Blenwood's Reef - 1st attempts at focus stacking

[Cannedfish]

On 2/1/2021 at 9:49 PM, Jungle_v_i_p said:

If you haven’t won totm i’m nominating you now!

Unfortunately, I have been awarded TOTM. And while I don’t think I’m quite there yet, this tank is basically (besides the LR and the murderous acan echinata) 100% different. And while I’m not @teenyreef who has won TOTM like 42 times... if I don’t nuke the tank in the next four to six months... this tank is better than the last, which is honestly impressive considering my lifestyle choices (I’m slowly becoming a swap person...). 
 

 

 

Mediocre Fotos before @ECLS Reefer makes me want to quit my brief stint  creepily looking into the reef tank photography locker room. I feel like the father who knows he’s about to be crushed in backyard basketball to his now pubescent child... 10% pride, 60% fear, 35% anger, -8% math skills. 

this thing 

 

Will never be @pokerdobe

 

See previous statement about asshole corals..

 

Udders... err... udder..

Buttthingies...

 

[ECLS Reefer]

17 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Unfortunately, I have been awarded TOTM. And while I don’t think I’m quite there yet, this tank is basically (besides the LR and the murderous acan echinata) 100% different. And while I’m not @teenyreef who has won TOTM like 42 times... if I don’t nuke the tank in the next four to six months... this tank is better than the last, which is honestly impressive considering my lifestyle choices (I’m slowly becoming a swap person...). 
 

 

 

Mediocre Fotos before @ECLS Reefer makes me want to quit my brief stint  creepily looking into the reef tank photography locker room. I feel like the father who knows he’s about to be crushed in backyard basketball to his now pubescent child... 10% pride, 60% fear, 35% anger, -8% math skills. 

this thing 

 

Will never be @pokerdobe

 

See previous statement about asshole corals..

 

Udders... err... udder..

Buttthingies...

 

Awwwwwwww 😘

 

 

Or is it becoming more 

 

 

Seriously though, everything I’ve learned came from you and many tips from @mitten_reef. Now if I could just get my tanks to all look as colorful and stunning as yours. I’ve got a LONG way to go on that end. 

[pokerdobe]

I was @. What's going on?

[Cannedfish]

Weekday photos!

 

Walt

 

Acrolandia

 

hearttrob 

skramp{

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

18 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Weekday photos!

 

Walt

 

Acrolandia

 

hearttrob 

skramp{

 

 

The last one 😂

[Reefkid88]

That WD looks so good and hairy !!! 

[Cannedfish]

Welp, it's that that time of the month again... that's right Valentine's day... the second busiest day of the year for restaurants. And most expensive day of the year for guys dating above their weight class. Normally, NOLA would be crazy right now and I would be in some foreign country, like Morocco or Bhutan, awkwardly wearing the traditional attire, talking to royalty, but thanks to wahat rhymes with SMOVID,, I'm writing to you from my kitchen. Anyways... here the monthly update:

 

This month has actually been pretty action packed. Not Michael Bay: 14 minutes of a boat blowing up in space on a dinosaur during which Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at some point, whilst flexing his way out of an arm cast  says "Daddy's gotta go to work," type action...  but not far off. Compared to the last several months, things have been... as the youngin's say "Cray Cray."

 

First off, although no one cares , my alkalinity has been in the gutter the last couple of months. Not like "Acro Chad's" complaining about 6.5 dKH but like flashing red lights 'sub 4.0 dKH.' As a result, I added, not one, but two, Kamoer dosing pumps this mont. That's right, I have begun supplementing the All-For-Reef with ESV B-Ionic two part, and within days of adding the pumps my alk is back up to a healthy 7.0 dkh. Hopefully, with this addition, my growth will pick up... or everything will explode in a crazy Transformer/Space Alien/Terminator car crash... either way it should be 'must see TV.'

 

Additionally, I added several things and lost one. First the boo-hoo-no-good-no-fun-terrible-news. Sadly, the male waspfish died. No matter what I tried, I never was able to get him to eat. It's a huge bummer, and I hate losing fish more than anything, but I honestly gave this guy the "ole college try." He will be missed and a replacement has been ordered with the wholesaler. Pour one out for the homie. Rest in Power small venomous fish. 

 

Next the fun part! Additions! As some of y'all know my tank is pretty much full. But this was one of the few months where there were additions. First off, I added one of my grail corals: the  TSA Acrolandia Acro. It's small and cost me one of my favorite toes, but if you know of a coral that is better (that's not a torch) "come at me bro." I also added a few polyps of 'Pink Diamond' zoas. While they aren't the most hyped zoas out there, they aren't the easiest to get, I honestly think they are in my top five zoas of all time. The big addition happened only yesterday, and that is a fish. I only add a fish every year or two so this is kinda exciting. Luck would have it that after losing the male wasp, a LFS had in stock a yellow spotted  scorpionfish that was eating. After some research and communicating with some scorp keepers I know I pulled the trigger and drove an hour to get it. Time will tell but so far this thing is tiny and adorable. Also it's venomous... so that's also kinda punk rock.

 

Anyways... Here are some less than magical photos!

 

 

February 2021:

 

January 2021

 

December 2020:

 

The New Potato:

 

Acrolandia:

 

Pink Diamonds:

[Hami]

9 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

The New Potato:

The little “potato” is so cute 😊... perfect 👌 

[Jungle_vip]

Ummmmm ...... what is that under the birdsnest on the bottom right? Is that a rainbow lobo? Might be the coolest coral in your tank. 
 

pink zippers are the bees knees. Those are some nice zoas right there. I don’t care who ya are those are nice. 
 

and yes. Yes we do care that your Alk was hunt for red October low. Glad to hear you got the dosers going in time to get things back on track.
 

what’s the blue stick in the center?

[JustReading]

Your pictures are beautiful as well as the specimen you're shooting 

[Cannedfish]

On 2/14/2021 at 4:18 PM, Hami said:

The little “potato” is so cute 😊... perfect 👌 

Thanks! I’m really excited about this little guy! My only concern is getting these small venomous fish to eat regularly (I’ve had issues in the past), and if not eating doesn’t kill the new scorp... over eating (from all the additional feedings) will kill the resident waspfish... who already has a body type that isn’t unsimilar to my own... jello-y.

 

On 2/14/2021 at 7:33 PM, Jungle_v_i_p said:

Ummmmm ...... what is that under the birdsnest on the bottom right? Is that a rainbow lobo? Might be the coolest coral in your tank. 
 

pink zippers are the bees knees. Those are some nice zoas right there. I don’t care who ya are those are nice. 
 

and yes. Yes we do care that your Alk was hunt for red October low. Glad to hear you got the dosers going in time to get things back on track.
 

what’s the blue stick in the center?

1) The rainbow taco under the birdsnest is a rainbow Trachy... the best expensive reef purchase I’ve made!
2) Agreed! Pink zips are hugely underrated... along with: pink diamonds, WWC Twizzlers, and the sitcom “Heart of Dixie.” Not the best acting, but gosh darn the story is heartwarming. 
3)The hunt for stable and acceptable alk has been (like my ability to dunk) a Sisyphean endeavor... luckily at this point I have got the alk to consistently hold in the 6’s, which for some would seem to be apocalyptic, to others (me) seems like a miracle! Hopefully, things will continue to improve and so will growth...

4) My #5 favorite acro of all time... the OG Oregon Tort!
 

On 2/14/2021 at 9:53 PM, JustReading said:

Your pictures are beautiful as well as the specimen you're shooting 

Thanks! Really appreciate it!

 

.......

Photos!

 

Late night NPS side view:

 

Rorschach test:

 

Fat and happy:

 

Zoa carpet:

[mitten_reef]

 

Stop showing me fake goniopora!

[ramona]

Love your tank! Soooo colorful!

I keep trying to figure out how you hanged your lights to no avail. Would you post pictures and details to your lights mounting arm please! Will be very helpful for a novice.

[Cannedfish]

2 hours ago, ramona said:

Love your tank! Soooo colorful!

I keep trying to figure out how you hanged your lights to no avail. Would you post pictures and details to your lights mounting arm please! Will be very helpful for a novice.

Well, under normal circumstances I would have told you I hung the lights by magic. Furthermore, I would have went into a long explanation of the potion's recipe and how to properly heat the cauldron for the secret spells. I might even give a disclaimer about the side effects of using non-board-regulated voodoo. I most certainly would have included bad jokes about wands, and dead chickens or something. Unfortunately, I had (past tense) made the mistake of explaining how I built the bracket, and as a result of that I will forego all the banal occult references and SallyAnn Glassman plugs and just post the link of how I mounted two AI Primes. See here --> click this link about voodoo... and puppies... and definitely not... malware. To turn two AI Primes into four AI Primes... for a low-low price of just shipping and handling... just mount the two new lights to the the old two lights... in a boring and overly simplistic explanation... I just extended the aluminum mounting rod, and screwed the two new lights (mounted to swivel ball mounts) to the backside of the prior mounts ((using M5 treaded rod) which is just a M5 bolt with the head cut off)). If, most likely, this is a terrible explanation, let me know, and I'll take new photos.

 

......

 

In the meantime!!!! Fotos:

 

Reapers

 

Cyphastrea:

 

I love this little jerk:

 

Fuzzy:

 

[ramona]

Thank you, I missed that page with the details.

That little jerk looks kinda....meanie...I mean cuty

[TatorTaco]

Every time I see your tank I get jealous of your successes.  No matter the time, energy, and money spent, I can't even keep Green Slimers and Garf Bonsais alive.  

 

Would your wife/partner notice if I stole you for a few months so you can be my personal Yoda?  I'll clean out a closet for you and feed you gummy bears and chicken nuggets.  Lmk. 

[DevilDuck]

@Cannedfish Did you ever find a solution for the dropping alk when dosing All-For-Reef? The same thing started to happen in my tank too; alk falls fast, Calc falls slower, but Mg keeps increasing.

[Cannedfish]

On 2/26/2021 at 12:19 PM, TatorTaco said:

Every time I see your tank I get jealous of your successes.  No matter the time, energy, and money spent, I can't even keep Green Slimers and Garf Bonsais alive.  

 

Would your wife/partner notice if I stole you for a few months so you can be my personal Yoda?  I'll clean out a closet for you and feed you gummy bears and chicken nuggets.  Lmk. 

That price is ridiculous... I do it for just gummy bears (but they better be HARIBO brand bears, none of those generic gas station brand wanna-be-bears)... and a couple "Nectar of the Gods"... errm... I mean Diet Cokes. 

 

On 2/26/2021 at 3:14 PM, DevilDuck said:

@Cannedfish Did you ever find a solution for the dropping alk when dosing All-For-Reef? The same thing started to happen in my tank too; alk falls fast, Calc falls slower, but Mg keeps increasing.

No I never did. I probably need to (corporate speak alert) "circle back" with Dr. BALLIN!! at Tropic Marin to see if they have experienced this issue and if so what exactly causes it. 

 

That being said, after installing the two new dosing pumps and supplementing ESV 2-part my parameters have greatly stabilized (alk now around 6.5-7.0 dkh). As a result, my theory regarding the All-For- Reefs alk drop is as follows. Because AFR uses bacteria to covert "whatever the compound" is in to alkalinity, I believe at a certain point the tank's alk demands start to surpass what the tank's bio-load can convert. As a result, alk starts to fall much faster than calcium (which I believe (someone check me) is supplied to the tank with a different process). I believe this to be true because after reaching a certain dosing amount, no matter how much additional AFR I dosed, my alk wasn't increasing, and if the alk had been precipitating out it wouldn't have increased after dosing ESV.  As a note, this occurred in my tank right around the time I began dosing between 1.5x-2x the recommended maximum dose amount of AFR according to the Tropic Marin online calculator. This is all a redneck theory of course, again I'm barely a functioning adult, let alone a marine biologist or expert of some sort. 

 

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

 

Anyways... Photos!

 

The Potato Fish has settled in nicely!

 

Both a butt and a mouth....

 

I learned how to focus stack this week and these are my first attempts at it. Focus stacking is where you take several pictures of the same thing but where you change what parts of the subject are in focus, then using a program, like photoshop,  stitch the in focus parts of the photos together so the whole subject appears in focus. While it can be used for landscape photography, its most commonly used for macro photos. This is because even shooting with super small apertures (f/22 or higher): 1) not everything is likely to be in focus because of the small focus plane (and DOF) of macro lens, and 2) at super low apertures its hard to get enough light to the sensor to take the photo at a reasonable shutter speed (even at a moderate aperture (f/8) the photos below had a low shutter speed (1/13 sec.) which requires a tripod (and for me) a remote shutter). 

 

The photo below is the composite of nine photos stitched together. 

 

This is seven photos stitched together. 

[Pjanssen]

So when @TatorTaco is done with you, head on down a little futher south and be my photography guru. I'll take you diving and we can test our skills in the real fishy world. Name your price. (you can bring the Mrs. BigO53)

[TatorTaco]

Hey man, what happened to your monthly updates?  Everything good down there? 

[SaltyGallon]

That pink scorpion fish is just adorable... I don't know if it's the pinky hues or what but he/she is really pretty!

[Guy25]

I may or may not have spent the last day and a half reading this entire thread, all 52 pages white skipping meetings and ignoring work calls. I've laughed and I've cried, and am quite saddened to reach the final page. Great photography, great documentation, story-telling skills of the charts, and a truly awesome, one of a kind tank. All that's left is to attempt to spin something up myself, promptly fail, re-read the thread, then rinse and repeat 🙂 Hats of to you sir.

[ramona]

Where is the monthly update?

[Pjanssen]

On 8/21/2021 at 1:00 PM, ramona said:

Where is the monthly update?

He owes us a few!!

[spectra]

Probably got taken out by the chicken.................