Cubed & Squared

[biggles]

I just want to point out that the lack of posts by you recently Bello points strongly to you being up to your usual sneaky bastard SPS keeping.......... nothing will surprise me tbh.......:strooper:
How about a picture, your mate shrimpless (Troub) knows how to update his bloody journal. What's that SSC frag doing buddy, any positive signs yet

 

[Bello]

I like the way you're dealing with things mate, totally agree in giving things a little time and not going stupid adding extra stuff to deal with what is a temporary situation. I'm doing the same at present and only feeding the fish until i get things under tight control again with my nutrients.
Not too sure what's going on with your milli's mate. It has to be low light or dirty water as i know you know what you're doing. That prostrata i lowered is a bit poopy but now i can see the inside facing corallites it still looks bloody nice and should be nuts when it adjusts over the next few weeks. I've always found milli's to be good at different light levels although they do tend to be higher light favoring generally in my experience. I'm guessing it's the water still considering it's happening to multiple pieces so give it some more time until you clean all that excess phos etc from the water and things are clean and stable for a month or so.
You really are close close close buddy

Thanks biggles, I still think I'm nearly there, and have managed to resist the temptation of adding any funky supplements so far . I haven't tinkered much at all....well that would be a lie , only tinkered with fish though, rearranged some of the frags.

The milli's are growing, but still no color love

That said, filtration and everything else remains the same, no more messing around....... for now . Have also removed the little carbon dosing I was doing off line, didn't seem to make a difference.

I just want to point out that the lack of posts by you recently Bello points strongly to you being up to your usual sneaky bastard SPS keeping.......... nothing will surprise me tbh.......
How about a picture, your mate shrimpless (Troub) knows how to update his bloody journal. What's that SSC frag doing buddy, any positive signs yet

Sneaky yes ....more acro's...... no ....I did get a bit better with photoshop though, tell me what you think...

Frag of the ugly brown wild milli, that does look a wee bit better


The deepwater one you like, yet again...A. Carduus, and TRY and ignore the ugly diatoms


And this one, I could never get a proper pic off. This is still a bit over exposed, but the color is almost the same

 

[biggles]

Glad to hear that things are slowly improving mate and you're pics are definitely much better color wise than early days :thumbsup:
Damn i love those last two acros, the carduus just because it grows thickety like lol - scientific growth terminology......... I bet that last one looks way better in real life than your pic shows
I'm not sure what's up with those milli's as they color up pretty quickly in my experience and tolerate most lighting conditions within reason. If you're seeing good typical hairy milli PE then i'd be inclined to say it's got to be the light or food/nutrients. Are you running UV's and if so how many, i still think if you put a twin T5 true actinic over the tank with your LED's you'd see the colors show. You have all the other colors covered and i think that's what you may need lots more of. Just a thought as i really want to see that carduus colored up for you
Shrimpless is awfully quiet lately.......... prob like you and doing sneaky additions on the quiet i reckon.........
Btw i have a pet ugly hairy crab that's called Lefty - long story how he got that name which involves me, Lefty and a failed crab assassination attempt by yours truly with a chisel.......... :worried:

 

[martinphillip03]

Big, would you need two true actinic or would one true actinic and an Ati Blue plus, or the equivalent, give more of a blue spectrum?

Marty

 

[Bello]

Damn i love those last two acros, the carduus just because it grows thickety like lol - scientific growth terminology......... I bet that last one looks way better in real life than your pic shows

I'm not sure what's up with those milli's as they color up pretty quickly in my experience and tolerate most lighting conditions within reason. If you're seeing good typical hairy milli PE then i'd be inclined to say it's got to be the light or food/nutrients. Are you running UV's and if so how many, i still think if you put a twin T5 true actinic over the tank with your LED's you'd see the colors show. You have all the other colors covered and i think that's what you may need lots more of. Just a thought as i really want to see that carduus colored up for you

Thanks biggles, the tank looks pretty good from the top down, pity, I can't get a full top down shot without the leds reflecting in the pics

I now officially hate millies ....Will just ignore them for the time being, unless of course they start looking spectacular. I checked out the spectral chart for the T5 true actinic, it seems heavy aorund the 425nm area, and the 445nm area. I've got those well covered with the leds, but I suspect you're right about the lighting OR food/nutrients. As I understand it, I can dial down the intensity of lighting OR increase feeding/nutrients, OR a balance between the two. I have started feeding twice as much since I put in these 2 , hasn't made a big difference in coral color as yet, so I'm also looking into purchasing a PAR meter



I'll try with a PAR meter first, if possible. Sourcing T5 tubes is still a massive headache for me. None available locally, so shipping kills it.

Btw i have a pet ugly hairy crab that's called Lefty - long story how he got that name which involves me, Lefty and a failed crab assassination attempt by yours truly with a chisel.......... :worried:

Lol, they're irritating buggers, those crabs. BTW, meet Fukall, I added him to eat Aiptasia in the tank.....and now you know why he has this name

Big, would you need two true actinic or would one true actinic and an Ati Blue plus, or the equivalent, give more of a blue spectrum?

Marty

Hmm, Marty, you do know that I'm a LED aka Disco Light fanboy, right?

 

[martinphillip03]

Bello, I consider you an innovator. Because of people like you, one day I shall be able to use LED.

Marty

Hmm, Marty, you do know that I'm a LED aka Disco Light fanboy, right?

 

[troubadour11]

Hey there Bello. I'm loving those last pictures! Either your photo skills are much improved, or your tank is much improved... or both :beer: That 3rd picture of that glowing neon blue coral is awesome!

And I am about to be a disco light fanatic as well! I think I'll be trying to get mine up and running starting tomorrow. The pieces are all laid out on a work table and I'm ready to get started... after...

...

... I sneak around for the rest of the weekend. I'll have some updates on my end soon :uzi:

 

[Acronic]

lookin good bello

 

[Frontosa99]

Congrats!!!

:thumbsup:

 

[biggles]

If it was blue spectrum you were after Marty i don't think you could beat the B+ bulbs. I have acros that are completely shaded from the radium and receive the vast majority of light from the 2 x 39W B+ T5's at the front. All of them are colored up nicely just as those under the radium as well.

Acro hating hey Bello........ i knew you'd come around to my way of reefing sooner or later The PAR meter is really going to help i think and you might be surprised at how much light some of your corals are receiving i think.
A Flameback and a Multicolor not to mention a Regal on order - you rat cunning bastard Bello.......... of course you must realise that if the angels start chowing down on your acros i'm going to suggest you might as well have dropped a running lawn mower in the tank tbh........ just gotta push things to the limit don't ya mate lol - although who dares wins........:strooper:
Fukall lol.......... i really did laugh out loud btw...... those bloody things are $35- each here but worth it by the sound of how your guy got his reef name lol. I feel quite bad about Lefty and let him be now even when he's perched out in the open just asking for another attempt at the reef olympics javelin catching record....... he's dropped one he tried to catch with his right claw so far.......

Not knowing what the acro actually looks like in real life i did my best to clean up the pic of the acro that is mine but somehow ended up in your bloody tank.......... hope you don't mind me fiddling with your pics again lol.

 

[Bello]

Bello, I consider you an innovator. Because of people like you, one day I shall be able to use LED.

Marty

That's really nice to hear, Marty

But honestly, most of what I've learned has been from RC. So many people sharing information and observations. Some of the led manufacturers have been quite helpful too. That said, I've still messed around a little bit extra on my lights, how much of difference that makes, I've yet to learn.....

Hey there Bello. I'm loving those last pictures! Either your photo skills are much improved, or your tank is much improved... or both. That 3rd picture of that glowing neon blue coral is awesome!

... I sneak around for the rest of the weekend. I'll have some updates on my end soon

I thought you'd be buried in your lights this weekend, Troub. Please tell me you're almost done by now, I'm waiting to see them over your tank :thumbsup:....And....remember.....shrimp

The neon coral is more of a nice light blue, I guess my leds are making it look crazier, or possibly poor photography :lol:

lookin good bello

Thanks Kevin, I've been lurking on your thread, waiting for you to bombard us with those killer mari acros that you have....though I don't think I've still recovered from the first salvo..

Congrats!!!

Thanks Frontosa, I've still got a long way to go, but I hope you've enjoyed the pics

If it was blue spectrum you were after Marty i don't think you could beat the B+ bulbs. I have acros that are completely shaded from the radium and receive the vast majority of light from the 2 x 39W B+ T5's at the front. All of them are colored up nicely just as those under the radium as well.

Acro hating hey Bello........ i knew you'd come around to my way of reefing sooner or later The PAR meter is really going to help i think and you might be surprised at how much light some of your corals are receiving i think.
A Flameback and a Multicolor not to mention a Regal on order - you rat cunning bastard Bello.......... of course you must realise that if the angels start chowing down on your acros i'm going to suggest you might as well have dropped a running lawn mower in the tank tbh........ just gotta push things to the limit don't ya mate lol - although who dares wins........
Fukall lol.......... i really did laugh out loud btw...... those bloody things are $35- each here but worth it by the sound of how your guy got his reef name lol. I feel quite bad about Lefty and let him be now even when he's perched out in the open just asking for another attempt at the reef olympics javelin catching record....... he's dropped one he tried to catch with his right claw so far.......

Not knowing what the acro actually looks like in real life i did my best to clean up the pic of the acro that is mine but somehow ended up in your bloody tank.......... hope you don't mind me fiddling with your pics again lol.

You're a bad influence biggles. Seriously, no more millies, until I get these to color up right. Pastel is fine, but at least the damn right color!!

I inquired locally about the price for a PAR meter, and after customs...wait for it......$1000 USD!!!!!!...so no PAR meter for now, at least.

Trust me biggles, there's been too many times, I've found myself giggling like an idiot after reading your posts all over RC...."lol" doesn't quite define it

I'm planning on either a Chevron tang or a Flame angel next, you can see what I'm aiming for now. The Regal angel only if I can score a nice, small, healthy, eating specimen....and that seems like its gonna take a while.

BTW, the new of the tank, is the pint sized Flameback, now that the Regal tang has been relocated to the deep tank. I never knew they were so feisty.

So far the angels have been.....well, Angels lol....ignoring acros... You'll notice that I never place angels in the deep tank, the acro tank is easy to fish 'em out, if needed....though, I think a lawn mower would be easy enough to pull out in either tank, lol.

In the edited pic, i can't really say how accurate the color is. The coral doesn't really glow, as seen in my pic....It's tough to capture. Have a look at my next post, it should give some ideas. It seems that thankfully, the blue leds, do a good job of hiding the crap algae I'm dealing with, as exposed in your pic

 

[Bello]

Sky Blue acro frag

Sky Blue acro frag

So now, that I won't be able to buy a PAR meter, for a while at least.... It makes some sense to me to continue with the lighting as I have it. A plus point is that the intensities are different in both tanks. I can work on the nutrient aspect now.

The acro tank has about 70 watts extra over the deep tank, while also keeping a higher blue to white ratio, therefore, while staring at the tanks, the acro tank looks dimmer than the deep tank, though that isn't actually the case.

Here's an out of water pic of the sky blue acro frags, same mother colony, one placed in the acro tank, and one from the deep tank...


Here's what it looks like in the acro tank...


And in the deep tank....


As of now, I'll probably be rearranging corals between tanks, and leaving them in the one where I like the color...in the case of this sky blue frag....its going in the acro tank

The reason I believe that this coral almost glows when I try and take a pic, is that, well...... I'm still a crap photographer OR my lights which are heavy in the 420nm region are making it pop extra. I assure you, the blue stag in the acro tank, does look really nice in person

 

[Bello]

Well, I was kinda bummed today, knowing that the pics I had taken thus far in the last 10 pages were just not right. I was unable to capture the blues in my tank, and they looked very washed out.

I have an entry level D3100, which should have been decent enough. Anyways, I think I figured it out a bit more, post processing for white balance & clarity ONLY.

Some of the acros looked a bit drab, but some that I've never been able to capture before.....well finally!!!

The one with the sky blue acro frag...still gonna remain in the acro tank


And here's the one that looked neon crazy....I like this waaaayyyy better


The exact color of my A.Hyacinthus


Some frags at the back


A mari blue stag?


And I could never get a decent pic of these without them looking washed out...so here we go


I know there’s a long way to go, but I think this is progress

 

[markalot]

Hi Bello,

for the D3100 take in RAW+JPG and then if you don't already own a RAW editing tool I suggest the free RAWTherapee program (you can google that word to find the site). Working with the RAW .NEF files is key. It took some getting used to but once you have the white balance and other adjustments down you can save them as a template to use with all photos. Just FYI if it helps.

I enjoy following your tank, looks great to me.

 

[Bello]

Thanks Mark,

I just took these on RAW and then edited with Lightroom. What's the benefit of using RAW+JPG over just RAW? Was just thinking about that....I could never edit well, shooting with JPG only, despite using lightroom.

I'm just happy that FINALLY, the pics don't look washed out.... should have started with this, saved me a lot of headache

Thanks for your help :thumbsup:

 

[troubadour11]

I also use the trick of dropping a fresh clean little section of PVC pipe into the tank next to what I'll be photoing for the 1st shot of a series. You can use that as a quick reference to set up the white balance and save a profile for the session. So then you can remove it for the rest of the shots to have clean pvc pipeless images. ;-)

And +1 for the ability to edit in .raw format. It will make post correcting the image to what you feel matches what it looks like much easier. A lot more control that way!

 

[markalot]

Thanks Mark,

I just took these on RAW and then edited with Lightroom. What's the benefit of using RAW+JPG over just RAW? Was just thinking about that....I could never edit well, shooting with JPG only, despite using lightroom.

I'm just happy that FINALLY, the pics don't look washed out.... should have started with this, saved me a lot of headache

Thanks for your help :thumbsup:

Lightroom is better than that free program I mentioned. RAW+JPG is just the Nikon setting, I use the D3100 as well. Sorry for the confusion. The Nikon has some special on chip processing that, well, leaves a lot to be desired as far as tank pictures are concerned. RAW photos have the original data in them so you can bypass this and tweak it yourself. I forget what the heck it's called now, but it has to do with the black (shadow) settings.

It took me forever to get used to the editing, and even now I can still create horrible pics that look nothing like my tanks.

 

[Bello]

It doesn't end so easily.....just found AEFW's on some acros....back to dipping..., and while I started dipping....I figured, why not adjust the scape again.....Hmmm, BAD IDEA!!!

I also use the trick of dropping a fresh clean little section of PVC pipe into the tank next to what I'll be photoing for the 1st shot of a series. You can use that as a quick reference to set up the white balance and save a profile for the session. So then you can remove it for the rest of the shots to have clean pvc pipeless images. ;-)

And +1 for the ability to edit in .raw format. It will make post correcting the image to what you feel matches what it looks like much easier. A lot more control that way!

I actually laminated a piece of plain paper and tried it out, Troub....You know what my genius camera says?..... "Duh, unable to do squat!!!" :lol:

Turns out, I had my white balance fairly well set in the beginning itself, just should've done it in RAW format. Anyways, at least I can do better now

Lightroom is better than that free program I mentioned. RAW+JPG is just the Nikon setting, I use the D3100 as well. Sorry for the confusion. The Nikon has some special on chip processing that, well, leaves a lot to be desired as far as tank pictures are concerned. RAW photos have the original data in them so you can bypass this and tweak it yourself. I forget what the heck it's called now, but it has to do with the black (shadow) settings.

It took me forever to get used to the editing, and even now I can still create horrible pics that look nothing like my tanks.

Leaves a lot to be desired is an understatement

I spent soo much time, just trying to tweak it right, and to end up not remotely close. It came to the point that I seriously considered upgrading to a better body. I'm glad I didn't now, I'm not much of a photography enthusiast.

The funny thing is that white balance would be better adjusted on my wife's Samsung S4, felt kinda insulted that my precious and rather expensive DSLR was taking pooey pics.

Now I wanna check out your photography :lol:

 

[markalot]

It doesn't end so easily.....just found AEFW's on some acros....back to dipping..., and while I started dipping....I figured, why not adjust the scape again.....Hmmm, BAD IDEA!!!



I actually laminated a piece of plain paper and tried it out, Troub....You know what my genius camera says?..... "Duh, unable to do squat!!!" :lol:

Turns out, I had my white balance fairly well set in the beginning itself, just should've done it in RAW format. Anyways, at least I can do better now



Leaves a lot to be desired is an understatement

I spent soo much time, just trying to tweak it right, and to end up not remotely close. It came to the point that I seriously considered upgrading to a better body. I'm glad I didn't now, I'm not much of a photography enthusiast.

The funny thing is that white balance would be better adjusted on my wife's Samsung S4, felt kinda insulted that my precious and rather expensive DSLR was taking pooey pics.

Now I wanna check out your photography :lol:

I'll have to post some recent pictures here first.

 

[biggles]

Damn i've missed lots lol. A grand for a bloody PAR meter, screw that for a joke mate, a grand buys a lot of acros to experiment with lighting Bello :thumbsup:
You and your bloody fetish with angel fish......... you were one of those kids that poked bull ant nests with a stick weren't ya Bello, sooner or later they bite you mate. I went with petrol and a match mostly as i was quite the pyromaniac as a child - hard to believe i know........ here's a tip i picked up as a 12 yr old - using a hacksaw to cut open .22 bullets for the gun powder is not a good idea. :deadhorse1:

That comparison pic between the two blue stag pieces is great. I have always found that the baby blue stags need plenty of light to hold color and will drab out like the one from the deep tank without high light and clean water. I love the color you have it showing in the acro tank mate, looks awesome just the way it is - i'm jealous again lol.
I have to say that now you have the white balance better sorted your pics are way way better buddy. Your acros are looking great and now i can see the colors better i'm really pleased to see things are certainly on track as your colors are really starting to pop
I wish i had access to a camera that was RAW capable but the planned new tank will swallow all my money for the foreseeable future unfortunately lol. I might upgrade the iphone 4 to a 5 - that's as close to a camera upgrade as i'll get.

I expect to see lots more pics now you're happy with the results you're getting, the next 12 months will see your reefs develop into very cool displays :thumbsup: