Lukinrats 75 gallon tank thread!!!

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13149029#post13149029 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phillybean
I have a confession...I've been lurking.

Tank looks good, not sure about the film but I would say it's the GFO. I made the mistake yesterday of not rinsing a new sump sock...bubbles, cloudy water and a skimmer that went nuts!

It happens, when id doubt, if you aren't already, run carbon.

Also for the camera, any advice you can give me would be welcome. I have the Finepix 1000 which I can't seem to get ANY decent shots with. I can get the color where I want it, but everything is always blurry, even when I adjust the aperture settings

I dont know much about the camera yet, but I am betting I will get the hang of it soon... I usually figure most things out by playing around with them... One thing I did notice about Fuji is that only some of their cameras have the macro mode that can be used as close as 1cm from the source... That helps alot!!!

If it because of the Depth of Field thing, then I am not sure I understand all I know about that yet... I am reading though... I am going to check out that camera that you have, so I will know what to tell you along the way... I want to see if the cameras are similar, that way we can help each other

Later,
Nathan

 

[Phillybean]

The super macro is awesome, I can take great shots of pine cones, however once you put glass and water infront of it I can't get it. The depth of field is a huge part of it. When I zoom at all, whether on Macro or not, I can't get a good shot of any coral that is further away from the glass.

 

[hahnmeister]

If you go into the focus/exposure menus maybe, then you might have an option of changing the exposure so the aperture is smaller, or rather, a higher f-number (meaning to compensate, the exposure time is longer). The smaller the aperture, the greater your 'depth of field' will be.

If you dont have this manual adjustment, then at least you might have an option to change the 'priority' of the camera... the exposure is controlled by the shutter speed/time as well as the aperture, and aperture also changes focal depth... so, many cameras have an 'aperture priority' or 'shutter' priority where you can adjust the aperture manually to be smaller for more depth, and your exposure time will end up being longer. This is really where pros with SLR bodies and tripods come in... the larger CMOS sensor means more light while still keeping the aperture small for good depth yet not needing crazy exposure times. The 'auto programming' of some cameras comes into play here as well... my crappy old Nikon for instance, has a sensor that sucks for low-light, so the camera tends to lower the f-number to make up for this... killing my depth of field in most macros unless I use a much longer exposure to compensate (or leave the photo dark to photoshop it later... which also tends to make colors more vivid). Depth of field is really where SLR's come into play though. All those wicked macro photos you see are usually from D-SLR's... its actually easy with them.


http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/tips/depth.html

 

[lukinrats]

If you have not already done it, You should also read this article from Melev's site... It is great, and I tend to trust what he has up... I can tell that he has studied it, because he takes great shots, and he does it with the Fuji... This would be the main reason that I decided to look at them

Later

 

[Phillybean]

Thanks, I've actually decided on the Fuji from Melevs shot as well. I currently use his Photoshop piece for all my shots. I use the fstop at 2.8, however next to it I have a number that moves when I move the camera, but that I can also change manually. I can get some good shots doing this, however at other places in the tank, I can't get any clear shots.

The big problem for me seems to be the auto focus. When I zoom into something, I can't get close with-out the picture going blurry. Anything within 4" and further than 15" I can get amazingly clear pictures. Between 4" and 18" all I get is blurry pictures when I zoom in. I'm sure I'm just doing something wrong, but have yet to discover what it is

My hands are too shaky, but I can get a clearer shot of my sun corals (8" deep from the glass) from 5 feet away than I can from 6" away. Confusing

 

[lukinrats]

Philly... I feel sure that your camera has a manual focus on it... On this one I have, you have to go into the shooting menu, and change it from continuous focus to manual... Then when you back to your screen and look at what you have... You do the manual focus by holding down the little button that looks like +/-, and at the same time using the zoom ... This allows manual focus... I do know what you mean about the auto not working correctly


Update on the film... I have decided that it was the GFO... I would recommend that anyone who uses that stuff, to put it in one time, and if you ever have to remove it for anything just throw it out... It does not matter if it is still working or not... I guess when I removed it from the kent reactor, and then rinsed it to put it in the TLF phosban 150, it just caused it to release all kinds of dust and pigments

I hate that it happened... what a freaking mess!! I was so glad that I had been able to keep the sump so clean, and now it looks like red clay all over

I just replaced all the GFO with the Warner PHosar... We will see how that goes!!!


Later,
Nathan

 

[melev]

Sorry, we had our meeting tonight and I wasn't online to help.

The area above the GFO should be crystal clear, no media whatsoever. It should look like it is all at the bottom, with maybe a tiny bit of motion that some refer to as a "moon quake". That avoids the media grinding up.

The effluent of the reactor should be a trickle coming out, way way less than 90gph. Probably more like 1 or 2 gallons per hour, I'd guess. The effluent should test zero nitrates. If it is higher than zero, slow it down ever more.

 

[lukinrats]

Thanks Melev... That is what I did last night... I have the water flowing through it so that you can't even tell it is moving through it... The media is not moving at all... I think this will be the way I go from now on

Thanks for the suggestion
Nathan

 

[melev]

Oops. In my post above, it said "...should test zero nitrates." That should have read "...should test zero <i>phosphates</i>." I guess you could see where my brain has been lately.

 

[lukinrats]

Frag Pictures 8-14-08

Frag Pictures 8-14-08

Here are some shots of the new frags, after 1 week in my tank... I think they are looking pretty good... I am still getting my photography skills polished up... I think that I have the white balance right, but I need to work on the apeture, and shutter speed

green pocillopora

Bright pink table

Solid blue tenuis

Vesuvious monti

Hightlighter green monti

Monti spumosa

Bright yellow porites

 

[lukinrats]

I also took a couple of tank shots... First a side view, and then a left, center, and right side shots... I really need to work on getting these to look a bit better... Tank shots are REALLY HARD!!!

Later,
Nathan

 

[melev]

In the last picture you posted, what is just beneath the xenia? It looks like a suncoral perhaps, but the color seems way off.

FTS are tough. You'll need a tripod for sure, and using Exposure Compensation can help.

 

[lukinrats]

That is a suncoral, and it is closed up... It is a nice yellow when it is open, but I am afraid that is the least of my problems

What could cause SPS to lose color over night?

When I got up this morning, my skimmer had overflowed... I just cleaned it, and reset it... I went home for lunch and my lights were on... All my SPS were pastel, and xenia, anthellia, etc was all closed up

I took the pictures of those frags, last night @ about 10pm... I can't understand what could have caused that, in only 12 hours

Man
Later,
Nathan

 

[melev]

Color shift does occur in sleep mode, and they regain their color by the peak of the light period again the next day. Is that not what you saw?

Too much light can turn corals pastel. T5s may have to be raised up or run less long each day.

Overheating the water can cause it too.

Check for stray electricity too.

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13161769#post13161769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Color shift does occur in sleep mode, and they regain their color by the peak of the light period again the next day. Is that not what you saw?

I do not think so, but if that is what it is, then it is drastic... I have never noticed that before, and I always mess around with the tank in the morning... We will see @ about 5 this afternoon, if this could have been it

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13161769#post13161769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Too much light can turn corals pastel. T5s may have to be raised up or run less long each day.

Yes, I have bleached a coral before, but these corals do not looked bleached... they actually look pretty healthy, save for the paleness... I have my T5 9" off above the water, and I have taken Par readings around each coral... None of them are getting more than 300 Par... I run 6 bulbs for 12 hours per day, where they get about 3/4 that amount, and then other two run for 5 hours per day... They only get full Par for 5 hours

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13161769#post13161769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Overheating the water can cause it too.

I actually thought of this first, but when I looked at the thermometer, it read 79

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13161769#post13161769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Check for stray electricity too.

Did this too!! I have a grounding probe as well


Thanks for the suggestions!! You got any more?
I can tell you that I have a very very low nutrient level right now... My PO4 has been measuring .01ppm with the meter, and the Tropic Marin kit... Nitrate is immeasurable as well

I did a water change last night, could it have been that whatever nutrients were in the water, got decreased even more?

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[melev]

If you feed your tank daily, I doubt the nutrients are so low that they cause pastel colors, especially in such a short duration.

Your lights are running a tad long. 12 hours a day is too much. 10, 11 hours tops. I was just reading a book recently that talked about how our lights are on similar to high noon over a real reef. When you think about it, high noon lasts how long? Not 12 hours a day.

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13161933#post13161933 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
If you feed your tank daily, I doubt the nutrients are so low that they cause pastel colors, especially in such a short duration.

Your lights are running a tad long. 12 hours a day is too much. 10, 11 hours tops. I was just reading a book recently that talked about how our lights are on similar to high noon over a real reef. When you think about it, high noon lasts how long? Not 12 hours a day.

I will take your word for it...I only run my lights with a photoperiod based on what I have seen others running... I do not have all my lights on, for that 12 hour period... Actually it is more like 11.5... I run 6 lamps for 12 hours, and all of those are actinics... I have measured par with these bulbs on, and I only get about 90-100 on the sandbed... and 150 to 200 from there on up... I will cut it back some, however, I find it hard to believe that my lights turned the frags pastel overnight ... Especially since they were off, and I got a good look @ everything right before they went off

I am going to guess that it has got to be very low nutrients, or bacteria driven by the small amount of vinegar that I am adding to my limewater

Here is what I got with my tests @ lunch

Temp: 79
PH: 8.2
Sg: 35 (1.026)
Cal: 480
dKH: 9-9.5
Mag: 1300
NO3: <5 mg/l (really can't see any color but that is as far as the kit goes)
PO4: .01 ppm


I also did a 15 gallon water change last night, but I know that I can't suspect a good ole water change

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[lukinrats]

Wow!!! I can't even believe this happened... Everything was going so well, and these corals looked great last night @ around midnight... I have the worst luck, cause less than 12 hours later, they looked like this... these are as of 6pm... I noticed the first one this morning early, but like Melev mentioned, I figured it was from the lights being off... You guys think the color will come back... I dialed the skimmer back a bit, and turned off the PO4 reactor

 

[melev]

You never stated what really was going on with your phosban reactor, only that you made some changes. Was it running full tilt and pumping out the fines into the water? Is that what made that pad and your sump so dirty?

The polyps are still extended, which is a good sign. Just in case, test everything one more time.

 

[lukinrats]