Freemans Reef
New member
you might get better pics if you can adjust the white balance
dont know what kind of cam your using
new corals are sweet
dont know what kind of cam your using
new corals are sweet
Western_reefers 28 gallon Nano-Cube HQI diary.
- Thread starter Western_reefer
- Start date
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
UPS is going to drop off the RO/DI unit at my house today!! :dance: Can't wait!! :dance:
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Thanks for the tip! I'm using a Canon PowerShot S1 IS 3.2 mega pixels. Thanks!!
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Thanks!!
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
I got the RO/DI unit!! :dance: I'll post pictures soon! :dance:
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Well, I hooked up the RO/DI unit and everything is working! :dance: I'll post pictures in a little bit.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Here is a picture of the RO/DI unit.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Here is a top down picture that I took this morning. The picture was taken with flash.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
I checked my tap water and it is 094 ppm. After the water goes through the RO only its 001 ppm, after it goes through the RO and DI its 000 ppm. The wast water is 084 ppm.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Here are a few better pictures of the RO/DI unit. The water is 52 psi.
Bored Robot
New member
Almost 5 months have gone by, there should be some corraline growth on the back of your tank by now. What calcium readings are you getting?
SpinningHat
New member
Western Reefer:
I have to say I have seen many great tanks, and yours is definitely one of them. My only real advice, is to take a break from adding things, and let it GROW! I love lots of diversity, but sometimes, there's something to be said for size as well.
As for the pictures:
I dabble a bit in photography as a hobby, and there are some basic things you may want to do.
First: Check this website. It gives a really good review of your camera, and gives you an idea of what it's capable of. Read through the glossary of terms to get a better understanding. To take great pictures isn't just about point and shoot, there's a lot of 'stuff' that goes into making great pics, and knowing your camera is going to be the first step.
Second: Definitely check the WB settings. If there's an incandescent setting, you're going to probably want to use it, with the MH lights.
Third: Check your aperture and shutter speeds the camera is using, and learn how to set these manually. (I'll explain a bit more in a minute.)
Fourth: check to see what ISO setting you're using. ISO is used to determine how sensitive the CCD sensor is to light. Low ISO, low sensitivity, but great picture quality. High ISO, more sensitive, but images can become grainy. You generally want to use the lowest ISO you can to get the best images.
Ok, to Aperture / Shutter speed:
Aperture is the opening that light passes through in the lens of the camera. The lower the number, more of the light comes through, and the shallower the depth of field. (How much of the image is in focus.) higher numbers let less light through but you get more of the image in focus. With an f/stop of say, 2.8, you'll let in a lot of light, but the area that will be in focus is going to be really close to your focus point, good for showcasing an individual coral, but not for a FTS. Now, say, if you used an f/stop of 8 or 10, you'll get more of the foreground and the background in focus around your focus point. It gets confusing, but here's where it gets more interesting:
Shutter speed. The length of time it takes for the shutter to open and close. Simple, right? Not so fast. The shutter speed and aperture work together. The faster the shutter speed, generally the more light you need to make a good image. But, you also need to have a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake so your images aren't blurry. 1/60th of a second is about as slow as you can go with a relatively steady hand. most of your full tank shots you're going to want to have a fast shutter speed like 1/125th of a second or faster, to capture the inhabitants without them being blurry. This leads to needing that f/2.8 setting, and a lot of light to make it work, but then you get a shallow DOF... Photography is a trade-off between the amount of light you can get to the CCD, and the time you have to take the shot. Play with your camera and learn the settings. Try different shutter speed and aperture combos. If the light is low, raise the ISO to 400 or 800. learn where your EV setting is. It's a good way to 'trick' the camera into exposing the shot brighter or darker if you need to.
Sorry for the book, but lastly, get a good photography book.Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke are GREAT places to start from.
I have to say I have seen many great tanks, and yours is definitely one of them. My only real advice, is to take a break from adding things, and let it GROW! I love lots of diversity, but sometimes, there's something to be said for size as well.
As for the pictures:
I dabble a bit in photography as a hobby, and there are some basic things you may want to do.
First: Check this website. It gives a really good review of your camera, and gives you an idea of what it's capable of. Read through the glossary of terms to get a better understanding. To take great pictures isn't just about point and shoot, there's a lot of 'stuff' that goes into making great pics, and knowing your camera is going to be the first step.
Second: Definitely check the WB settings. If there's an incandescent setting, you're going to probably want to use it, with the MH lights.
Third: Check your aperture and shutter speeds the camera is using, and learn how to set these manually. (I'll explain a bit more in a minute.)
Fourth: check to see what ISO setting you're using. ISO is used to determine how sensitive the CCD sensor is to light. Low ISO, low sensitivity, but great picture quality. High ISO, more sensitive, but images can become grainy. You generally want to use the lowest ISO you can to get the best images.
Ok, to Aperture / Shutter speed:
Aperture is the opening that light passes through in the lens of the camera. The lower the number, more of the light comes through, and the shallower the depth of field. (How much of the image is in focus.) higher numbers let less light through but you get more of the image in focus. With an f/stop of say, 2.8, you'll let in a lot of light, but the area that will be in focus is going to be really close to your focus point, good for showcasing an individual coral, but not for a FTS. Now, say, if you used an f/stop of 8 or 10, you'll get more of the foreground and the background in focus around your focus point. It gets confusing, but here's where it gets more interesting:
Shutter speed. The length of time it takes for the shutter to open and close. Simple, right? Not so fast. The shutter speed and aperture work together. The faster the shutter speed, generally the more light you need to make a good image. But, you also need to have a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake so your images aren't blurry. 1/60th of a second is about as slow as you can go with a relatively steady hand. most of your full tank shots you're going to want to have a fast shutter speed like 1/125th of a second or faster, to capture the inhabitants without them being blurry. This leads to needing that f/2.8 setting, and a lot of light to make it work, but then you get a shallow DOF... Photography is a trade-off between the amount of light you can get to the CCD, and the time you have to take the shot. Play with your camera and learn the settings. Try different shutter speed and aperture combos. If the light is low, raise the ISO to 400 or 800. learn where your EV setting is. It's a good way to 'trick' the camera into exposing the shot brighter or darker if you need to.
Sorry for the book, but lastly, get a good photography book.Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and The BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography by Jim Miotke are GREAT places to start from.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
I clean the back as much as I can. lol So that's why you don't see any coraline algae on the back. My calcium is good. There are tons of coraline algae growth on the rocks though.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Thanks for the compliment!! Yeah, I know. I'm going to let everything grow out. lol Thanks for the tips/info about the camera!! I'll play around with the camera.
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Well, I counted how many corals I have and I have 43 DIFFERENT kinds of corals. :eek2: Wow... I need to let everything grow out now. lol
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Well, I'm playing around with the settings on the camera and got these 2 FTS. I'm going to be posting LOTS of pictures while I play around with the camera settings.
-Enjoy!
-Enjoy!
Western_reefer
Reef keeper
Well, I was thinking about taking a picture of 2 SPS corals every day or every week for 1 year and when a year passes make a super fast slide show/video of the pictures I took of the SPS coral(s). What do all you think? Should I do it?
SpinningHat
New member
Why not do a Full Tank shot everyday for a year? As long as you don't do some major remodelling of the inhabitants, it should turn out pretty cool, and you'll be able to see how much it's filled in.
