Top down shots

[drewquan]

Hi Ed,not sure if I missed it somewhere in all of these post,but what lenses are you using for your pictures?

 

[Big E]

Looking really nice, Ed. Have to say that purple monster makes my top five list every time ...just an amazing coral.

Thanks Tim..........the purple monster is unique for sure, in it's growth pattern and the sheen along the branch edges that's very hard to capture in pictures.

I never thought much of it till I actually had a piece in my tank............I couldn't have an Sps tank without one now.


drewquan,

Hi Ed,not sure if I missed it somewhere in all of these post,but what lenses are you using for your pictures?

I'm not using any special lenses..........the camera is an old Cannon Powershot G3. It has a zoom lense but it's very limited.

 

[seanb19]

I have been getting great results following similar regiment. I did however recently add a chem pure blue in my tank to combat a small algae issue and have noticed that my red SPS is starting to lose colors. I heard today that this is a result of the GFO and should take it out and run a system skimmer only. We shall see the results...

 

[kimacom]

awesome colors and healthy sps ever!!

 

[sahin]

Hi Ed, which brand of two part are you using?

 

[Big E]

awesome colors and healthy sps ever!!

Thanks!


sahin--

Hi Ed, which brand of two part are you using?

I have been making Randys Two Part for about 8 years......recipe # 1.

I buy the baking soda at Save a lot or Aldis.

I used Dow Flake for years and for the past six months I've been using Peladow pellets as that's what was more readily available locally.

The mag is replenished/maintained with my 10% weekly water changes.

 

[jestronix]

Thanks!


sahin--


I have been making Randys Two Part for about 8 years......recipe # 1.

I buy the baking soda at Save a lot or Aldis.

I used Dow Flake for years and for the past six months I've been using Peladow pellets as that's what was more readily available locally.

The mag is replenished/maintained with my 10% weekly water changes.

Exactly what I do, saved a heap going down this path.

By the way Ed, darn nice coral only halide or T5 I suspect . Soon to be induction ?

 

[Big E]

It's been a while so here's some newer pics of some grow outs and a few others


Sky blue hokei

Wild Rasberry

Killer Canary

Aussie Ice Fire

Red Planet

Ice Forest

Aqua Delight

Sniper SPS BG

Hawkins

 

[markalot]

Incredible.

 

[HowdyDoody216]

Yes Please

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

man that a super bright red planet. great aqua delight.

 

[sahin]

I thought my Red Planet was crazy red...yours is more so! :beer: Corals look stunning as usual.

 

[007Bond]

Cool Ed,...looking great as usual! Did you change anything with your lighting?---Rick

 

[erm213]

The red spectrum is very heavy in your photos Ed, are you compensating for the blue light by adjusting the white balance on your camera for more red?

 

[Big E]

Thanks for the complements everyone


sahin-

I thought my Red Planet was crazy red...yours is more so! Corals look stunning as usual.

It's the coral+ blue+ combo that brings that out.

007Bond-

Cool Ed,...looking great as usual! Did you change anything with your lighting?---Rick

Thanks, same as always 4x 54w Coral+ & Blue+ overdriven on Ice Cap ballast. I have two more bulbs to add so I can have more spread and brightness.

erm213--

The red spectrum is very heavy in your photos Ed, are you compensating for the blue light by adjusting the white balance on your camera for more red?

No, the red you see is the colors of the corals. I don't do any color compensating. The colors are deep as I have everything set up to avoid pastel colors.

I shoot in RAW with a custom white balance set in the camera that was set under my lights using a white piece of PVC.

I very seldom do any post production adjusting except for minor brightness/contrast or sharpness adjustments.

There is no blue in my lighting because my lights are not blue.....they are icy white with a slight tinge of blue. My zoas don't pop as well some tanks with bluer lighting, but it works best for the acros.

Coral+ bulbs do a very good job to promote red and pinks in corals and more so due to how I overdrive them. I can't get quite the same intensity when they are driven by ATI ballasts.........that's one of the reasons I don't change from the ice caps.

 

[Quiverfull]

I know this may be a basic question but can you briefly explain "overdriven"? I assume you are using a higher watt ballast then the tubes are rated for? Is that correct and how do you determine how many watt ballast you use when you overdrive? Beautiful corals, bought a frag from you at the Cleveland area frag swap this past winter.

 

[Big E]

The Ice cap ballasts were designed to drive VHO bulbs. They overdrive the T5 bulbs.......this corresponds to about 200 par more per bulb but they also lose spectrum after about 6 months. The bulbs burn brighter to our eye view........the blue bulbs look less dark blue and more of a lighter blue.

People say a 54w bulb drives to 80 watts......I'm not sure there is any proof of this or if it's actually been tested. I've been curious to at least hook one of those plug in kilowatt meters to even see how much electricity is used in comparison.

In my experience T5 bulbs driven by a spec'd ballast won't last any longer unless they are cooled correctly. The ATI fixtures are the only units I know that do a good job of this. With these you can get about 9-10 months for a dominant SPS tank.

 

[Clarkii01]

Can't wait to see these in person!

 

[007Bond]

Hey Ed,...are you still growing your Carolinia? The last pic you put up it was just a nub

 

[Big E]

Jim-

Can't wait to see these in person!

When are you coming to town? You won't believe this piece when you see it in person.

007Bond--

Hey Ed,...are you still growing your Carolinia? The last pic you put up it was just a nub

It's the Ice Forest in the corals I just posted. Here's a front shot.........it's about 3" in diameter now.