Urbanek's 250
- Thread starter urbaneks
- Start date
urbaneks
New member
Jan 1st 2016 - Responses to Feedback
Jan 1st 2016 - Responses to Feedback
MikeC120 - Thanks for you kind words.
GQuinn - Update coming. My DSLR was out of commission for quite some time. Santa brought a new one this year so I have a few photos coming.
Zibba - Funny you posted this way back when. We've now had that beer.
noel - thanks for the props on the cabinet. Looking back, it was pretty bold to take on a project like that as my first.
Lou - Thanks for taking the time to comment on both tank journals. I will have to take a look at the poem.
stifrk - thanks so much!
jad - appreciate it.
reefmutt - thanks for the views and comments. My closed loop pump is located under the cabinet with the rest of my equipment. I recently switched my closed pump to a Vecta L1 which does not have any heat issues.
Riguy - New pics coming.
jad - Standby
tripdad - funny you mention the wife, I've had a couple local reefers bring their wives over to the house to show them what they mean by reef tank in the living room.
MrRBW - Thanks so much. Will post some pics here in a few mins.
lluv - Thanks so much!
fishresponse - Thanks so much!!!!
Coming
dymaxiun - appreciate the post, having the room for a dedicated fish room would be great but that is just not possible for me. This is why I built the stand with lots of extra room.
dtum - appreciate the views and comment
jad - appreciate the concern, the tank has remained a top priority for me, documenting the progress was not. Main issue for a lack of update was the lack of a quality camera to take photos with. That has been resolved.
sahin - tank has been running. hazy water is not really the issue. The issue as I see is is that the huge amount of light from the powermodule washes out the color. I've tried many different T5 combinations without ever finding one that is appealing to the eye. I've found that the T5s are great for growth and color and the LEDs are nice to set the scene in the evening for how I want to view the tank.
vinhle - thanks for the concern, all is well. update pending.
Elliot - thanks for taking the time to view and comment.
Jan 1st 2016 - Responses to Feedback
MikeC120 - Thanks for you kind words.
GQuinn - Update coming. My DSLR was out of commission for quite some time. Santa brought a new one this year so I have a few photos coming.
Inspirational project you have going on. You're a very talented reefer, wood-worker and photographer. I look forward to following your progress. Perhaps we can meet for a beer sometime to chat reefs and photography -- you'd be talking way over my head when it comes to wood-working!
Cheers,
Z
Zibba - Funny you posted this way back when. We've now had that beer.
noel - thanks for the props on the cabinet. Looking back, it was pretty bold to take on a project like that as my first.
Wow, I recently finished your thread on "Viewpoints" and I left a comment - the same comments apply here, especially the passion that is expressed through your creativity. I don't know if you are open to suggestions for naming this project but if you are I would like to nominate "Monuments" not only for the implied significance of this build and the expression of your creativity, and that it honors the historical aspect of the 150 year old barn but also it has an uncanny familiarity to this poem by Elizabeth Bishop of the same title......
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-monument/
BTW.... any updates?
Lou
Lou - Thanks for taking the time to comment on both tank journals. I will have to take a look at the poem.
stifrk - thanks so much!
jad - appreciate it.
reefmutt - thanks for the views and comments. My closed loop pump is located under the cabinet with the rest of my equipment. I recently switched my closed pump to a Vecta L1 which does not have any heat issues.
Riguy - New pics coming.
jad - Standby
tripdad - funny you mention the wife, I've had a couple local reefers bring their wives over to the house to show them what they mean by reef tank in the living room.
MrRBW - Thanks so much. Will post some pics here in a few mins.
lluv - Thanks so much!
fishresponse - Thanks so much!!!!
Coming
dymaxiun - appreciate the post, having the room for a dedicated fish room would be great but that is just not possible for me. This is why I built the stand with lots of extra room.
dtum - appreciate the views and comment
jad - appreciate the concern, the tank has remained a top priority for me, documenting the progress was not. Main issue for a lack of update was the lack of a quality camera to take photos with. That has been resolved.
sahin - tank has been running. hazy water is not really the issue. The issue as I see is is that the huge amount of light from the powermodule washes out the color. I've tried many different T5 combinations without ever finding one that is appealing to the eye. I've found that the T5s are great for growth and color and the LEDs are nice to set the scene in the evening for how I want to view the tank.
vinhle - thanks for the concern, all is well. update pending.
Elliot - thanks for taking the time to view and comment.
urbaneks
New member
Jan 1st 2016 - Photo Update
Jan 1st 2016 - Photo Update
Jan 1st 2016 - Photo Update
Ok - So it's been a really long time since I've updated this build thread. Looking back it seems I have not updated the journal in 1.5 years. Pretty sad I know. The tank has never taken a back seat, only the journal here on the forums. The primary reason for a lack of updates was a lack of a decent camera to capture the progress.
Santa fixed that by bring a new DSLR and Macro Lens! Thank you Santa!
I'll come back and update the journal on equipment, installation etc but for now, I wanted to get a few new photos of the aquarium as it exists today. Here we will start with a FTS from December. You can see the the tank is pretty populated with larger coral colonies. You may recognize the big blue Oregon Tort in the center of the aquarium. This was one of my favorite corals from the old 112g tank.
December 2015 FTS
Here's one more FTS shot. I'm not overly crazy about the picture but I wanted to show how the old barn beam turned out with the light hanging from it.
December FTS with Barn Beam
The tank is mostly SPS but I've recently started adding a few pieces of LPS and softies in the lower shaded areas of the tank. Here are a few macro shots of my corals.
ORA Pearl Berry - One of my all time favorites
Strawberry Fields Acro - Love the way this one tables
Lobo - This was a new add courtesy of a local reefing friend, Thanks Wayne!
Brain Coral - I'm really liking the new macro lens.
I'll leave this update with one more photo taken from the end of the peninsula. I think this photo does a pretty good job of showing the growth and color in the aquarium. For reference, the blue tang is 8" long, the Strawberry Shortcake table in front of the tang is ~10" by 12"
Photo taken from the end of aquarium, 6 feet of aquarium in view
Jan 1st 2016 - Photo Update
Jan 1st 2016 - Photo Update
Ok - So it's been a really long time since I've updated this build thread. Looking back it seems I have not updated the journal in 1.5 years. Pretty sad I know. The tank has never taken a back seat, only the journal here on the forums. The primary reason for a lack of updates was a lack of a decent camera to capture the progress.
Santa fixed that by bring a new DSLR and Macro Lens! Thank you Santa!
I'll come back and update the journal on equipment, installation etc but for now, I wanted to get a few new photos of the aquarium as it exists today. Here we will start with a FTS from December. You can see the the tank is pretty populated with larger coral colonies. You may recognize the big blue Oregon Tort in the center of the aquarium. This was one of my favorite corals from the old 112g tank.
December 2015 FTS
Here's one more FTS shot. I'm not overly crazy about the picture but I wanted to show how the old barn beam turned out with the light hanging from it.
December FTS with Barn Beam
The tank is mostly SPS but I've recently started adding a few pieces of LPS and softies in the lower shaded areas of the tank. Here are a few macro shots of my corals.
ORA Pearl Berry - One of my all time favorites
Strawberry Fields Acro - Love the way this one tables
Lobo - This was a new add courtesy of a local reefing friend, Thanks Wayne!
Brain Coral - I'm really liking the new macro lens.
I'll leave this update with one more photo taken from the end of the peninsula. I think this photo does a pretty good job of showing the growth and color in the aquarium. For reference, the blue tang is 8" long, the Strawberry Shortcake table in front of the tang is ~10" by 12"
Photo taken from the end of aquarium, 6 feet of aquarium in view
urbaneks
New member
Jan 2nd 2016 - Responses to Feedback
Jan 2nd 2016 - Responses to Feedback
Jan 2nd 2016 - Responses to Feedback
dragon - appreciate the kinds words.
AndysReef - Thanks for the view and comment. The cabinet was a lot of fun to build. Part of the challenge on this build was to create a cabinet that could blend with our living room.
cFloor - Thanks for the views and comment.
reefmutt - appreciate the vote of confidence with the no surprise comment. It hasn't been all peaches for me on this build. I've had my ups and downs for sure.
sahin - Thanks for stopping in. I've appreciated the support you provided on the Powermodule over the past year. Would love to see your current light profile as a comparison to what I'm running.
vitodog - Thanks so much!
d2mini - Thanks for the comment. Still wish I could have gotten my hands on the cabinet design from your old cube. I just loved that cabinet. I actually somewhat duplicated it for a local reefing friend not long ago. It was funny, he came to me with pictures of your old build and said, this is what I'm after. Seems I was not the only one fond of that build.
gregkn - Thanks for the view comments. I'll document the questions you have in more detail later but here is a quick run down.
Salinity - 1.025
Calcium - 420 +/- 30
Alkalinity - 7.5dKH +/- .5
Magnesium - 1360 +/- 40
Phosphate - .02 +/-.02
Nitrates - 5ppm +/- 5
Nutrient Control is maintained via All-In-One Bio Pellets, Skimmer and weekly water changes.
Cal, Alk and Mag is maintained via a Bubble Magus Dosing Pump and BRS DIY Solutions
Jan 2nd 2016 - Responses to Feedback
Jan 2nd 2016 - Responses to Feedback
dragon - appreciate the kinds words.
AndysReef - Thanks for the view and comment. The cabinet was a lot of fun to build. Part of the challenge on this build was to create a cabinet that could blend with our living room.
cFloor - Thanks for the views and comment.
reefmutt - appreciate the vote of confidence with the no surprise comment. It hasn't been all peaches for me on this build. I've had my ups and downs for sure.
sahin - Thanks for stopping in. I've appreciated the support you provided on the Powermodule over the past year. Would love to see your current light profile as a comparison to what I'm running.
vitodog - Thanks so much!
d2mini - Thanks for the comment. Still wish I could have gotten my hands on the cabinet design from your old cube. I just loved that cabinet. I actually somewhat duplicated it for a local reefing friend not long ago. It was funny, he came to me with pictures of your old build and said, this is what I'm after. Seems I was not the only one fond of that build.
gregkn - Thanks for the view comments. I'll document the questions you have in more detail later but here is a quick run down.
Salinity - 1.025
Calcium - 420 +/- 30
Alkalinity - 7.5dKH +/- .5
Magnesium - 1360 +/- 40
Phosphate - .02 +/-.02
Nitrates - 5ppm +/- 5
Nutrient Control is maintained via All-In-One Bio Pellets, Skimmer and weekly water changes.
Cal, Alk and Mag is maintained via a Bubble Magus Dosing Pump and BRS DIY Solutions
Usernam Invalid
New member
Simply amazing great photos
urbaneks
New member
January 3rd, 2016 - What's Under the Hood
In some of my earlier photos you may have noticed a different sump, return pump etc. etc. I started out with a complete Life Reef system which I ran less than a year. While the sump, skimmer, media canisters were well designed, I did not like how crowded the system was and how restricting it was from an upgrade perspective. I also was not happy with the Blue Line external pump that came with the Life Reef system. Loud and Hot, two things I was happy to get rid of.
- Sump Design -
I ended up designing my own sump and had a local acrylic guy build it for me. These are the drawings that I completed in Sketch Up for the builder. The builder did a great job on the build and was able to nail my design. I really like the adjustable baffle to quickly change the water level in the skimmer section. I also like the ability to run filter socks from time to time. The sump will hold 60 gallons but I typically run it with about 20 gallons of water.
- Sump in Action -
Here are a couple photos of the sump and skimmer in action. What I've learned from this setup is that I really like an open, over sized sump. This configuration makes maintenance of not only the sump but the other pieces of equipment easier as well. The extra room allows for upgrades down the road as well. The skimmer is a RLSS 10i which is effective but I still miss my Bubble King. I'm currently saving my reef funds for a Bubble King Supermarin 250. I also run ROX carbon in a TLF reactor with a small Eheim Pump, this can be seen in the photos below.
- A Place for Everything and Everything in it's Place -
A well organized equipment area is a must for me. When I built the cabinet, I also built a secure area where the cords are concealed but easily accessible when needed. On my previous tank, I built an equipment panel which was great until I needed to remove a pump or heater for maintenance or replacement. Improving on my last design, I came up with this secret compartment where most of the cords, transformers, etc are stored. Larger pieces of equipment that don't fit in the compartment are mounted up and out of the way inside the cabinet.
Equipment Compartment with Door Closed
Equipment Compartment with Door Open
Larger Equipment Mounted Up and Out of the Way
- Benefits of an Over Sized Cabinet and Large Removable Doors -
One of this things I love most about this build is how easy maintenance is compared to my previous builds. I'm able to remove doors on both sides of the aquarium to completely open up the cabinet for maintenance. The first photo below shows a photograph of the sump area with all the doors removed. The second photo is one I took early in construction but shows how much room I have with all the doors removed.
Maintenance made easy with all the doors removed
Early photo of the cabinet without doors
- Equipment List -
Sump - Custom built by local builder
Skimmer - RLSS 10i driven by a Waveline DC10000
Return Pump - Waveline DC12000
Biopellet Reactor - Reef Dynamics BPR500
Media Reactor - Small TLF running ROX .8 Carbon
Circulation
- Closed Loop Pump - Vectra L1
- MP60 QD
- MP40 (x2)
Light - 60" ATI LED Powermodule
Controller - APEX
Dosing - Bubble Magus Dosing Pump
ATO - Spectrapure UPLLC
In some of my earlier photos you may have noticed a different sump, return pump etc. etc. I started out with a complete Life Reef system which I ran less than a year. While the sump, skimmer, media canisters were well designed, I did not like how crowded the system was and how restricting it was from an upgrade perspective. I also was not happy with the Blue Line external pump that came with the Life Reef system. Loud and Hot, two things I was happy to get rid of.
- Sump Design -
I ended up designing my own sump and had a local acrylic guy build it for me. These are the drawings that I completed in Sketch Up for the builder. The builder did a great job on the build and was able to nail my design. I really like the adjustable baffle to quickly change the water level in the skimmer section. I also like the ability to run filter socks from time to time. The sump will hold 60 gallons but I typically run it with about 20 gallons of water.
- Sump in Action -
Here are a couple photos of the sump and skimmer in action. What I've learned from this setup is that I really like an open, over sized sump. This configuration makes maintenance of not only the sump but the other pieces of equipment easier as well. The extra room allows for upgrades down the road as well. The skimmer is a RLSS 10i which is effective but I still miss my Bubble King. I'm currently saving my reef funds for a Bubble King Supermarin 250. I also run ROX carbon in a TLF reactor with a small Eheim Pump, this can be seen in the photos below.
- A Place for Everything and Everything in it's Place -
A well organized equipment area is a must for me. When I built the cabinet, I also built a secure area where the cords are concealed but easily accessible when needed. On my previous tank, I built an equipment panel which was great until I needed to remove a pump or heater for maintenance or replacement. Improving on my last design, I came up with this secret compartment where most of the cords, transformers, etc are stored. Larger pieces of equipment that don't fit in the compartment are mounted up and out of the way inside the cabinet.
Equipment Compartment with Door Closed
Equipment Compartment with Door Open
Larger Equipment Mounted Up and Out of the Way
- Benefits of an Over Sized Cabinet and Large Removable Doors -
One of this things I love most about this build is how easy maintenance is compared to my previous builds. I'm able to remove doors on both sides of the aquarium to completely open up the cabinet for maintenance. The first photo below shows a photograph of the sump area with all the doors removed. The second photo is one I took early in construction but shows how much room I have with all the doors removed.
Maintenance made easy with all the doors removed
Early photo of the cabinet without doors
- Equipment List -
Sump - Custom built by local builder
Skimmer - RLSS 10i driven by a Waveline DC10000
Return Pump - Waveline DC12000
Biopellet Reactor - Reef Dynamics BPR500
Media Reactor - Small TLF running ROX .8 Carbon
Circulation
- Closed Loop Pump - Vectra L1
- MP60 QD
- MP40 (x2)
Light - 60" ATI LED Powermodule
Controller - APEX
Dosing - Bubble Magus Dosing Pump
ATO - Spectrapure UPLLC
urbaneks
New member
January 4th, 2016 - Response to feedback
January 4th, 2016 - Response to feedback
January 4th, 2016 - Response to feedback
Usernam Invalid - Thank You!
BillNye - Thanks for the kind words. More pics coming soon. BTW - Love your screen name, use to love watching Bill Nye the Science Guy after school.
January 4th, 2016 - Response to feedback
January 4th, 2016 - Response to feedback
Usernam Invalid - Thank You!
BillNye - Thanks for the kind words. More pics coming soon. BTW - Love your screen name, use to love watching Bill Nye the Science Guy after school.
reefmutt
Active member
A serious work of perfection and art meets form. Love it.
The paintings on the wall behind your older cabinet shot look like an artist named Astrid Kihl.. Nice..
I love your mix of modern rustic and earthy tones.
And.. As has been requested... More great pics, please!
It is such a pleasure to follow this thread!
The paintings on the wall behind your older cabinet shot look like an artist named Astrid Kihl.. Nice..
I love your mix of modern rustic and earthy tones.
And.. As has been requested... More great pics, please!
It is such a pleasure to follow this thread!
urbaneks
New member
January 4th, 2016 - Photo Update
January 4th, 2016 - Photo Update
January 4th, 2016 - Photo Update
- Focus Stacking -
While my brother was visiting for Christmas, he introduced me to a photography technique called focus stacking. Here is the quick definition from Wikipedia.
In other words, you take multiple photos of the same subject, each time you move your auto focus to a new region of the subject. Once completed, you use software, in my case Photoshop to merge the photographs, taking only the in focus region of each photograph. What you are left with is a subject with extreme detail across the entire subject rather than just a small section.
Now I've only attempted two focus stacks which you will see below. What I know at this point is I have a lot to learn on refining the technique. A couple things that I learned from my first attempt is;
The photo merge process through Photoshop is automated, quick and easy. Google it and you will get several quick tutorials.
The images below show two corals, one was shot using focus stacking, the other was a single shot. Take note how one subject in completely in focus where the other is not. I'm not here to say one photograph is better than the other. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve with the shot. Again, I need some practice at the technique but these are not bad for my first attempt.
Lobo Coral Photographed Using Focus Stacking
Lobo Coral Photographed with a Single Exposure
Scolly Coral Photographed Using Focus Stacking
Scolly Coral Photographed with a Single Exposure
January 4th, 2016 - Photo Update
January 4th, 2016 - Photo Update
- Focus Stacking -
While my brother was visiting for Christmas, he introduced me to a photography technique called focus stacking. Here is the quick definition from Wikipedia.
Focus stacking is a digital image processing technique which combines multiple images taken at different focus distances to give a resulting image with a greater depth of field.
In other words, you take multiple photos of the same subject, each time you move your auto focus to a new region of the subject. Once completed, you use software, in my case Photoshop to merge the photographs, taking only the in focus region of each photograph. What you are left with is a subject with extreme detail across the entire subject rather than just a small section.
Now I've only attempted two focus stacks which you will see below. What I know at this point is I have a lot to learn on refining the technique. A couple things that I learned from my first attempt is;
1) Shut your pumps down so the lighting stays consistent on the subject with each shot you take.
2) A tripod is a must since you need the same composition of the subject.
3) Lock the exposure settings so you are getting the same exposure with each shot
2) A tripod is a must since you need the same composition of the subject.
3) Lock the exposure settings so you are getting the same exposure with each shot
The photo merge process through Photoshop is automated, quick and easy. Google it and you will get several quick tutorials.
The images below show two corals, one was shot using focus stacking, the other was a single shot. Take note how one subject in completely in focus where the other is not. I'm not here to say one photograph is better than the other. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve with the shot. Again, I need some practice at the technique but these are not bad for my first attempt.
Lobo Coral Photographed Using Focus Stacking
Lobo Coral Photographed with a Single Exposure
Scolly Coral Photographed Using Focus Stacking
Scolly Coral Photographed with a Single Exposure
