Urbanek's 250

[d2mini]

Very cool! Nice pics. Always fun to experiment with new techniques.

Focus stacking works best on completely stationary objects, and the more shots you can take the better. I'll shoot food or products in the studio and sometimes we will use focus stacking when the client wants everything in focus. If there is any movement of the subject, you will still have out of focus areas. Even with pumps off it's almost impossible to get a coral to stay perfectly still.

 

[MrRBW]

Glad to see you got a nice xmas gift so you can share your tank with us. Stunningly beautiful. I still can't get over your cabinet, really nice. I can really feel the texture in the lobo pictures, great photo technique. Look forward to more updates on your fish and coral growth!

 

[urbaneks]

January 9th, 2016 - Photo Update

January 9th, 2016 - Photo Update

January 9th, 2016 - Photo Update


It's been a few days since I've posted which is much better than a year and a half [] . Here are a couple photos that I took today. The first is a shot of my Blackcap Basslet. This fish dates back to the 110g Reef. Much like the Pygmy Hawkfish, the Blackcap is pretty secretive. If you've never had one of these fish, something you should know is they are hoarders. If I have a piece of coral fall to the sand bed, I need to grab it and mount it before he sees it. He has a few hundred dollars of coral skeletons in his den. I really like the way this photo turned out with the shallow depth of field and dark background.

Blackcap Basslet​

This is the view of the aquarium from the hallway. If I had to declare this the front or the back of the reef, this would be the back. The peninsula aquariums have their pros and cons. You can add more coral but getting the aquarium to look good from every side becomes a challenge.

View from the Hallway​

I've always loved Acans but have struggled to keep them in my aquariums. I'm not sure if its the higher light, lower nutrients or some other factor. In the last couple months, I've started adding a few new acans. So far so good. Here is a photo of my favorite Acan. Those centers are awesome!

Rainbow Acan​

 

[kresDFW]

Brad, the tank looks incredible! Nice work and glad to see updates.

 

[urbaneks]

January 10th, 2016 - Response to Feedback

January 10th, 2016 - Response to Feedback

January 10th, 2016 - Response to Feedback

Neat.

Glad to see you are updating us again!

markalot - Thanks for the view and comment. It's good to see your name come across here.

Very cool! Nice pics. Always fun to experiment with new techniques.

Focus stacking works best on completely stationary objects, and the more shots you can take the better. I'll shoot food or products in the studio and sometimes we will use focus stacking when the client wants everything in focus. If there is any movement of the subject, you will still have out of focus areas. Even with pumps off it's almost impossible to get a coral to stay perfectly still.

d2mini - Thanks for stopping by to check out the journal. I really appreciate the help and advice you provided me over the past couple years. From info on cabinets to the Life Reef system, you've always been available to answer questions. The reefing community is lucky to have you.

Glad to see you got a nice xmas gift so you can share your tank with us. Stunningly beautiful. I still can't get over your cabinet, really nice. I can really feel the texture in the lobo pictures, great photo technique. Look forward to more updates on your fish and coral growth!

MrRBW - Thanks for the kind words on the cabinet. That project was my re-entry into wood working after taking 20 years off from it. Looking back on it, I still can't believe that I had the confidence to attempt let alone pull it off. I guess sometimes you just have to go for it.

Brad, the tank looks incredible! Nice work and glad to see updates.

kresDFW - Another familiar name coming across the thread. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.

 

[d2mini]

I like that basslet shot!
It's so funny how many ticked off looking fish we have, yet Grumpy Cat gets all the press. :lol:

 

[urbaneks]

January 10th, 2016 - Photo Update

January 10th, 2016 - Photo Update

January 10th, 2016 - Photo Update


Couple more photos that I wanted to post of the reef. The first is of my pride and joy, the Copperbanded Butterfly. I attempted to keep one of these once before but never got him through quarantine. He was not ill, but would not eat, a very common problem with these awesome fish. I happened to be at the LFS several months ago and they had two of these in stock. One was eating mysis out of the water column so I had to give it another try. This fish went through 8 weeks of QT where he continued to eat mysis. Since moving him to the display he eats live black worms in a home made feeding station. Kind of a pain to feed him but he's well worth it. It's difficult to tell from the photo but he's nice and plump. So far, a great fish, no coral nipping. He's one of my favorites for sure.

Copperband Butterfly​

About a year ago, my Chomis started laying eggs. The cycle goes kind of like this... Pair up, mate, spawn, defend the eggs mercifully for 4 or 5 day until one day they get eaten. They then join back up together in a group for 1-2 days before trying again. In other words, they are almost never together in a group anymore which is what I really love about the fish. Much to my surprise, they were grouped up yesterday when I had the camera out. I count 8 of the 12 in this photo.


One other interesting story about my Chromis... Upon returning from a business trip, I asked my son, what happened to this Chromis? The fish had a huge flesh wound across his back and his top fin was mostly gone. He was still swimming and hanging with the group. After a few short weeks, he was all healed up and no worse for wear. We believe that he got pulled through the MP60. That fish is the one on the left of the group. You can still see the indention in his back. My son named him "Chop". The name has stuck.

Shoaling Chormis​

 

[Elliott]

great shots Brad!!

I never had luck wth groups of Chromis, they eventually end up disappearing one by one until one or two are left, always liked how they shimmer in the light, awesome

Also had a Copperband, beautiful fish, but mine started picking at LPS and reluctantly had to remove him

 

[CoralFiend]

Really love this whole set-up! The stand is beautiful and a great use for the reclaimed barn wood. Green with envy. Following along for the ride...

 

[urbaneks]

February 1st, 2016 - Photo Update
On one of the other forums, I'm doing a Project 365 where I'm posting one photograph per day. Here is the recap from the first 30 days including my blog for that day.

Thanks for looking.

After 30 days of Project 356, I've learned that the benefits of this project reach beyond the creation of a photo a day. It has made me slow down and enjoy some of the finer details of the aquarium. It has made me appreciate where my reef is vs. wishing it had more growth, better color, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong, I still have a fair bit of that going on.

Looking back over the 1st 30 days, I see a bunch of individual photographs, each one nice in it's own way, but when they are put together you start to see the true beauty of our amazing hobby. So many nuances, so many colors, so many textures, so many awesome creatures. For me this is a reminder that what I have here is so much more than an aquarium, so much more than a hobby, its one of my life passions.


Project 365 - January 2016 Recap​

 

[nyknicks4412]

Awesome tank! SPS look amazing. Great colors and you are quite talented with the camera. Will be following along.

 

[reefmutt]

Beautiful montage!
Some very nice shots in there

 

[jstephens24]

wow awesome tank

 

[MikeC120]

GREAT PHOTOS GREAT TANK KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK:bounce3::bounce3::bounce3:

 

[rovster]

Wow amazing! Just a small detail but have you considered running the cord of the mp across the top rim and down the corner. Wonder if it would look cleaner, lol! Who am I kidding, this is one of my favorite builds!

 

[d2mini]

February 1st, 2016 - Photo Update
On one of the other forums, I'm doing a Project 365 where I'm posting one photograph per day. Here is the recap from the first 30 days including my blog for that day.

Thanks for looking.

Ok, stop.
I was doing ok being between tanks for awhile and now your thread/pics is killing me.

 

[maxxII]

How have I missed this thread?!?!?!?!?!

I loved your 112 and I wondered why there were no new updates for awhile....then I saw post about this set up.

Frankly, I'm jealous. You built a beautiful stand and have a gorgeous reef sitting on top of that beautiful stand.

Thank you for sharing it and inspiring all of us...

 

[urbaneks]

Awesome tank! SPS look amazing. Great colors and you are quite talented with the camera. Will be following along.

Nyknicks-thanks for the kind words and following along with the journal.

Beautiful montage!
Some very nice shots in there

Reefmutt-thanks so much! I really like the way the montage turned out.

wow awesome tank

Jstephens - thank you.

GREAT PHOTOS GREAT TANK KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK:bounce3::bounce3::bounce3:

MikeC- thanks, thanks and I will do my best.

Wow amazing! Just a small detail but have you considered running the cord of the mp across the top rim and down the corner. Wonder if it would look cleaner, lol! Who am I kidding, this is one of my favorite builds!

Rooster- thanks for the kind words and thanks for providing an opportunity to improve the look of the tank. I'll give that a shot to see if it improves the look.

Ok, stop.

I was doing ok being between tanks for awhile and now your thread/pics is killing me.

D2mini- I can imagine that it's difficult having everything in your smaller office tank. But, that's a pretty sweet office tank. Looking forward to see where you take the next tank.

How have I missed this thread?!?!?!?!?!

I loved your 112 and I wondered why there were no new updates for awhile....then I saw post about this set up.

Frankly, I'm jealous. You built a beautiful stand and have a gorgeous reef sitting on top of that beautiful stand.

Thank you for sharing it and inspiring all of us...

Maxxll- thanks for the comments, glad you found me. The 112 has been down for about 1.5 years. Same time this one went up.

 

[deaclauderdale]

I followed your old build and this current one is just as amazing! I hope you don't mind if I incorporate a bit of your stand design into a future build I have a planned.

You are truly an inspiration in the world of reef keeping!

 

[urbaneks]

I followed your old build and this current one is just as amazing! I hope you don't mind if I incorporate a bit of your stand design into a future build I have a planned.

You are truly an inspiration in the world of reef keeping!

Deaclauderdale - you are too kind with your words. Thanks so much. Feel free to take what you can from my build, that's what the forums are all about.