[STOCK] tinyreef

[tinyreef]

i'll shoot one for you tomorrow AM.

 

but there's an angled fts (12/15) on the last page if you like though. the angled view is a little crappy but it's the most recent fts. well, good one that is. i had one from today but it was basically a shadowed reflection of the camera. d'oh!

 

because of the placement, i can't look from behind the camera. i just set it and timeshoot. the monitor is kinda crappy so it looked ok. but once i uploaded it, i saw it was pretty unuseable.

 

i need a manual focus camera. i can then focus on distance, lock and then shoot. this camera only has autofocus (either continuous or single shot). time to get a canon 20D.

[dickie52]

You got it.....

 

Spend it!!!

[tinyreef]

You got it.....

Spend it!!!

what are you blah blah'ing about?

 

back off and gimme a sec!

 

i just swapped out my frickin' hard drive and the File Transfer Wizard doesn't!! @#$*&! arrgh!! i gotta reinstall like a dozen programs and my pron is all over the place. <sigh>

 

i've got a couple of nice shots, i think. but i don't even have a decent file viewer right now. i gotta reinstall office pronto and then my viewer software then my pron and then... where's the friggin unlock key? arrrgh x 2!!!!!

 

btw i also shot a short vid (maybe convert to gif when all my stuff's reinstalled) to show the "mysterious" bubbling action. they go up y'know?.

 

bubbles! bubbles-bubbles-bubbles. my bubbles.

 

 

 

oh, on a side note, i finally figured out how to manually focus my camera. woo hoo!

[dickie52]

Well get off your duff and get with it......

[tinyreef]

Well get off your duff and get with it......

blah-blah-blah. talk to the mouse, man. i'm workin' on it, stickie.

 

 

you'll get an update when you get it. there's a transit strike on now. no workie, mr. dickie.

[dickie52]

transit strike???

 

What's that????

 

I commute 300 feet to work!!!

[tinyreef]

I commute 300 feet to work!!!

yeah well, sadly i didn't major in "Couch Potato".

 

<sigh> wasted youth.

[Diatome]

yeah well, sadly i didn't major in "Couch Potato".

 

<sigh> wasted youth.

 

Hey, there is always time.

 

I actually commute 20 feet myself. My computer commutes 920 miles for me. I decided it was too long of a drive and the fact it is going to be 9 degrees there and 64 degrees here, I'm not moving from this seat.

[tinyreef]

finally finished (sorta) my hard drive recovery.

 

FTS shots as requested:

 

 

above: another angled view but better lighting, just a little glare. i'm finding that the best (imo) conditions to shoot pics for this tank is slightly overcast/cloudy. even this pic wasn't in super sunny conditions but the glare is obvious.

 

 

above: hadn't posted a top view in a while. this shows the significant condensation (left) and splash (right) from this setup. time was about ~10AM. at this time of the year, high light/temp seems to be around 11AM (not 12PM), DST? i dunno.

 

 

above: is a rear view shot, also hadn't posted one of those in a while. the updraft tube, carbon cartridge, Poly-Filter, chaeto, and one snail are to the left. my entire filtration system.

 

i even get glare from the rear. <sigh> please, ignore the snail prints.

 

 

above: closeup of the right rear view. the stoloniferan colony i moved off the LR is clearly seen. nice and veiny. yum. i'm trying to coax it to grow onto the glass.

 

that'd probaly be freaky. veined glass. it'd definitely freak out the nemo-people. <evil-chuckle>

 

i'll do more this weekend. my image editor also went bye-bye so i'm learning a new one (sorta). hence, some of the pics might be darker than optimal imo. sowwy.

[Ann]

Hey, you have a rainbow in your tank! Now that is different. Is there a pot of gold at the end of it by any chance?

 

What kind of cartridge do you have your carbon in (is the water actively being pushed through is it just a passive thing)?

 

Good piccies.

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[tinyreef]

the rainbow's my secret, i dose Lucky Charms cereal.

 

the carbon cartridge you see above is a disposable Lee's from one of their UGF formats. but i also use a refillable cartridge (depending on my degree of laziness). i use diamond or AP brand.

 

whatever's handy at the time basically. right now (after today's maintenance) i have the refillable cartridge in there with marineland black diamond. but i really have no prefs.

 

some updates (forgot to get a FTS today though ):

 

 

above: i moved the potted shroom to the right side of the tank. it was constantly getting bowled over on the left side by the snails. it seems to like the sunlight (btw i usually slow-kill shrooms, d'oh!).

 

 

above: closeup of the sarco next to the blue shroom above. that's a phyllochaeto worm tube below the sarco. it seems to be doing well too. not growing as fast as i would've guessed (or like) though. hmph.

 

 

above: closeup of the palys. they, like everything else in the tank, show different hues and colors depending on the time of day, weather, and angle of viewing.

 

i've found my optimal picture-taking lighting to be an mostly overcast/cloudy day but still around midday for sufficient lighting. too much sun and i'm fighting glare and extreme yellow/run colors. too cloudy and it's blueish and dark.

 

early morning gives good "shadow-effect" like oc likes but late afternoon is more muted than just a opposite positioning of the shadows. that's because the afternoon light is further blocked by part of the house, whereas the morning light is direct and unhindered.

 

i'll try and get another FTS tomorrow. not much changed, although i've "lost" the 2nd yellow polyp frag now as well. disappeared on me. hmph. and thanks for the compliments, ann!

[Ann]

Thanks for the info, so the carbon canister is connected somehow to the undergravel filter?

 

Your pics just keep getting better and better, the last set are fantastic.

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[tinyreef]

Thanks for the info, so the carbon canister is connected somehow to the undergravel filter?

no, the cartridge is just placed around the updraft top. the water just flows around/thru the cartridge (hopefully ).

 

Your pics just keep getting better and better, the last set are fantastic.

thanks!

 

your comment means a lot to me as i really love your pics!

[tinyreef]

christmas update:

 

 

above: baby shroom peeking from behind mommy shroom. it had been hiding behind mommy for the past week or so (at least that's when i first spotted him).

 

 

above: front angle shot of the mom & shroom. i've actually moved mommy to give the baby some more light.

[ZooGirl]

I agree with Ann Tiny, those macro shots are super!

[tinyreef]

I agree with Ann Tiny, those macro shots are super!

thanks! just like ann, i really appreciate your comments. all of your shots are amazing!

 

vacation (ah, relaxing at home!) updates:

 

 

above: i think this cane's thinking about splitting this head. it seems to be showing horizontal elongation (as a prelude to division).

 

while i had fed it for about 3-days in a row about a week or so ago but i stopped thereafter. it was too much hassle/work and the rest of the tank didn't seem to enjoy the increase in organics (golden pearls juice, blech!)

 

 

above: a purple gorgon frag from my display tank. i actually fragged two of them but i can't really get a decent shot of the other one. the 2nd one is in the back and smaller (about 5-polyps). the dotted curve is just a reflecton of the camera lens.

[Tigahboy]

nice candy cane macro shot.

[tinyreef]

thanks tig! the vacation/holiday's given me some time to really read up on how the camera works and wait for the "right" times during the day (and which days) to get better pics.

 

i just took some rear view pics with the sun in the front.

 

 

the coloration on the polyps are blander than they were in the display tank but they're sprouting taller (reaching?-lower light?) here. the white spots are bubbles or 'pods.

[tinyreef]

i frickin' hate viruses, computer and biological. the latter laid me up for the past week and i just cleaned out the computer virus (spyware doctor, highly recommended! norton's was basically being kicked in the groin constantly by the virus/malware/trojan and ad-aware et al. was useless.). so a lot of the pics/updates were on hold while i battled both.

 

growth seems to be kicking in or at least becoming visible/noticeable.

 

 

above: rescued this little zoo frag from the muck/grime of my display tank. fish doo-doo/algae/detritus a go-go. blech! it was one obvious polyp (the one at attention) and one bud of a polyp. i believe the other couple buds are new growth.

 

 

above: macro shot of the zoo from earlier pages. a couple of the smaller polyps are new growth. i believe the color is solidifying in the center. there wasn't as much orange in the center area before (iirc).

 

 

above: updated fts shot. sorry for the glare/reflection. i'm butt-up against the window with the camera on my stomach. i'm sucking in my gut as much as possible to get a decent shot. btw it ain't as easy as it sounds.

 

 

above: a 'reef crest' shot, aka "top o' the tank". basically a closeup of the other pic to cut out some of the annoying glare/reflection.

 

most of the polyps/zoos have already attached themselves to the rockwork so i don't have to worry about them getting jarred loose by rampaging snails. only in our hobby can one legitimately say "rampaging snail".

 

an earlier question asked about 'pod population. ime they go thru cycles so when that was asked, the population seemed to be peaking and then ebbed as i expected so i merely answered "about normal or regular, nothing extraordinary". but since that ebbing, the population has steadily grown in diversity and size (see "Plankton" in my gallery). mysid shrimp seem to be the dominant pod though for some odd reason.

 

i just started upping b-ionic doses. i started with 6-drops/daily for the first month or so. then went to 10-drops/daily and just yesterday started 12-drops/daily. i haven't seen much coralline but i have a branching coralline growing so i figure that might be sucking significant ca/alk (besides the snails and 'pods). the lps and pipe are late additions so i really haven't figured their bio-usage of the ca/alk yet.

 

filter feeders are growing very well, standards i'd expect from a mature/diverse tank versus a recent setup like this. tunicates, foraging worms (e.g. phyllochaeto), and a couple of unID'd trailers and motile/tentacled sponges(?). i'll post pics of that last one later.

 

a couple of bad things though, one of my snails burned itself it death (i believe) on my heater. dropped off the heater and never moved afterwards. dumas.

 

also, valonia (or a close relative) has invaded despite my best efforts. tweezering them as best as i can but some are in nooks and crannies. arrrgh!

 

btw sorry for the long post.

[shivametimbas]

goin good. those lights are sweet.

[Joseph14]

looks good

[sandlot13]

seriously, one of the most interesting tanks ive seen on any site........ some pretty impressive stuff!!!! Ill have to see if I can convince my professor that we "have" to do this project to see the effects of sunlight on a reef system. Keep up the good work!

 

tanner g.

[tinyreef]

thanks everyone for the comments and encouragement.

 

those lights are sweet.

but i think changing the bulb is gonna be a real pita though.

 

i wonder if hellolights.com carries a billyun-quintillion watt bulb. i guess the 5000K is an odd configuration these days though.

[Ann]

That's the best FTS yet, you can see all the different corals in there now. Cool!

 

Looking great.

 

Best regards

 

Ann

[tinyreef]

That's the best FTS yet, you can see all the different corals in there now. Cool!

my dented belly appreciates your comment!