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Blenwood's Reef - 1st attempts at focus stacking


Cannedfish

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On 8/8/2018 at 12:18 PM, Cannedfish said:

Button scoly continually getting funkier looking (much brighter orange in person)

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That button scoly is looking swoll like it lives at Planet Fitness. Mine never inflates like that. Admitting that to another man felt awkward.... 

 

Anyway, changing the subject from weird innuendo laced coral compliments, my brother is having his bachelor party in NOLA in October. I'd imagine we'll be spending the majority of the time as a tornado of cliche down on Bourbon St., but do you have any recommendations (food and bars) off the beaten path that we should check out? 

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11 minutes ago, TheBig053 said:

That button scoly is looking swoll like it lives at Planet Fitness. Mine never inflates like that. Admitting that to another man felt awkward.... 

 

Anyway, changing the subject from weird innuendo laced coral compliments, my brother is having his bachelor party in NOLA in October. I'd imagine we'll be spending the majority of the time as a tornado of cliche down on Bourbon St., but do you have any recommendations (food and bars) off the beaten path that we should check out? 

Magazine Street

 

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/new-orleans/best-magazine-street-restaurants-new-orleans#

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On 8/8/2018 at 11:32 AM, Travis said:

You can send those trimmings right on over to the west side of the state, Sir. 😛

As soon as I start trimming I’ll strap ‘em in a pirogue and send ‘em on down the bayou! Funny fact, I actually drove through your part of the world this weekend on the way to (and back) from Houston to pick up a boat. While the boat is nice, the 13 hour round trip is not unlike what I imagine it’s like to gouge your eyes out with a rusty spoon. 

 

On 8/17/2018 at 11:11 AM, TheBig053 said:

That button scoly is looking swoll like it lives at Planet Fitness. Mine never inflates like that. Admitting that to another man felt awkward.... 

 

Anyway, changing the subject from weird innuendo laced coral compliments, my brother is having his bachelor party in NOLA in October. I'd imagine we'll be spending the majority of the time as a tornado of cliche down on Bourbon St., but do you have any recommendations (food and bars) off the beaten path that we should check out? 

 

If there is something wrong with awkward sexuality/masculinity laced innuendos then I don’t want to be straight... err.... right! Anyways, regarding things to do in NOLA, I’ve got your back! In fact, because of the sheer amount of people that visit, I have put together an incredibly half-assed list of things-to-do / places to eat / dive bars to inbibe too much in and the pass out on the bathroom floor and wake up confused in a sport coat without button in your neighbor’s shed (that last one was weirdly specific...). Just PM your email address and I’ll send it over!

 

On 8/17/2018 at 11:23 AM, Travis said:

Great site and Magazine Street is legit! If you’re roaming Magazine you’re stompin’ around in my hood!

 

23 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

Hi

Sup

 

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Now for some pre-monthly update crappy pictures!!

 

 

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*bugle sounds*

 

Monthly, update time! It’s a bit late, but like I said about “family planning” in my early 20’s, ”better late than never!” Alright, time’s up, let’s do this!!! Leeeeroy Jennnnkins!!

 

Welp, how can summarize the last month?  “Things went great?” Nope, too strong... “Tank Ebola?” Not quite accurate... “Things aren’t dead?” Ahh, stop the drill, we’ve struck oil! And honestly that’s true. Overall, the last month has been largely uneventful (no real fun livestock purchases; few deaths), but at the same time, to beat a dead cliche, ‘the struggle’s been real.’ I’ve dealt with a calcium and alkalinity spike, a salinity calibration err and resulting spike, STN, a jumping Lorp, two vacations, and heat issues. But surprisingly, like Billy Ray Curus’s long relationship with down right offensive haircuts, the tank has somehow endured, with only one acro death. If I was more modest I would say it must be a Christmas miracle... But an obese, old, cookie theivin’ man in a red suit ain’t got nuttin’ to do with it! The not quite failure of the tank definitely has everything to do with all the alternative religious ceremonies I stumbled into this month... Weird Voodoo Shops in NOLA and a complete Inca shaman ceremony in Peru. Normally, I would say all that pagan funk is hogwash, but not wanting to take chances, I tipped well... and the results speak for themselves! 

 

Getting into specifics, I did lose an ASD Pink acro and a few individual dendro polyps this month, and staying on the subject of livestock I added a Peterson’s shrimp and WD acro frag (and thank lord baby Jesus, both are still living). On the hardware side, I added an acrylic lid, that unlike the Jaguar cage at the Audubon Zoo, has kept Lorp contained and away from alpacas (RIP alapacas) . I also added the IM Mighty Jet pump (today) and have an AI Prime sitting around waiting to be installed. 

 

Anyways, per protocol,here are some store-brand-quality monthly progression pictures!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 8/19/2018 at 7:03 PM, micoastreefing said:

The last month looks great. Growth is fantastic. 

Thanks man, really appropriate it!! Although it slowed down a touch at the beginning of August, I’m still surprised by the overall growth the last month considering all the issues. Furthermore, WallaI think I’m narrowed the RTN issue to a mis-calibration of my salinity tester. I’m pretty sure the salinity level of my tank for a few weeks was around 1.030 instead of the 1.025 that I like it at. Couple that with some heat issues and shazam... RTN!! Hopefully, I can keep things stabile for four more weeks... or

until @teenyreef shows up with a contest frag that has miraculously growth three feet...

 

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Pictures!

 

 

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I'm guessing quite a few issues with STN is phosphate related. I've noticed that the very few Acros I have get really pissy when the PO4 gets above .08. If I drop some lanthanum chloride in there all is good in a few days.

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On 8/21/2018 at 9:15 AM, A Little Blue said:

What is that? I like it. 😏

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It’s some sort of orange psammo coral (I think). When I first got it, it was an awesome ‘90’s florenent pink. Unfortunately, like the tech bubble, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Meg Ryan’s acting career, Y2k happened, and the good times came to an end, similarly, it turned bright orange (not the worst thing). So I glued it to the back wall and forgot about it. It did literally nothing for about 4 months, but now, in a surprising reversal, it is spreading. Here’s an old but slightly higher quality photo:

 

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On 8/21/2018 at 6:30 PM, StinkyBunny said:

I'm guessing quite a few issues with STN is phosphate related. I've noticed that the very few Acros I have get really pissy when the PO4 gets above .08. If I drop some lanthanum chloride in there all is good in a few days.

I definitely appreciate the advice! And I wouldn’t disagree about the phosphates, however, despite my whole hearted attempts to the contrary, my phosphate levels  have been relatively in check as of late. Usually they run super high (due to my extreme feeding) at around .30 (not a typo), and more often than not everything seems fine (at this point I think my corals have Stockholm syndrome), but lately I have managed to keep the PO4 low (by my admittedly shit show standards at around .15).

 

Also good advice about the lanthanum chloride, I usually add a drop into the skimmer every other day or so (depending on the feeding).

 

————

 

Despite my otherwise half-assed attempts to will it into existence, unfortunately it is not the weekend yet... As an unsolicited and likely unwanted consolation prize, here are some shoddy pictures!

 

 

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Tank looks great! What're your AI Prime settings? Do/did you use the acclimation mode to reduce intensity as the tank was establishing? I'm about 6 months along and curious how much intensity is appropriate.

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On 8/23/2018 at 5:25 PM, tanacharison said:

That shrimp picture 😍

Thanks man! This guy is by far the third hardest think to photograph in my tank. It’s not just that it is a spaz and is constantly rocking back and forth, but it doesn’t help the spots are kind of wizard hue of white and resist all photo attempts. Oh yeah, and it’s most see through...

 

On 8/25/2018 at 1:42 PM, falcooo said:

Tank looks great! What're your AI Prime settings? Do/did you use the acclimation mode to reduce intensity as the tank was establishing? I'm about 6 months along and curious how much intensity is appropriate.

PM me your email address and I will shoot you over my settings. I did absolutely acclimate my corals when I switched to this setting. Because I increased my UV so much it took about a month to get it up to my current levels. 

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On 8/25/2018 at 1:48 PM, Travis said:

I would be really interested in getting a coppy of your Ai program file. My wife just setup her first nano with a prime hd. 

Absolutely, just PM me your email address.

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Equipment update:

 

After a lot of hemmin’ and hawin’ (whatever that is) I bit the bullet (sounds like something you shouldn’t do) and purchased a second AI Prime HD for my tank  (umm...last month). As I have often complained about, I was having issues with shading and wanted a bit more PAR than I was currently getting with one light using my preferred setting. I decided to get a second Prime instead of jumping up to the Hydra 26, because I wanted the flexibility of having two separate LED pucks that I could space further apart than the Hydra’s fixed LEDs, as well as, have the ability to independently aim and control the intensity of their beams. After going out of town and otherwise being a lazy degenerate for a few weeks I finally got off my ass and installed the second light this weekend. Overall I am pretty happy with the look and distribution of light. Unfortunately, while the light mounting bracket I built works great, the flex arm that was made to hold a single Prime is a bit weak making the the whole setup a bit precarious so I have spent some time today manufacturing an adjustable wall mounted bracket system out of aluminum. Additionally, because the LFS’s apparently don’t think anyone would ever need to measure PAR and the only person in the city that

has one wants to charge $35 an hour to use it (who does this guy think he is... a lawyer), I forwent the PAR measurement and just decided to raise the lights a bit and reduce their intensities by 20% (ramping it back up over the next couple weeks). So far everything has responded well (or at least looks happy, who knows if it’s the light). Hopefully, I will be able to pull better colors out of some of the acros, but we will see. Lastly, I have to say I’m impressed with the AI interface it was relatively easy to add a child light, and that’s saying something; because despite being a millennial that grew up with all manner of electronic wizzbangs, when it comes to otherwise simple technological functions I’m basically what I imagine it’s like to watch Helen Keller compete in America Ninja Warrior. 

 

 

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i need a smaller tank, so I can make outrageous attempts at overly-equipping the tank. 

 

Please do give us a rundown on what it takes to run this little gem of a 10 gallon nano 😄. I see almost no room left for water in the back chamber. 

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37 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

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i need a smaller tank, so I can make outrageous attempts at overly-equipping the tank. 

 

Please do give us a rundown on what it takes to run this little gem of a 10 gallon nano 😄. I see almost no room left for water in the back chamber. 

Haha, who needs water...

 

I half agree with you on the smaller tank thing... I look at all y’all (all y’all - adopting  that saying has been the third best thing that’s happened to me since moving to the South... so southern... so versatile) BIG tank folk and despair about how much it must cost. If I spent half as much per gallon as I’ve spent on this sh$tbox on a 100 gallon I would literally be living under an overpass... in the bad part of town (done couldn’t afford to live under the nice overpass). But I digress, equipment-wise I’ve currently running:

 

First chamber: media basket with all sort of jazz funk

Second chamber: heavily modified Aqua  Euro skimmer

Third chamber: Eheim heater and the mighty jet (which is a beast)

Extras: 2-part dosing and ATO lines 

 

Note: skimmer is the next upgrade

 

Wah-cha!! There you have it!!

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23 hours ago, Weikel said:

I know the tank is awesome.  Prob a tank of the month soon enough but... I am still waiting for the chicken story...😋

Thanks! But don’t you worry, a story this dramatic, this compelling, and this utterly stupid and ridiculous can’t be kept down! I just have to find some spare time and some spare bourbon (writers juice) to get it going. It shouldn’t be too long...  

 

9 hours ago, Rory282 said:

Those 2 prime's actually look kinda good! 

What skimmer are you going to buy?

You know, I was hesitant about the look at first, but have come around to it, and now really like it! Especially, with the wall mounted light bracket, it looks really clean and I’m excited about the possibility the extra light power can bring.

 

Regarding skimmers, I’m currently looking at three: Eshoppes Nano (@teenyreef recommendation), the Aquamaxx NR-1, and the Icecap K-1. I heard great things about the Eshoppes but the jury is out on the other two. The people I’ve talked to that have the Aquamaxx think it’s the best thing since crunchy peanut butter, but they really haven’t had it that long, and even so I’m not sure how much I value their opinions. Similarly, I’ve heard terrible things about the Icecap (from the same group of people) but haven’t actually talked to anyone who has it. The thing really holding me up is the size and look. I don’t want some hideous skimmer sticking out of the back of the tank, unless it’s God’s gift to Nano skimmers. I’m not convinced about the effectiveness of nano skimmers in general so at the moment form is coming before function. Call me a Nancy boy if you will but ‘fashion is life!” Jk. 

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tanacharison
1 hour ago, Cannedfish said:

Thanks! But don’t you worry, a story this dramatic, this compelling, and this utterly stupid and ridiculous can’t be kept down! I just have to find some spare time and some spare bourbon (writers juice) to get it going. It shouldn’t be too long...  

 

You know, I was hesitant about the look at first, but have come around to it, and now really like it! Especially, with the wall mounted light bracket, it looks really clean and I’m excited about the possibility the extra light power can bring.

 

Regarding skimmers, I’m currently looking at three: Eshoppes Nano (@teenyreef recommendation), the Aquamaxx NR-1, and the Icecap K-1. I heard great things about the Eshoppes but the jury is out on the other two. The people I’ve talked to that have the Aquamaxx think it’s the best thing since crunchy peanut butter, but they really haven’t had it that long, and even so I’m not sure how much I value their opinions. Similarly, I’ve heard terrible things about the Icecap (from the same group of people) but haven’t actually talked to anyone who has it. The thing really holding me up is the size and look. I don’t want some hideous skimmer sticking out of the back of the tank, unless it’s God’s gift to Nano skimmers. I’m not convinced about the effectiveness of nano skimmers in general so at the moment form is coming before function. Call me a Nancy boy if you will but ‘fashion is life!” Jk. 

I have the icecap k2 on the cube and hate it. Maybe the updated one is better but that gate valve falls off for no reason and the air line disconnects from the pump if you pull the lid off to fast. Also assembly screws are plastic not titanium.. I’ve snapped 2 while deep cleaning.

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The Eshoppes Nano works, but I don't think it's the best possible skimmer for this tank. I had high hopes for the Icecap, but sounds like it turned out to be crappy. And the Aquamax looks too much like the IM Ghost with the square body, which scares me. But Aquamaxx skimmers generally have a good reputation, so I think you should try it and let us know how it works :biggrin:

 

PS: I'm glad your tank didn't STN and die on you. Now just don't bleach everything with the new tanning bed setting. Oh, and we're still waiting for the tragic conclusion of the story of the two chickens...

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Christopher Marks

Wow two AI Primes, nice! Good call on borrowing the PAR meter, even at those rates 😄 

 

Do you have any photos of the new aluminum mounting bracket you created for them?

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