a simple sps tank

[sahin]

How is the reef going Mike, update time please mate......

+1

Any new acro purchases?

 

[glaukos]

I'm mental about playing with bulb combinations Glaukos...its on the verge of mental illness. I just leave the whole thing running while I pull out a running bulb and replace it with a new one, that way I can retain good visual memory of the color before and after. Years of handling hot stainless steel parts has left me with asbestos fingers. If I have a particularly hot bulb I use gloves, but most of the time I just go bare skin:spin1 :

I sure can feel you mhucasey
Have the same passion(that's one way to put it...the other-like you said- is mental illness ) when it comes to bulbs.I've tried every single combination there is and always want to try one that i haven't used for that long!
You are way ahead of me with that bare handed bulb changing
I leave them off for a few mins before i touch them!

How am i suddenly the bad guy in all this.............. : rolleyes: I'm saying nothing about your pics from now on Mike and will instead get back on topic. I always found that actinics give many pigments extra vibrance, not just when they're on but i mean they will have a positive effect on the 'pop' of many pigment colors without the actinics being on. If i had 8 T5's i would have two actinics in the mix.

This is Mike's actinic lit tank after he ceased dosing blue loo............. i said nothing about your pic as promised Mike :thumbsup :

lol,thanks for not "twisting the knife" buddy,appreciate it
You don't have to worry about that my good friend,all these jokes and @#$ing around,has given me a lot of great loughs
So i did put back my actinic bulb,replaced one coral plus with it and now i have
Front
B+
P+
B+
B+
B+
Actinic
C+
B+
I really like it
Put one aquablue in C+'s place but it was too yellow and switched back.
Thank you so much for fixing that photo too!Awesome!:beer:

How is the reef going Mike, update time please mate......

Sorry it's taking me so long buddy,until yesterday i was still relocating corals but i think now i'm ok with what i see and expect from the future,as the corals grow!
Did a nice WC yesterday and cleaned a lot of stuff(pumps,skimmer,sump)!
The return pipe.....omg how filthy it was guys....thank god my wife didn't see what i threw in the bath!!!!!
Everything is like brand new now
Today or the next day i'll upload some pics for sure!

+1

Any new acro purchases?

No sahin buddy:-(
Haven't seen anything interesting around here!And even if i did,there is no place to put it unless i get something out of there.I have a very good candidate though,if that happens...my green slimer,which has a good spot after the islands relocating!Green corals don't deserve central places in the tank
Day is getting bigger and tank is getting more sun now.So algea is growing faster but my dolabella is doing a good job!
Still fighting to get better corols but i think i'm seeing some improvements slowly.NO3 and po4 are 0,so i think i'll start feeding more again.
Maybe i'll make one more batch of pappone!
Aio are doing a very goo job(still too early to worship them but they seem to work).
Have to wait to see what will happen if i start heavier feedings(reagarding corals because big balls is beeing fed 6-7 times during the day ).

 

[cugly]

Looks great buddy how about FTS..

 

[sahin]

No sahin buddy:-(
Haven't seen anything interesting around here!And even if i did,there is no place to put it unless i get something out of there.

There is always places for Acros...especially in a nice big tank like yours mate. Look at Scottys tank...his tanks is full to the brim with acros! :eek2:

my green slimer,which has a good spot after the islands relocating!Green corals don't deserve central places in the tank

Yes...the bolded bit is SOOO true...but someone on this forum who shall not be named (but you only need to look at their FTS and you'll see the green clues) has a tank full of veggies. So yeah...greens can b replaced without feeling bad at all.

 

[glaukos]

Looks great buddy how about FTS..

Thanks dan!:beer:
:headwalls::headwalls::headwalls:
I've been trying for an hour to get some descent photos!They look ok on cameras screen but they look like on pc's monitor!!
The only ones that are relatively nice are about BB and quasimodo!
I do fix them but they still stay blurry:angryfire:
I'll borrow my friends camera to see what i can do with that!

There is always places for Acros...especially in a nice big tank like yours mate. Look at Scottys tank...his tanks is full to the brim with acros! : eek2:

Yes...the bolded bit is SOOO true...but someone on this forum who shall not be named (but you only need to look at their FTS and you'll see the green clues) has a tank full of veggies. So yeah...greens can b replaced without feeling bad at all. :-D

Wish one day mine will look half as good as scotty's tank sahin buddy:inlove:
Tbh if i see something good i'll get rid of my slimer
Moved it to the left but still holds a very nice spot:artist:
You'll see in the pics(trying my best) what i mean!

lol with the last paragraph!
I know the name of the "green-lover" you are referring to:lol2:....won't say it though,because mines are brown atm and lets be honest....green is waaaaay better than brown sahin!

I was looking at my bulb combo and as soon as my eyes get used to it,it looks a bit dark.
Think i'm going to change them again tomorrow
Do you think this would be too bright/yellow?
Front
B+
C+
Actinic
P+
AB
Actinic
C+
B+

 

[mhucasey]

Bright is really a measure of how much green is in the mix since our eyes are sensitive to green light. With that combo you shouldn't have a problem with it being too green, it should be pretty balanced actually(though personally id change the coral plusses out for a truly white bulb, but that's me). One other way to increase the perceived brightness is to move the white bulb to the first position rather than a blue.

 

[glaukos]

That's my problem mhucasey!
When i have a lot of blue+'s it looks a bit green,when i have aquablue a bit yellow and when coral plus and AB are together gets a bit redish
I like the current one(have it on for a couple of days only) but it looks a bit dark.
Maybe i'll replace one blue+ with a coral and move the p+ in the middle,just to see how it'll look like.
......t5 fun time...

 

[mhucasey]

If you have access to them you can increase the brightness without changing the color ballance by swapping a blue plus out and replacing it with a KZ New Gen or a Giesemann Aquablue Azure. I usually use the KZ bulb if the color looks good but if it seems a bit dim and it does the trick. My new favorite bulb is the Azure though

 

[glaukos]

Thanks for the info buddy!:beer:
I've heard very good things about kz's bulbs but they are a bit pricey compared to ati.
The ones i'll definitely try in the future are FM's!

 

[mhucasey]

Thanks for the info buddy!:beer:
I've heard very good things about kz's bulbs but they are a bit pricey compared to ati.
The ones i'll definitely try in the future are FM's!

Yeah I wish that we could get those here...I can buy them for a reasonable price but once they ship from Europe they get really expensive...

 

[sahin]

lol with the last paragraph! I know the name of the "green-lover" you are referring to:lol2:....won't say it though,because mines are brown atm and lets be honest....green is waaaaay better than brown sahin!

I was looking at my bulb combo and as soon as my eyes get used to it,it looks a bit dark.
Think i'm going to change them again tomorrow
Do you think this would be too bright/yellow?
Front
B+
C+
Actinic
P+
AB
Actinic
C+
B+

The Green-Lover lol "pops" the green veggies in his green tank by using Royal Blue LED's.

If you can DIY a couple of neat LED strips, you can amend your T5 combo and achieve the same level of pop, yet make the tank brighter.

I know everyone says the ATI AquaBlueSpecial washes out colours, but I am using two of them in my tank at the moment and like the brightness they put out.

I recommend the following combo which still provides pop and keeps the tank bright:

Front:
Blue+
ABS
Actinic
Blue+
Coral+
Actinic
ABS
Blue+

Position of each tube is important and must be in the order I describe. If you can do the above combo, even without any Royal Blue LED's, you will IMO get decent pop and brightness of the tank.

Anyway, I will stop my ranting...probably only confusing the situation more with my combo. :lol:

I am going to try get hold of the Fauna Marin Ultra Blue tubes...they seem pretty nice the way people talk about them.

 

[biggles]

I use 3 x B+, a coral + and an ABS over my tank Mike as the ABS has no negative effects for me on color pigments but brightens the tank considerably when the radium is off.

regards,
the veggie patch kid

 

[markalot]

I put my AB special back in the mix ... and took it back out 6 hours later.

It does brighten the tank, no denying that, but I just can't learn to like the way it seems to wash out some of the colors. For me it only does two positive things. It makes my crazy birdsnest look more green and photos look more natural with less correction.

Hmmm.

Maybe you should use one for the photos.

I am currently running C+, C+, B+, LED strip, B+, C+, P+

 

[glaukos]

Forgot how frustrating,finding your favorite combo can be
For the last two hours i was trying lots of them...as if the time i spent yesterday wasn't enough....damn reef tank...i'll own you one day instead of the opposite
So...aquablue combined with purple+ and coral+ makes a redish result(as if that's not to be expected ).
I didn't want to leave purple out so everything i tried,included that bulb.
Plus all these years i always leaned to the blue side of coloration and this time(foe the shake of experimenting and trying something different(...ahhhhh excuses i'm making ) i though to give a try to the whiter side!
So after making some changes i ended up with
Front
B+
P+
B+
B+
ABS
Actinic
C+
B+
Atm i like it.Made the tank brighter and some corals look like they receive light in spots they where shaded before.
The only think i'm thinking is if an actinic would look better in the 3rd's B+ place.Threw my old actinics and i have none to experiment(maybe it's better that way...enough for one day)
....and if i want some more blue i can follow "veggie's"(you know i love you biggles right?:beer: ) path and put a diy led strip or something like that!
Thanks for baring with me guys!

Yeah I wish that we could get those here...I can buy them for a reasonable price but once they ship from Europe they get really expensive...

I know buddy...same thing happens to many other products:-(

The Green-Lover lol "pops" the green veggies in his green tank by using Royal Blue LED's.

If you can DIY a couple of neat LED strips, you can amend your T5 combo and achieve the same level of pop, yet make the tank brighter.

I know everyone says the ATI AquaBlueSpecial washes out colours, but I am using two of them in my tank at the moment and like the brightness they put out.

I recommend the following combo which still provides pop and keeps the tank bright:

Front:
Blue+
ABS
Actinic
Blue+
Coral+
Actinic
ABS
Blue+

Position of each tube is important and must be in the order I describe. If you can do the above combo, even without any Royal Blue LED's, you will IMO get decent pop and brightness of the tank.

Anyway, I will stop my ranting...probably only confusing the situation more with my combo. :lol :

I am going to try get hold of the Fauna Marin Ultra Blue tubes...they seem pretty nice the way people talk about them.

Thanks for the bulb recommendation my good buddy:thumbsup:
Thank god i didn't see it earlier...you'd surely make my life more difficult
You're right regarding the led but i always find things veeeeery dangerous when it comes to electricity and technology:fun5:
If i do try it and never hear from me again....the experiment went wrong and i'll be watching you guys from above:blown:

I'm waiting on FM too sahin,wish they are as good as we read/hear

I use 3 x B+, a coral + and an ABS over my tank Mike as the ABS has no negative effects for me on color pigments but brightens the tank considerably when the radium is off.

regards,
the veggie patch kid

Thanks for the info and giving me one more combo to try mate:thumbsup:
lol with the regards ending,lol

I put my AB special back in the mix ... and took it back out 6 hours later.

It does brighten the tank, no denying that, but I just can't learn to like the way it seems to wash out some of the colors. For me it only does two positive things. It makes my crazy birdsnest look more green and photos look more natural with less correction.

Hmmm.

Maybe you should use one for the photos.

I am currently running C+, C+, B+, LED strip, B+, C+, P+

Thank you very much mark for the suggestions buddy:beer:
Maybe in the end,one ABS will be my redemption regarding photography!one quick fix
Wish i could buy the hybrid,things would be a lot easier

 

[markalot]

I'm not running a hybrid, instead I have a BML strip on feet just above the tank, partially blocking the two B+ lights above it. Lame, I know, and it hurts PAR a bit but I still have enough to spare. Still cheaper than that darn hybrid fixture!

 

[glaukos]

You are right mark,would do the same buddy!
As a matter of fact i'll start looking for some led bars that could fit to the side of ati or something like that,thanks:beer:

Here is a quick pic i just shot, after the change in the islands,a loooot of coral relocating and the change in bulbs.
Still has a long way to become what i want

 

[mhucasey]

Yay! Picture! The islands look great Mike!

 

[markalot]

Tank looks quite good, I think. Does this look more natural?

 

[glaukos]

Yay! Picture! The islands look great Mike!

Thanks mhucasey buddy:beer:
Glad you like it,it has a loooooong long way ahead of it though
Want to improve colors and of course their sizes
Regarding colors i'm witnessing an imrovement but nothing spectacular.

Tank looks quite good, I think. Does this look more natural?

Thanks mark glad you like it mate:beer:
Thaaaaaaank you so much for going to all this trouble to fix the pic!Yes it's much closer to reality
It has become ridiculous,the fact you guys correct my pics every time:headwallblue:...sorry about that!
What app did you use to correct it and what did you change if i may ask?
Thanks again for the trouble buddy:thumbsup:

 

[markalot]

Hi Mike,

I used photoshop but any app that can change white balance will work. Literally 30 seconds of sliding a control. There's also a decent free program that will do it called RawTherapee. It's not as easy to use, but it's free! White balance is key, and generally white balance is adjusted by sliding a scale between blue and yellow. Less blue, more yellow generally gets the image close to reality, then you can tweak other scales if you have the patience.

http://rawtherapee.com/