse mounted... Link to comment
Archaic37 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Dialed in that WB I see How did you get such clear shots with it reverse mounted? Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Pictures look amazing! Thanks! Dialed in that WB I see How did you get such clear shots with it reverse mounted? Indeed I did thanks to your tips and a few others! I will probably borrow my friends grey card and try again next shoot though. One thing I couldn't quite figure out was how to get the light to shine properly on the 2D "white card" Do you hold it perpendicular to the light, slightly slanted etc. I basically just placed it middle depth/middle of the tank with a slight incline backwards to catch the light, then some tweaking on in the WB shift menu till it matched what I saw in person. Would be great to not even need to do the shift though... Tripod and remote trigger are key for reverse mount macro, the slightest bump or shake and it'll be blurry. Lots of them will come out blurry of course so I usually shoot a bunch and don't really look at them till I get them on the computer. You also you need a pretty high aperture to not get a really small DOF when reverse mounted. The above shots are at F10 and as you can see they still have a pretty shallow DOF. With the higher aperture you'll need lots of light and/or longer exposure so shake and coral/water movement becomes more of an issue. Oh ya, lastly use live view if your camera has it and 10x zoom into where you want it to be clear then "focus"by moving the camera closer/farther in very small increments, the focus ring is useless when reverse mounted. Link to comment
Archaic37 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I usually just lay it on.the sand bed or lean it against a rock. Yeah the issue with custom WB is you get some weird looking colors. You can always change it in post and not do the wb shift. Yeah didn't think about a tripod and trigger. I use macro tubes some times.but they are.the cheap ones so you are stuck with the lowest Fstop that is on.the lens you're using. There are macro tubes.that let you adjust Fstop but they are like $50 compared to the $10 ones I use Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 Hmm macro tubes, never looked into those. Do you have a link to the one you have? For $10 your shots seem well worth it...by the way you may be able to fix that f-stop issue with the macro tubes. You won't be able to adjust it on the fly but if put your lens on first, set your F-stop to what you want then on my camera T3i with the lens facing forward there's a button on the base to the left that basically lets you "preview" what your F-stop would look like. You can hold that down and take off the lens at the same time and it will essentially be "stuck" in that F-stop until you reconnect the lens to the body. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 The tank is 170 days old today, almost half a year! Equipment and livestock wise nothing has changed, with the exception of the Bluefish LED controller that I am impatiently waiting for I did try to get my DIY recirculating BP reactor online a few times but gave up with priming issues. I'll have to re-design it or swoop up a pre-made one if I find one for cheap. So the past few weeks I have been noticing a slow decline in my LPS/SPS and I couldn't figure out why. SPS were losing PE, color was fading away and acan frags were melting. My LPS weren't as plump and seemed a bit bleached but the fish were happy, the zoas were doing great and the anemone was gigantic. I had been using a big 200 gallon bag of regular Red Sea salt and was down to my last 50 gallons or so. Even with weekly water changes, the corals that needed the big three from the water column just seemed to be crawling along and some falling behind. I decided it was time for a change so I ordered a Red Sea Reef Foundation Test Kit and a bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro salt. My hunch was the levels of the big three were very low in my system even with regular water changes. Against my good judgement and what most people would suggest...I decided to do a 5 gallon water change entirely with RCSP, my test kit didn't arrive until a few days later. I wanted to mix RCSP exactly as they describe on YouTube to see if it really worked and it did! Perfectly crystal clear water in just 6 minutes with room temperature RODI, fastest water change ever! Anyways, the next day I instantly noticed better PE, colors and overall coral health! I decided to do another 5 gallon water change the next day with RCSP following the same process and again the corals continued to look better. Today I used my RC test kit and got the following numbers: pH: 7.9 Calcium: 405 Alk [KH]: 4.6!? (I did this test twice, very little titrant was needed to see the color change) Magnesium (Mg): 1240 For all you reef chemistry gurus out there, what should I do from here? I heard GFO has a tendency to lower pH/alk and not having any fresh air near the tank can cause low pH as well. I've been running GFO since the tank was started and I try to open my windows/doors whenever possible. The next 5 gallon water change I do with RCSP I will be testing the fresh made water to make sure the levels of my mix are per the label and to make sure I don't have a bad batch. Left FTS MOOAARRRRR ISO FTS Right FTS View From The End It's Lonely On Top Mint Chocolate Icecream Cone Unknown Zoas Make Another Appearance SPS Grow Faster! Magician Mini Colony Slippery Slope Thanks for visiting! Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Great pics! Thanks! Here are some fish pictures from last Friday! McCosker Wrasse Clownin' Around Tank Updates: I did a 5 gallon water change last night with RSCP and another one just now. I ran test on the fresh mixed RSCP and got the following numbers: pH: 8.3 Ca: 475 Mg: 1480 Alk: 11.8 Looks within the range on the label for 35ppt, I'm letting it mix with my tank water now then I will run a test on my tank and decide what to do depending on where it's at...to be continued.. Alright so here are my numbers about an hour after a water change, shortly after lights out with increase since 6 days ago. pH: 8.1 (+0.2) Ca: 435 ppm (+30) Mg: 1460 ppm (+220) Alk: 5.3 dKh (+0.7) Looks like Alk is still low, I'm planning to dose Baking Soda in my ATO tomorrow...I read I should not increase my Alk by more than 1.5 dKh/24hour is this correct? If so I plan to only raise it to 6.8 dKh over a 24 hour drip. Once I get my Alk stable I can monitor my levels in a week and see if water changes will maintain my levels or if I need to start dosing. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Parameters Update After dosing 8g of Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) over two days, I tested my parameters on Sunday (4/20/2014) at 10:30AM and obtained the following readings. These readings are about 60 hours from my last water test on (04/17/2014) at 11:30PM. pH: 8.3 (+0.2) Ca: 395 ppm (-40) Mg: 1340 ppm (-120) Alk: 9.4 dKh (+4.1) My alkalinity is finally up to a good range, the calcium drop was expected with a combination of coral uptake and the raising of the alkalinity. I'm also very happy that my pH is finally in a good range as well, no doubt also due to the rise in alkalinity and my window I leave cracked open now. Tomorrow I plan to do a 5g water change, after which I will test my parameters and plan to start dosing Kalkwasser to raise or maintain my Ca/Alk. Hopefully I can maintain levels with just Kalk until my SPS start to really take off at which point I may need to move over to a 2-3 part dosing method. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Parameters Update Did a 5 gallon water change yesterday and cleaned my return line / check valve, boy was that dirty! My flow was slowing down too causing my overflow box to start running low, churning along nicely now. I let the water change circulate for about an hour and then took the following readings. pH: 8.3 (+0) Ca: 415 ppm (+20) Mg: 1340 ppm (+0) Alk: 8.1 dKh (-0.7) Using the reef calculator it looks like at 415 ppm Calcium, I should have a balanced Alkalinity of 7.8 dKh. And at 8.1 dKh Alkalinity, I should have a balanced Calcium level of 418 ppm. With the inherent human error of test kits I would say my Ca/Alk levels are balanced, which makes sense. Aiming for a target 425 ppm Calcium / 9.2 dKh Alkalinity, I would need 0.61 gallons of saturated Kalk to reach the target Calcium and 0.5 gallon to reach the target Alkalinity. From previous test with the baking soda dosing I found out my tank goes through roughly 0.25 gallon of RO/DI in an 8 hour period. Using this I will make 1 gallon of saturated Kalk and have my ATO feed from it. This should last about 32 hours. I will test my parameters again tonight before hooking up the Kalk solution to get a baseline, then multiple times through the gallon process to make sure my levels don't get too high. If I can maintain my Ca/Alk using Kalk I plan to purcahse a Kalk reactor which will be fed with my ATO to prevent clogging up my Aqualifter with Kalk solution. Corals are all reacting very well to the now proper nutrient levels and gaining back a lot of color and growth. I am so glad I finally decided to start testing. I never had this issue in my past tank because my regular 2 gallon water changes were enough to keep up with the coral demand in the pico tank. If anyone else is following along and notices anything off with my regiment plan/calculations please feel free to chime in...I'm going based off of the various knowledge I've been gathering these past few weeks. Possible photodump update coming tomorrow night... Link to comment
Arkayology Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Update on this amazing tank? Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 Update on this amazing tank? Thanks for checking in, sorry no photo updates, not much has changed on the tank...now that I switched to Coral Pro and got my parameters in check I now finally have some nice color and measurable growth. I picked up a SPS frag pack from a recent local sale and are coloring/growing those out now on the frag rack. My fruitloop zoas are crazy happy and have at least doubled in numbers. I haven't changed much in the tank or added anything in awhile due to my upcoming termite fumigation, at which time my rock, fish and coral will be tub bound for 50 hours Pending a successful transfer back I will be picking up a Halichoeres Cosmetus which a LFS was finally able to get a hold of for me. Temporarirly removing the livestock means the opportunity to scrub any remaining algae and possibly a rescape! Any suggestions or photos for inspiration would be great. I'll have to add a decent sized "sandbox" for the incoming wrasse though so I may scape around that. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Thanks for checking in, sorry no photo updates, not much has changed on the tank...now that I switched to Coral Pro and got my parameters in check I now finally have some nice color and measurable growth. I picked up a SPS frag pack from a recent local sale and are coloring/growing those out now on the frag rack. My fruitloop zoas are crazy happy and have at least doubled in numbers. I haven't changed much in the tank or added anything in awhile due to my upcoming termite fumigation, at which time my rock, fish and coral will be tub bound for 50 hours Pending a successful transfer back I will be picking up a Halichoeres Cosmetus which a LFS was finally able to get a hold of for me. Temporarirly removing the livestock means the opportunity to scrub any remaining algae and possibly a rescape! Any suggestions or photos for inspiration would be great. I'll have to add a decent sized "sandbox" for the incoming wrasse though so I may scape around that. GL with the move. I can't really help with the rescape as I am terrible at stacking rocks so that they look good. Link to comment
venturalvn Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 This tank is beautiful. Great job! Can you a post a couple pics of your overflow? I am looking for good examples of HOB herbie style overflows. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 This tank is beautiful. Great job! Can you a post a couple pics of your overflow? I am looking for good examples of HOB herbie style overflows. Thanks! What specific pictures are you looking for? The overflow itself is two standpipes, bottom drilled 3/4" and 1/2" bulkheads. The overflow wall is a custom cut/bent piece of ABS plastic with no teeth. I have a shorter 1/2" main drain w/ strainer and gate valve and an open taller 3/4" emergency drain w/ no strainer or gate valve. My return is made up of 3/4" PVC 90's/40's and some soft tubing as well. I may be re-making my return soon to just have a single output, with two MP10 I don't really need 3 outputs on my return anymore. For everyone still following along, I cam home Monday after work to find my McCosker Wrasse dried up on the floor Even with an almost full 1/4" screen top it was still able to find a crack to jump out. I survived my 50 hour termite fumigation with minimal losses, I couldn't get my rock work back to exactly how it was before but I'll be working on that. Updates coming soon after I get back from a hectic EDC weekend! Link to comment
venturalvn Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thanks! What specific pictures are you looking for? The overflow itself is two standpipes, bottom drilled 3/4" and 1/2" bulkheads. The overflow wall is a custom cut/bent piece of ABS plastic with no teeth. I have a shorter 1/2" main drain w/ strainer and gate valve and an open taller 3/4" emergency drain w/ no strainer or gate valve. My return is made up of 3/4" PVC 90's/40's and some soft tubing as well. I may be re-making my return soon to just have a single output, with two MP10 I don't really need 3 outputs on my return anymore. For everyone still following along, I cam home Monday after work to find my McCosker Wrasse dried up on the floor Even with an almost full 1/4" screen top it was still able to find a crack to jump out. I survived my 50 hour termite fumigation with minimal losses, I couldn't get my rock work back to exactly how it was before but I'll be working on that. Updates coming soon after I get back from a hectic EDC weekend! Oh I see you drilled the bottom of your tank. Sorry, in your OP I misread your "hang on rim" for your returns as I thought your entire overflow was hang on. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Oh I see you drilled the bottom of your tank. Sorry, in your OP I misread your "hang on rim" for your returns as I thought your entire overflow was hang on. Ah, my bad, I re-worded it now to prevent future confusion. If you can, drilling is definitely the way to go. Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 I'm bacccccccccckkkkkkkkk The tank is 246 days or just over 8 months old now! The tank has gone through some big changes since my last update. After the termite fumigation my rock work on the far end was kind of just "thrown together." I told myself I'd fix it later on...well now I think I'm going to leave it. After my move back I also just started placing corals/frags in random places, getting over a bit of my OCD and making more of a "mixed" reef once it all grows out. Equipment wise nothing has changed, I moved the far end MP10 to the overflow wall so both are facing the far end...so far I haven't noticed any pockets of detritus and it helps me really enjoy the peninsula setup. Livestock wise I lost the McCosker Wrasse as previously mentioned but will be adding a Cosmetus Wrasse in the next week or so. I plan to make a "sandbox" by epoxying in strips of acrylic to make a pen under my rock arch and then filling in the void with sand. This should allow me to keep the majority of my tank barebottom and still have a proper environment for the wrasse to thrive. Added and removed a few corals, multi-colored coraline is finally starting to grow on the rock and patches of pink coraline are showing up on the bare bottom...and now the pictures! MySpace Angles More Good Stuff Left FTS View From The End Right FTS ISO FTS Best Buds Shroom Garden Green Slimey Thing Toxic/Grape Hammers Tank Mascot "Ali" Thanks for visiting! Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Tank is 254 days old today! Not much has changed, I finally installed my Bluefish LED controller today and had a bunch of fun playing with all the settings and modes. It's nice to finally be able to sit back and adjust my color channels to my liking from my phone. ISO FTS So I bought one of these a few days ago...found a deal I couldn't pass up on CL Naturally, I went crazy and took a ton of macro shots with my new lens...boy its nice to have a real macro lens finally. Rainbowlicious Shrooms More More More Every 12 Days Like Clockwork Stubborn Orange Mauls Jolly Green Slimer Those Eyelashes! Chong Bongs Jedi Mindtrick Monti Hammertimel Gary The Hermit Janitor Red Planet Milli Thanks for visiting! Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 sexy tank Chou! Thanks! Still working towards that 1 year mark Link to comment
ChouDawg Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Tank is 267 days old today! Added a few corals, took a new FTS and some more macros shot. This weekend I will be able to determine how much Calc/Alk/Mg consumption my tank is at and beginning dosing ESV B-Ionic 2-Part, my Mag levels seem to be high with regular water changes. Still trying to get my hands on a healthy Cosmetus Wrasse and now a Sunburst Anthias which should finish off my fish stocking. Been slowly stockpiling parts for my new build and will begin sump/stand build this weekend. Now onto the pictures! ISO FTS Chong Bong Palys More More More Sunset Millipora (Under Construction) Some Kind of Digi Rainbow Trip Rastas Tri-Color Birdsnest Miyagi Tort Finally Learning The Ways of the Force I Think I <3 Milliporas Thanks for visiting! Link to comment
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