Blenwood's Reef - 1st attempts at focus stacking

[Cannedfish]

Welp, it's hard to believe, but I managed to go out of town and leave the tank for over 5 days without any of the following happening: Blenwood turning the box o' water into an old timey speak easy and underground gambling hall, complete and utter apocalyptic meltdown, a random piece of equipment that's been fine for two years suddenly deciding to call it quits and nuke the tank. More surprisingly, the tank looked great, okay there was some algae on the glass, but other than that... not bad. Since literally no one was wondering, we went to Orange Beach Alabama to get some much needed R&R. For those who don't live "down yonder," Orange Beach is an Alabama beach named after the color of fake tans and an a flavor of Monster Energy... Orange. If you need a more vivid picture: think of taking a warm Bud Heavy, a week old chicken tender, some stale red-bull, a whole can of spearmint dip, some cigarette butts, and a "can-I-speak-to-your-manager" haircut put it in a blender and serve it over some old jorts with a gold chain garnish. If that doesn't to it, keep in mind the most notorious establishment is a beach bar known for it's famous daquiri that contains milk (nothing like drinking milk based products on the beach in the southern heat) and for a fish throwing contest. Welcome to the "almost panhandle!" It really is God's country; what a time to be alive!

 

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

 

Anyways! Pictures!

 

 

Wild Pink Floyd from @mitten_reef

 

 

Pink Milli

 

 

B-Daddy

 

ASD Rainbow Milli

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

Pictures look great. Text is just too funny. I bet it was great to get away!

[Reefkid88]

I just can't 😂

[mitten_reef]

10 hours ago, Cannedfish said:

 

Wild Pink Floyd from @mitten_reef

 

Looks better than the original. 😋🤪 might just become the yellowest acro in your tank soon. 

 

Seriously, looks like you’re getting the hang of the new camera; the pics are sooo good. 

[Cannedfish]

Some quick and dirty photos for your Wednesday. Also I finally updated the equipment, stock list, and progression photos on the first page, glad that's behind me.

 

Whiskers the Blue Porcelain Crab (one of my absolute favorite inverts)

 

Jah mon:

 

The face you make when you realize you live under a trachy:

[Snow_Phoenix]

10 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Some quick and dirty photos for your Wednesday. Also I finally updated the equipment, stock list, and progression photos on the first page, glad that's behind me.

 

Whiskers the Blue Porcelain Crab (one of my absolute favorite inverts)

 

Jah mon:

 

The face you make when you realize you live under a trachy:

That lil' waspfish is adorable! 😄 

[Ratvan]

26 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Some quick and dirty photos for your Wednesday. Also I finally updated the equipment, stock list, and progression photos on the first page, glad that's behind me.

 

Whiskers the Blue Porcelain Crab (one of my absolute favorite inverts)

 

Jah mon:

 

The face you make when you realize you live under a trachy:

Waspfish is going to be my screensaver, that is an amazing shot. So is that Porcelain crab shot, beautiful

[Elizabeth94]

Wow your photos are TOP NOTCH!  Corals looking fantastic! 

[mitten_reef]

On 7/6/2020 at 12:10 PM, Cannedfish said:

 

just noticed how big that acro in the bottom right corner is.  is that the old upscale microclados contest winner? 

[Cannedfish]

On 7/8/2020 at 8:45 AM, Snow_Phoenix said:

That lil' waspfish is adorable! 😄 

She is definitely a bizarre little creature! When the turkey baster comes out at night she gets all excited and acts like a hungry puppy. It's also difficult to express just how small she is, despite having a huge head she is smaller than the possum wrasse. 

 

On 7/8/2020 at 9:08 AM, Ratvan said:

Waspfish is going to be my screensaver, that is an amazing shot. So is that Porcelain crab shot, beautiful

Thanks man! Always appreciate it. I'm terrible at taking pictures of fish... unless they don't move....

 

On 7/8/2020 at 10:33 AM, Elizabeth94 said:

Wow your photos are TOP NOTCH!  Corals looking fantastic! 

Thank you! I think I have finally ironed out the alk/cal dosing, so hopefully it will start filling in at a better clip. 

 

17 hours ago, mitten_reef said:

just noticed how big that acro in the bottom right corner is.  is that the old upscale microclados contest winner? 

Sadly, no. I lost that colony during the crash. The pictured acro is the only SPS that survived the meltdown. It's supposed to be the JKR Rainbow. But for whatever reason, I cannot for the life of me get the frag to express the red polyps its know for. IDK, maybe it's me, maybe its not actually the JKR Rainbow, maybe it just needs more time... who knows. In other news, I put it at the front of the tank, because at the time I thought "well if you survived, you deserve to be in the front..." I kinda regret that now. That real estate is better suited for a Homewrecker or something more glow-y. But it's grown on to the rock so... I'm shit out of luck.

 

 

 

......

 

 

Updates!

 

Earlier this week, at a moment of weakness (and absolute boredom at work) and after some subtle peer pressure form @mitten_reef I made the financially questionable decision to go ahead and begin rounding out the zoa garden, and ordered some zoas online. More specifically, I have been after one specific zoa—the WWC AOI—and mitten found it at a reasonable price at Vivid (also they had the cyphastrea I have been looking for for awhile (for the back wall)). Anyways, this showed up yesterday!

 

(not the cat... that good-for-nothing jerk is my roommate... also yes, our door is bright pink)

 

 

Anyways, frags arrived well packaged and looking pretty good)

 

This about 15 minutes after being placed in the tank, and you can see the zoas are already opening up. The zoas on the left are the AOI's, and on the right are Purple Monsters. With the addition of these new zoas, I have finally filled the side garden, which allowed me to begin the front zoa garden. I still need to pick up 5 more zoas to completely fill the space, Currently, I really want speckled kraks and pink diamonds, but if any one has any other suggestions, that would be much appreciated. 

 

 

 

......

 

Also, for sh!ts and giggles, and because I feel like I rarely show pictures of the whole tank, here are some tank shots for your Friday viewing pleasure. 

 

(woof... the color rendering on this picture is... much like my high school GPA and general personal hygiene... awful)

 

 

(space directly to the left of the trachy is where the new zoa garden is going...)

[sublunary]

That trachy gets more unbelievable with every picture.  Damn. 

[ECLS Reefer]

1 hour ago, Cannedfish said:

She is definitely a bizarre little creature! When the turkey baster comes out at night she gets all excited and acts like a hungry puppy. It's also difficult to express just how small she is, despite having a huge head she is smaller than the possum wrasse. 

 

Thanks man! Always appreciate it. I'm terrible at taking pictures of fish... unless they don't move....

 

Thank you! I think I have finally ironed out the alk/cal dosing, so hopefully it will start filling in at a better clip. 

 

Sadly, no. I lost that colony during the crash. The pictured acro is the only SPS that survived the meltdown. It's supposed to be the JKR Rainbow. But for whatever reason, I cannot for the life of me get the frag to express the red polyps its know for. IDK, maybe it's me, maybe its not actually the JKR Rainbow, maybe it just needs more time... who knows. In other news, I put it at the front of the tank, because at the time I thought "well if you survived, you deserve to be in the front..." I kinda regret that now. That real estate is better suited for a Homewrecker or something more glow-y. But it's grown on to the rock so... I'm shit out of luck.

 

 

 

......

 

 

Updates!

 

Earlier this week, at a moment of weakness (and absolute boredom at work) and after some subtle peer pressure form @mitten_reef I made the financially questionable decision to go ahead and begin rounding out the zoa garden, and ordered some zoas online. More specifically, I have been after one specific zoa—the WWC AOI—and mitten found it at a reasonable price at Vivid (also they had the cyphastrea I have been looking for for awhile (for the back wall)). Anyways, this showed up yesterday!

 

(not the cat... that good-for-nothing jerk is my roommate... also yes, our door is bright pink)

 

 

Anyways, frags arrived well packaged and looking pretty good)

 

This about 15 minutes after being placed in the tank, and you can see the zoas are already opening up. The zoas on the left are the AOI's, and on the right are Purple Monsters. With the addition of these new zoas, I have finally filled the side garden, which allowed me to begin the front zoa garden. I still need to pick up 5 more zoas to completely fill the space, Currently, I really want speckled kraks and pink diamonds, but if any one has any other suggestions, that would be much appreciated. 

 

 

 

......

 

Also, for sh!ts and giggles, and because I feel like I rarely show pictures of the whole tank, here are some tank shots for your Friday viewing pleasure. 

 

(woof... the color rendering on this picture is... much like my high school GPA and general personal hygiene... awful)

 

 

(space directly to the left of the trachy is where the new zoa garden is going...)

Seriously where’d the trachy come from (heaven? Olympus? Or what voodoo entity did you sacrifice a Cavalier to to get that insane thing?!?!!!!) I need a massive beauty like that. Like NEED. Like, must have 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

[mitten_reef]

You call it peer pressure, I call it saving you big bucks. 🤣. 
 

Oh, and just break off the JKR rainbow and send it packing to wherever that pectinia was sent to.  Totally agree that space should be reserved for something much sexier than that blah acro. 

[Cannedfish]

5 hours ago, sublunary said:

That trachy gets more unbelievable with every picture.  Damn. 

I know right... It actually is kinda frustrating as told below...

 

4 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Seriously where’d the trachy come from (heaven? Olympus? Or what voodoo entity did you sacrifice a Cavalier to to get that insane thing?!?!!!!) I need a massive beauty like that. Like NEED. Like, must have 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

If heaven is located Kenner (Brah!), Louisiana. Then yes, it came from heaven. Unfortunately, no one, not even Sir Isaac Archibald Kenner, the namesake and heroic founder of Kenner, believes Kenner is anything short of the Gary, IN of New Orleans. Regarding sacrificing a Cavalier... believe me, I've thought about it. If these little sh!ts poop on the rug one more time, I will be thinking about getting another rainbow trachy (I know a great Voodoo priestess). Sidetrack #1: The problem with Cavaliers is twofold: 1) they are too soft to yell at... they just pout for the next week; 2) I am convinced they enjoy seeing what they can get away with. Take them for a walk... nothing... soon as you get back in the house... a nice steaming pile of f$ck you. Sidetrack 2: In other pet related news: unfortunately, all three of the Death Metal Chickens turned out to be roosters (doh!), so we had to take them back to the breederecause New Orleans doesn't allow exactly four things: 1) peeing public (don't do it); 2) touching police horses (really don't do it); 3) roosters; and 4) cattle drives down the neutral ground of St. Charles Ave. (this is real). But... we have 3 new chicks arriving Tuesday.

 

Back on track: anyways, the story of the trachy is a mildly long and assuredly boring one: it came in on one of the first shipments of Indo coral my LFS got post ban, and it immediately caught my eye (even though I had recently sworn off all LPS). I thought it had potential, however, there was some serious sticker shock. It wasn't the most expensive coral I have burned money on (or killed), but it was close. Anyway, I salivated at it for several weeks, and in the process had many a chat with fellow reefers to whether it was worth it. The sticking point was twofold: 1) how would it color up and 2) would I immediately kill it. On one hand, at the LFS it definitely wasn't showing its best colors: 1) it had shipping shock; 2) the coral flat it was in... was terrible (the alk was 4.2dkh...). Below is a picture of it under the LFS's hyper blue light with a heavy orange gel filter and full post processing to attempt to make it look its best.... which basically amounts to...fake. It's like a post from an Instagram starlet: looks okay but remove the photoshop, gel filter, fake tan, spanx, weave, heavy foundation and basically you are left with Mama June. I didn't want an expensive Mama June. Anywhoo, after being wishy-washy about if for several weeks, I was both shamed and made fun of to such an extent by the ladyfriend to where I just ripped a shot of Old Granddad and pulled the trigger. 

 

At the LFS:

 

Anyways, I was so convinced I was going to kill it, I didn't tell anyone I had bought it for two weeks. I was sure not only the shock of going from 4.2 to 8.5 dkh but also from low light to... well, not low light...  was going to melt it. But it made it through, and began eating... and since then it's probably doubled in size when its fully stretched out. Here it is today, (keep in mind) without a gel filter, weave, or spanx, under 12k lighting. Bring out the orange filter and blue light and it simply glows. Moral of the story: never buy cheap peanut butter. 

 

 

Epilogue: I am reminded everyday by the ladyfriend about how stupid I was for waiting so long to get it, and how smart she was for saying to buy it. She could care less about the tank, but because of that alone, she loves this coral. 

[ECLS Reefer]

1 hour ago, Cannedfish said:

I know right... It actually is kinda frustrating as told below...

 

If heaven is located Kenner (Brah!), Louisiana. Then yes, it came from heaven. Unfortunately, no one, not even Sir Isaac Archibald Kenner, the namesake and heroic founder of Kenner, believes Kenner is anything short of the Gary, IN of New Orleans. Regarding sacrificing a Cavalier... believe me, I've thought about it. If these little sh!ts poop on the rug one more time, I will be thinking about getting another rainbow trachy (I know a great Voodoo priestess). Sidetrack #1: The problem with Cavaliers is twofold: 1) they are too soft to yell at... they just pout for the next week; 2) I am convinced they enjoy seeing what they can get away with. Take them for a walk... nothing... soon as you get back in the house... a nice steaming pile of f$ck you. Sidetrack 2: In other pet related news: unfortunately, all three of the Death Metal Chickens turned out to be roosters (doh!), so we had to take them back to the breederecause New Orleans doesn't allow exactly four things: 1) peeing public (don't do it); 2) touching police horses (really don't do it); 3) roosters; and 4) cattle drives down the neutral ground of St. Charles Ave. (this is real). But... we have 3 new chicks arriving Tuesday.

 

Back on track: anyways, the story of the trachy is a mildly long and assuredly boring one: it came in on one of the first shipments of Indo coral my LFS got post ban, and it immediately caught my eye (even though I had recently sworn off all LPS). I thought it had potential, however, there was some serious sticker shock. It wasn't the most expensive coral I have burned money on (or killed), but it was close. Anyway, I salivated at it for several weeks, and in the process had many a chat with fellow reefers to whether it was worth it. The sticking point was twofold: 1) how would it color up and 2) would I immediately kill it. On one hand, at the LFS it definitely wasn't showing its best colors: 1) it had shipping shock; 2) the coral flat it was in... was terrible (the alk was 4.2dkh...). Below is a picture of it under the LFS's hyper blue light with a heavy orange gel filter and full post processing to attempt to make it look its best.... which basically amounts to...fake. It's like a post from an Instagram starlet: looks okay but remove the photoshop, gel filter, fake tan, spanx, weave, heavy foundation and basically you are left with Mama June. I didn't want an expensive Mama June. Anywhoo, after being wishy-washy about if for several weeks, I was both shamed and made fun of to such an extent by the ladyfriend to where I just ripped a shot of Old Granddad and pulled the trigger. 

 

At the LFS:

 

Anyways, I was so convinced I was going to kill it, I didn't tell anyone I had bought it for two weeks. I was sure not only the shock of going from 4.2 to 8.5 dkh but also from low light to... well, not low light...  was going to melt it. But it made it through, and began eating... and since then it's probably doubled in size when its fully stretched out. Here it is today, (keep in mind) without a gel filter, weave, or spanx, under 12k lighting. Bring out the orange filter and blue light and it simply glows. Moral of the story: never buy cheap peanut butter. 

 

 

Epilogue: I am reminded everyday by the ladyfriend about how stupid I was for waiting so long to get it, and how smart she was for saying to buy it. She could care less about the tank, but because of that alone, she loves this coral. 

Wow it’s gorgeous. I’d bought a really pretty Indo brain too and then went on a camping trip. When I returned said brain was mysteriously a skeleton. I blame zombies. 
 

My neighbor had two Cavaliers- brothers. They were so cute- they’re my unicorn dog. Talk about some sticker shock. That’s one reason we have always stuck with cheap cattle Aussies. I can afford a half batarded cow dog from Ennis TX. 
 

Kenner isn’t so bad. Have passed thru there many times, along with Metairie, Slidell... distant in law relations down there. Not one of those is worse than West Monroe/Monroe and the “smell of money” aka the paper mill fart manufacturing company. New Orleans is and always has been my favorite city, even with the smell and grime and pee. 

[mitten_reef]

2 hours ago, Cannedfish said:

 

 

Would have been better if not blurry 🤷🏻‍♂️.  🤪 Looks like a psychedelic watercolor painting 😍. 

[jcreefer]

I don’t know anything about trachys (or is it trachies?!?!) But 🔥🔥🧨🧨💥💥!!!!

[Cannedfish]

Welp, it's the 13th of the month, and you know what that mean. That's right, time to buy some scratchers and avoid ladders and black cats. It's also means update time, my least favorite post, because it long, boring, and airs all my failures. Alright lets just get into it. 

 

A lot happened in the last thirty days, most of which could be summed up by saying it was a move toward stability. Bullet points!

• First, I switched from ESV 2-part to Tropic Marin All-for-reef, although it took about 2 weeks to stabilize and dial in (which I think stunted growth a bit for the month), everything now looks very happy. Time will tell, but so far I really enjoy only having to worry about a single dosing additive rather than two.
• Next, I added a new skimmer, specifically the IM BioSkim. Overall, and am really really happy with it, and it has been skimming exceptionally well compared to my previous skimmer, also I feel like the needle wheel pump has significantly increase the aeration in my tank.
• Next, I completely redid my cable management. It sucked but I'm glad I did it. Livestock-wise, this was a pretty light month. I am basically out of room for SPS, so I have started building out my zoa gardens. The goal is to completely cover all the open space on the floor of the tank with zoas. That being said, I picked up the following zoas this month: rainbow infusions, rastas, blue hornets, WWC AOI (my grail zoa), pink zippers, and purple monsters. I was also able to start the front zoa garden (which you can see in this month's FTS). The goal is as much zoa contrast as possible, as mentioned in a previous post the last zoas I'm after include: pink diamonds, speckled kraks, and yodas. I also added a green and purple (vivid calls it a joker, JF calls it a PPE, names for certain corals are stupid) cyphastrea, I had been searching for one for the left side of the back wall for a while, I think its going to look insane as a background when it fully grows in. 
• Additionally, because everything is still shut down here in NOLA and because its too dang hot to do anything outside, boredom got the best of me and I decided to make a CO2 scrubber. I know elevated ph is the fad of the moment, and I usually don't buy into these trends, but decided to add a scrubber because: 1) the skimmer intake makes it really easy and the scrubber essentially acts like improved air intake silencer (the skimmer intake was pretty loud); 2) although, I'm not convinced it will do anything at all, if it does increase growth, I'm all for it; 3) it was a fun, cheap, and easy DIY project; 4) after removing the second dosing bottle I had room in the back of the tank where it would be completely hidden; 4) this is little to no risk by adding it, alk intake might increase, but other than that, it essentially harmless. Again, I don't think it will do anything, but I will say, the third day after adding it, was the best my tank has looked, I don't know what caused it (as I detail above, I have made a lot of recent changes) but I have never had as much PE on my acros.
• Tragically, whiskers the porcelain crab passed away. I don't know if it was a bad molt or he was old or what, but I had had him for nearly two years. Time to find another one. 

In summary,  a lot of changes were made. Overall growth was steady but not anything to write home about. Hopefully, not that everything is settled in growth will pick up the next month. The dino outbreak has completely disappeared. I'm just happy the tank survived another month. 

 

 

........

 

July 2020 FTS:

 

June 2020 FTS:

 

May 2020 FTS:

 

April 2020 FTS:

 

Cord Management:

 

 

DIY CO2 scrubber:

 

 

[debbeach13]

Nice update and progress pictures.

[jcreefer]

Looking good!!!  👍

 

Going from 2 part to Tropic Marine All-For-Reef looks like it hasn't impacted the tank, which is a good thing.  I went with the C02 scrubber because with 5 human + 2 dogs + SIP, the pH was struggling to get past 7.9 during mid-day.  With the scrubber, I can get the pH up to 8.4 if I also open up the windows (can't do it right now, since it's 100F outside with the A/C on). Using the scrubber has really helped with my SPS growth, so I think you may start to see growth explode.  Which CO2 media did you go with? 

 

-Jeff

[ECLS Reefer]

Okay speak more on this CO2 scrubber and how it’s made, and what the pellets are supposed to do? 

[jcreefer]

44 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

Okay speak more on this CO2 scrubber and how it’s made, and what the pellets are supposed to do? 

Here is good video by BRS of what it does:

 

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/how-to-raise-ph-in-saltwater-tank-with-a-co2-scrubber-brstv-reef-faqs/

[Cannedfish]

On 7/13/2020 at 9:49 AM, debbeach13 said:

Nice update and progress pictures.

Thanks! If I don't document my incompetence who will! Or at least that's what I tell myself!

 

On 7/13/2020 at 10:13 AM, jcreefer said:

Looking good!!!  👍

 

Going from 2 part to Tropic Marine All-For-Reef looks like it hasn't impacted the tank, which is a good thing.  I went with the C02 scrubber because with 5 human + 2 dogs + SIP, the pH was struggling to get past 7.9 during mid-day.  With the scrubber, I can get the pH up to 8.4 if I also open up the windows (can't do it right now, since it's 100F outside with the A/C on). Using the scrubber has really helped with my SPS growth, so I think you may start to see growth explode.  Which CO2 media did you go with? 

 

-Jeff

I hope I see some increase growth... As I mentioned last month was pretty lackluster. Since putting the scrubber online, things have been looking really happy, however, I'm not sure if that because of the scrubber or just because all of the changes that were mad have been ironed out and the tank has reach some sort of stability. Unfortunately, I've never really tested my ph (just got my first probe... like 2 weeks ago... and didn't use it), so I can say for sure exactly what effects the scrubber will have, but I'm in say boat regarding the inability to open window due to the heat. Regarding the media type, it's just some generic pelleted soda lime I ordered on Amazon. Who knows....

 

On 7/13/2020 at 10:34 AM, Dirté Sanchez said:

Okay speak more on this CO2 scrubber and how it’s made, and what the pellets are supposed to do? 

So the video linked above does a pretty good job explaining what it's supposed to do. As I mentioned, I'm not fully convinced it will have an effect on my tank, but as adding it is pretty much zero risk, plus it acts as a skimmer silencer, and it was quick and easy, so seems worth the shot. To make mine was super simple: 1) I took a plastic Voss bottle ( that I had been using for my cal dosing fluid (recycle, right?)) which had a 1/4 inch tube fitting drilled and screwed into the top; 2) I next drilled air holes about a 1/2" from the bottom of the bottle (to allow condensation to settle); 3) then I cut and moistened filter floss and shoved in the bottom (I read the air needs to be moist but the media can't be wet), not only to help keep dust out, but if water does collect on the bottom it will keep the media raised; 4) filled the bottle with media (didn't measure, not sure if its too much, too little, or Goldilocks); 5) put another filter on top of the media to keep media dust out of the tank) 6) screwed the bottle top on and attached the skimmer air intake line to the aforementioned fitting and hid it all behind the tank; 7) patted myself on the back for a job well done and celebrated with a shot of Pepe Lopez and a beer. Great Job! Go team!

 

So there you go, a cheap and easy, low cost, little risk Saturday project! Make sure to smash that like button, turn on your notifications, and subscribe to my channel for more awesome content... Wait I'm not a YouTube hucksters... Never mind... Enjoy!

 

.... 

 

As always... bad photos!

 

Birdsnest (go ahead and pixel peep.... I know not great)

 

Cyphastrea

 

Bubbles

 

 

Walt

 

Le Zoa

 

Late Night Side Boob

 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

3 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Thanks! If I don't document my incompetence who will! Or at least that's what I tell myself!

 

I hope I see some increase growth... As I mentioned last month was pretty lackluster. Since putting the scrubber online, things have been looking really happy, however, I'm not sure if that because of the scrubber or just because all of the changes that were mad have been ironed out and the tank has reach some sort of stability. Unfortunately, I've never really tested my ph (just got my first probe... like 2 weeks ago... and didn't use it), so I can say for sure exactly what effects the scrubber will have, but I'm in say boat regarding the inability to open window due to the heat. Regarding the media type, it's just some generic pelleted soda lime I ordered on Amazon. Who knows....

 

So the video linked above does a pretty good job explaining what it's supposed to do. As I mentioned, I'm not fully convinced it will have an effect on my tank, but as adding it is pretty much zero risk, plus it acts as a skimmer silencer, and it was quick and easy, so seems worth the shot. To make mine was super simple: 1) I took a plastic Voss bottle ( that I had been using for my cal dosing fluid (recycle, right?)) which had a 1/4 inch tube fitting drilled and screwed into the top; 2) I next drilled air holes about a 1/2" from the bottom of the bottle (to allow condensation to settle); 3) then I cut and moistened filter floss and shoved in the bottom (I read the air needs to be moist but the media can't be wet), not only to help keep dust out, but if water does collect on the bottom it will keep the media raised; 4) filled the bottle with media (didn't measure, not sure if its too much, too little, or Goldilocks); 5) put another filter on top of the media to keep media dust out of the tank) 6) screwed the bottle top on and attached the skimmer air intake line to the aforementioned fitting and hid it all behind the tank; 7) patted myself on the back for a job well done and celebrated with a shot of Pepe Lopez and a beer. Great Job! Go team!

 

So there you go, a cheap and easy, low cost, little risk Saturday project! Make sure to smash that like button, turn on your notifications, and subscribe to my channel for more awesome content... Wait I'm not a YouTube hucksters... Never mind... Enjoy!

 

.... 

 

As always... bad photos!

 

Birdsnest

 

Cyphastrea

 

Bubbles

 

 

Walt

 

Le Zoa

 

Late Night Side Boob

 

 

I’m not sure I could do a scrubber on my skimmer because of the way it’s made- it’s a reef octopus INT 110 and already sits in about six inches of water. But I’ll look into those to see if there’s other ways to make them. 
 

 

What camera are you using for these incredible macro shots? And what type of lens?

[Cannedfish]

2 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

I’m not sure I could do a scrubber on my skimmer because of the way it’s made- it’s a reef octopus INT 110 and already sits in about six inches of water. But I’ll look into those to see if there’s other ways to make them. 

It shouldn't be a problem, the media container doesn't sit in your sump or really need to be that close to your skimmer at all, it connects to your skimmer's air intake via a air hose, mine sits outside my tank about 10 inches away from the skimmer, I'll try to get pictures when I get home. 

 

2 hours ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

What camera are you using for these incredible macro shots? And what type of lens?

Currently, I am using a Nikon D7100 with a 40mm 2.8g macro lens with a lens mounted macro flash (though I am thinking hard about upgrading to the 100mm Tokina (or 105 Laowa) macro lens) . Here a quick pic of my current set up (I use a viewing port when shooting from above):