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Blenwood's Reef - 1st attempts at focus stacking


Cannedfish

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Thank you @Christopher Marks for selecting my tank! Despite my best efforts and the less than ideal combination of general incompetence and bourbon Blenwood and the gang somehow persevered! We are truly honored (and still surprised) to be part of a select group of some truly amazing tanks!

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tanacharison

I’m going to start by saying this selection was certainly the work of the chickens. I’m not saying @Christopher Marks answered the door last month and in ran the blenwood army but I haven’t heard much about them lately and I somehow doubt those peckers get a vacation. Regardless the tank is still a fantastic 10 gallon reef. It’s success does make me consider adding whisky to my personal intake and more dosing for the reef but I’m too lazy for all this water change bs kids talk about. I’ll continue to upgrade my equipment like I’m building a Ironman suit in hopes it starts forgiving the neglect.... or maybe it’s lack of southern charm. Regardless cheers to TOTM and I’ll be sending something extra special later this month. Labeled not for the chickens! 

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Congrats on TOTM, it's well deserved and this is one of my all time favorite tanks. I feel like I nominated this tank like a year ago so it's about time 😁

 

And I agree with @tanacharison, all credit is due to the chickens. 

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I'm probably beating a dead horse (which seems morbid, but I digress...), but thank you to everyone for the kind words, messages, and support. This is going to sound cheesy, but I honestly don't think my tank would have ever gotten even to half of where it is (good or bad), without this forum and the community it fosters. I apologize for not getting on the gratitude train earlier, but fortunately (or unfortunately if you happen to be my liver, brain, or body in general), the morning after the TOTM announcement, I boarded a plane, left the deep south, and headed out to meet up with a bunch of college degenerates for the annual duck hunt that we have questionably named the "Man Hunt." And was pretty much out of touch for the next six days of sleep deprived debauchery and three more days or recovery. Although, I am not technically a doctor, this year was more brutal than most, and I am pretty sure I took a solid two years off my life expectancy. So anyone out there who took the "under" on me making it to the US male life expectancy average... you bet is looking safe. That being said, despite sitting out in the ocean off the coast of Boston in the middle of the winter in 25 mph winds being pelted with freezing rain... the duck hunting was surprisingly good! Again thank you to everyone! 

 

On 1/1/2019 at 1:30 PM, Reefkid88 said:

Heck ya brother !!!!!

Thanks man! I'm not sure if I am as worthy as some of the others but I am certainly honored. 

 

On 1/1/2019 at 3:28 PM, vlangel said:

Way to go and congrats!

Thank you, I means a lot!

 

On 1/1/2019 at 3:44 PM, SeaFurn said:

Congrats!  Beautiful reef!

Really appreciate that thank you!

 

On 1/2/2019 at 6:21 PM, tanacharison said:

I’m going to start by saying this selection was certainly the work of the chickens. I’m not saying @Christopher Marks answered the door last month and in ran the blenwood army but I haven’t heard much about them lately and I somehow doubt those peckers get a vacation. Regardless the tank is still a fantastic 10 gallon reef. It’s success does make me consider adding whisky to my personal intake and more dosing for the reef but I’m too lazy for all this water change bs kids talk about. I’ll continue to upgrade my equipment like I’m building a Ironman suit in hopes it starts forgiving the neglect.... or maybe it’s lack of southern charm. Regardless cheers to TOTM and I’ll be sending something extra special later this month. Labeled not for the chickens! 

Hahah! To run this back to Shaolin and dutifully quote the Wu Tang Clan  "[the Blenwood army ain't nothin' to #$^& with." Sure it might be mostly comprised of shysty chickens and overweight fish but they are scrappy. You are 100% correct. The chickens definitely don't get vacation, and actually that is why you haven't heard from them. Mainly, because after getting a slight taste of fame, they let it go to their head. Then decided that they were unhappy with their working conditions, went on strike, and then after a prolonged battle decided to unionize. You would think it would have all ended there, but they also decided to hire an employment attorney and we are currently locked in a headed legal battle. They are demanding more dried worms, I want them to stop pooping in the kitchen. It seems both sides are dug in. Chickens may be stupid, but they are also stupidly good at paperwork!

 

Regarding bourbon. I didn't mention it too much in my write-up, but I would honestly say that it accounts for 95% of my success and 82% of my disasters. Much like cheap Mexican food, drinking wine on international flights, and water parks, bourbon is definitely a wicked temptress. That being said, you should drink more... you know for your tank. We really need to start a beer club thread, because those last three you send were absolute fire. I have been out of town recently, but you will have a fun pack coming your way shortly. And lastly, thank again, I appreciate the love!

 

On 1/3/2019 at 6:04 PM, teenyreef said:

Congrats on TOTM, it's well deserved and this is one of my all time favorite tanks. I feel like I nominated this tank like a year ago so it's about time 😁

 

And I agree with @tanacharison, all credit is due to the chickens. 

Thanks Teeny, it really means a lot! I don't need to reiterate the fact your tank has been a huge inspiration, but apparently that last clause did just that. Again, I agree with you that they most of the credit is due to the chickens, because what people don't realize, and what I have never told anyone is that my secret sauce isn't excessive water changes or an extreme dosing schedule or sheer drunken luck but rather it's because I carbon dose with chicken poop. Yep that it! The secret is out!

 

On 1/4/2019 at 7:27 AM, markalot said:

... and normally I don't visit threads with pictures of cocks.

 

/bow

 

 

Thanks Mark! I still have many many many levels to climb before I can even sniff the atmosphere that your tanks reside in! And I can't stress enough all the valuable insight reading your threads have provided! Oh, and don't worry there will be plenty more cocks!

 

On 1/9/2019 at 1:35 AM, Frag Factory said:

Awesome reef!

Thank you so much! Really appreciate that!

 

On 1/9/2019 at 2:38 AM, Clown79 said:

Congrats! 

 

The tank is beautiful and the photos, wow.

Thanks Clown!! I still feel like the tank and especially my photo skills have a long way to go, but hopefully the macro lens and finally moving up to the big boy DSLR will help things along. Again, thank you for the love!! 

 

.....

And now without further ado! Bad photos!!

 

 

Cali Tort has been exploding the last month!

14C528DF-39C6-4DCE-8806-0D9F98446C55.jpeg

 

El Generalissimo of the B-Wood Army!

D7C4A7E6-1431-4DD5-8B68-46E86A17678D.jpeg

 

Button Scoly doing a hangry:

471D36F5-48FF-4DC7-B09B-FCC4D94CE3C4.jpeg

 

The Upscales Microlados has branches sprouting everywhere!

52B9148D-702F-41CF-A6F2-5C7DA98CC8F4.jpeg

 

You are going to be seeing a lot of NPS because as the tank grows in they are about only thing that is easy to take pictures of...

B990C12D-268C-4C7B-BC50-548758BF5ABE.jpeg

 

See statement above:

6955C930-9A10-4321-B168-2119D8825FE5.jpeg

 

Scoter Grand Slam (surf, common, white-wing)!

7D6B7558-938D-4DED-A6DF-EB5ED39AEE37.jpeg

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Alright, where are we?

 

That’s right, somehow it’s already a fortnight into the 2019. Woof. Now, I understand why I don’t remember the ball dropping (it rhymes with smourbon), and I get that I lost a week or so off my life shooting ducks in the Boston Harrbah (it more-or-less also rhymes with smourbon), but besides that it’s pretty much a blank....  At this point I’m not even upset that I keep writing 2018 as the date when I’m kiting checks for suspicious items at the sketchy corner bodega... I’ve given up. At this rate, I figure I’m not going to be ready for 2019 till at least mid-March. But shoot, if the government is shut down, screw it so am I. 

 

Enough about me though, we all you why you’re here, and that’s due to a two inch overweight aqua-weenie named Blenwood. You want to know how that pudgy Vienna sausage is doing? Well, he’s great! Though, despite gentle prodding, weight loss is not one of his New Year’s resolutions. Speaking of which, his actual resolutions include the following: 1) successfully run a “Nigerian Prince bank fraud scheme” on an unsuspecting group of wealthy widows, 2) really get into the Neapolitan ice cream flavor, 3) bring back hammer pants. It’s going to be an interesting year, I have faith in the little guy!

 

In more relevant news, the tank on the whole is doing suspiciously well. Parameters have been relatively stable, things are growing pretty well, and generalized warfare has been at a minimum. So that’s cool. I do have what appears to be the beginnings of an aptasia infestation, so I’m going to pick up a peppermint shrimp this weekend. But other than that, the tank has pretty much been hanging out in what could be best described as the “grace period after an impressionable Hollywood starlet first leaves rehab and has yet to talk to either her step-mother or ex-boyfriend.” We all know disaster is on the horizon, it just hasn’t arrived yet.  

 

The frag tank on the other hand is a decrepit algae infested cesspool for utter shame and personal failure that is a likely disease vector for Ebola. I spent a good hour and a half this past weekend (which significantly cut into my dedicated smourbon time) completely scrubbing it of GHA/STD’s only for the plague to return no less than four days later. But as my mother used to say, what elbow grease can’t solve, a credit card can. So with those words of wisdom in mind, I have procured an IM refugium light, ordered an @inTank fuge basket, and have chaeto arriving from algae barn. I’m going to fight fire with fire... err algae with algae. And if that doesn’t work im going to literally fight algae with fire. The last statement isn’t a metaphor, I’m literally going to set the tank on fire. 

 

Welp that enough crappy updates, reading for nerds! Let’s get on to the  crappy photos!!

 

Walking Dendro:

51C889EF-DBA8-4231-8C7C-1F416912F2DF.jpeg

 

Sitting Dendro:

C789F096-DDC5-4428-A1DA-D7C358E1DE49.jpeg

 

Old School Contrast:

9E26065D-A393-4930-85A8-6AE8C0A415D3.jpeg

 

Reclamation project:

E4E9579B-DD09-49D7-AE4F-6B78ADFBB8BB.jpeg

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Looks like your mushroom has a bad case of herpes.   Take it out and send it to me😊.. oh and I haven't bugged you for a minute now .....so where is the chicken saga part deuce.??? been waiting for awhile now I might even need a recap it's been so damn long.......😋

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On 1/16/2019 at 7:59 PM, Weikel said:

Looks like your mushroom has a bad case of herpes.   Take it out and send it to me😊.. oh and I haven't bugged you for a minute now .....so where is the chicken saga part deuce.??? been waiting for awhile now I might even need a recap it's been so damn long.......😋

...soon...

 

....................

 

Anyways here are some mediocre Friday morning pictures to (in conjunction with a cocktail) help ease you into the weekend. In other news, I cannot for the life of me take pictures of fish. It's my shame. 

 

 

Fish tales:

17BBBCA4-C7FE-4CA7-A214-E54588D0C8C3.jpeg

 

Color-up! Color-up! Color-up!

15E6119F-881D-45AE-9B08-715BC6465B37.jpeg

 

Whiskers the Good Boy:

CAF35351-5201-46A9-8DBD-26E8A2376C28.jpeg

 

One day I'll take a clear fish pic...

46699ED0-5A87-4393-8E1D-3D153E9B5585.jpeg

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On 1/16/2019 at 8:59 PM, Weikel said:

Looks like your mushroom has a bad case of herpes.   Take it out and send it to me😊.. oh and I haven't bugged you for a minute now .....so where is the chicken saga part deuce.??? been waiting for awhile now I might even need a recap it's been so damn long.......😋

if you're talking about that last pic - it's NOT mushroom.  possibly something a lot more valuable, just saying.

 

 

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3 hours ago, micoastreefing said:

if you're talking about that last pic - it's NOT mushroom.  possibly something a lot more valuable, just saying.

 

 

Oh really???? Thought it was maybe one of those fancy smacy bounce shrooms or something 

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HookedOnAquariums
On 1/18/2019 at 11:13 AM, Weikel said:

Oh really???? Thought it was maybe one of those fancy smacy bounce shrooms or something 

Fancy smancy blastomussa. 

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Hahaha I just cannot with your stories lol they kill me every time. 

 

 Tank is looking mighty fine though bud,really starting to come into its own and mature. 

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On 1/18/2019 at 8:10 AM, micoastreefing said:

if you're talking about that last pic - it's NOT mushroom.  possibly something a lot more valuable, just saying.

 

 

 

On 1/18/2019 at 11:13 AM, Weikel said:

Oh really???? Thought it was maybe one of those fancy smacy bounce shrooms or something 

 

On 1/19/2019 at 11:20 AM, HookedOnAquariums said:

Fancy smancy blastomussa. 

 

Aptly put. From what I was told, this thing is a fancy smancy blasto. When I got it was in super rough shape, which accounted for the extreme discount I was able to swindle it for (*diabolically rubs hands together*) . But with daily feeding it has started to make a recovery. Sometimes I am skeptical with certain coral fads... But I do declare, this little LPS, even in it's particularly and most unsightly  "ridden-hard-and-put up-wet" condition is arguably the brightest thing in my tank. It's currently tucked a way in a back corner (I hate the look of frag racks), but when the blues come on this thing is "shier than a diamond in a goats arse!" 

 

On 1/19/2019 at 12:48 PM, Reefkid88 said:

Hahaha I just cannot with your stories lol they kill me every time. 

 

 Tank is looking mighty fine though bud,really starting to come into its own and mature. 

Thanks, man! Baring any sort of apocalyptic event it may eventually grow fully out... in 12-15 months. 🤦‍♂️

 

.................................

 

Anyways, I owe the journal a monthly tank update, and FTS, but that will have to wait till tomorrow. In the mean time here are some unimpressive photos to get your through Humpday!

 

Lorp doin' a Lorp:

FC88B9D7-3EB7-431B-8BA2-691B523E6DC3.jpeg

 

Digi:

AA5754C8-D29F-4194-827C-F427E519468D.jpeg

 

CB White Zombie:

5D0C6C06-4F50-40D9-922C-B16A0873DC11.jpeg

 

Captain Dumbface:

2BA4C130-F074-4F4F-826E-649E1ABAE76A.jpeg

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