dan's 40 breeder

[autoponicz]

great pics...is this with a kit lens? thats some pretty good closeups...

what kinda settings?:tongue1:

 

[ghostshadow]

thanks guys! i can't wait until the tank grows in.

auto- i just use p mode on the d40 with rockwell's suggested settings. these most recent pics were with the kit lens.. i just turn the pumps off and shoot topdown.. no topdown box. i play with exposure compensation to get the brightness correct by looking at the histogram. the pics are a little fuzzy because they're cropped and also lose some resolution when uploading..

i can't justify the macro lens cost yet.. there's only so many corals i can shoot. i need a couple other lenses first anyway.

dan

 

[ecvernon]

love your tank man..have you decided to change your light fixture? i was thinking of taking my 40 breeder full sps now, sometime ago when i saw your thread.

 

[ghostshadow]

thanks ec!

i decided to be patient and really give the single 250w pendant a chance. i'd rather not drill any more holes in my ceiling for dual pendants (mainly because it's textured and a PITA to patch if i don't like it). i REALLY like the 20k radium and the all-in-one dual 250w units are all DE AFAIK.

so if i decide the 250w isn't cutting it, i'm really considering going 400w and raising the pendant. that just might be the ticket but i'm going to give the 250w another month or so before i decide.

i'm gonna try to get my hands on a PAR meter to get actual data too

dan

 

[Thatguy96]

Sweeeeeeeet!

 

[ssmtcarlo]

Let me get an update here hows the tank doing, MORE PICS PLEASE!!!

 

[ghostshadow]

haha matt- my blackberry was buzzing with the notification email as i was at ups picking up my 400w galaxy ballast and radium bulb. no huge changes in my tank but it is coming along IMO. the tank is definitely settling in. after experimenting with pendant height and lighting duration i pretty much leave it alone and watch the corals slowly grow. i'll have to figure out what works best with the 400w lighting but no big deal.

.03 on the hanna last time i checked, undetectable nitrates, and CA and ALK are on cruise control with the aquamedic doser.

set up the 400w and WOW the heat is intense. i'm thinking i'll run this in the cooler months and once summer comes around, switching back to the 250w. i don't like to blast my a/c when i'm not home and i'm trying to avoid running a chiller. i'll use fans if i can get away with it.

anyway- some pics for you matt! i didn't clean the glass that well so some pics are a little hazy. these are all under the 400w.

fts

this tort is starting to take off in terms of growth. crappy pic but you can see the colors have changed

ORA plum crazy getting a little lighter but finally starting to grow. i haven't played with position of this guy yet.

love the pearlberry

lunars

supermans

one of my faves from you matt

pink bnest losing some of the nice pastellyness from the t5's but growing

setosa

blue tort that was under less PAR towards the end of the tank.. one of the reasons for me to try 400w to see if i can get this guy to color up nicer

still need to paint the back, upgrade to the mp40w (so i can ditch the koralia) and that should be it! i think i'll need to slowly thin out the corals as the tank fills in. i don't want it to look too crowded.

also experimenting with the zeo supplements (coral vitaliser, sponge power, AA's, and kohls xtra) to see if they work as claimed. $30 for the nano pack on sale so worth a try.

btw no signs of the bryopsis prob you had matt but i stocked up on kent tech m just in case. if it hasn't shown up by now i think i dodged that bullet. :birthday:

dan

 

[reefman]

very nice frags. the lighting looks very blue.

 

[ghostshadow]

thanks.. that's the radium 20k.. it's on the blue side (which i like!). it really shows off the coral colors also.

dan

 

[Hungriee]

hey dan your tank looks awesome, how do you like the radium bulb compared to the phoenix?

 

[ghostshadow]

thanks henry! i'm a huge fan of the radium bulbs. the 400w is powered by a different ballast (galaxy) than the 250w (icecap) but they are very similar. i figured i'm overdoing the lighting a bit so a 20k should have less punch than say a 12k.

the phoenix was awesome when i had it but i only had experience with the 150w phoenix. the radium is a touch on the bluer side and the colors really pop. i'm very happy with it and won't bother trying other setups.

dan

 

[Hungriee]

im leaning towards the MH since my corals arent getting the suntan, but hesistant with the electricity. how long do you keep your mh on per day

 

[ghostshadow]

about 8 hrs but that will probably change with the bump up to 400w.

i went from 7 to 8 hrs a week or two ago and that made a noticeable difference. i started out at 6 hours and slowly worked my way up while messing around with pendant heights until i was happy.

single 250w is good enough i think. i've been curious about 400w so i'm just trying it out.


dan

 

[ssmtcarlo]

Looking great man. I gotta stop by sometime soon, still got your salt.

 

[ghostshadow]

tank is on cruise control, i love the 400w, and i broke out the camera tonight..

check out the progression of this piece

12/8

12/22

today 2/6

 

[m'akoyPINOY]

wow,it colored up really nice!

 

[ghostshadow]

12/8

today 2/6

getting purple polyps.. i think it has even more potential

 

[ghostshadow]

i moved my pink lemonade into a better spot.. higher light + flow

then..

now..

awesome tips! the bright yellow/green is starting to show all around. (underneath the very hairy pink polyps)

setosa to the right is doing well too

 

[ghostshadow]

wow,it colored up really nice!

thanks m'akoy! i'm am very pleased with how the tank is progressing..

all i do is feed the fish, empty the skimmer when the collection jug fills, and add topoff water! water change once a week also.

dan

 

[ghostshadow]

9/22 blue tort (from autoponicz) on left. undata from hiller on right

11/25 blue tort top. undata bottom.

undata today

blue tort today