SuncrestReef
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Posts posted by SuncrestReef
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Which model of Maxpect Gyre?
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Nice! How many gallons are those barrels?
Do you have a way to run some 1/4" tubing from your mixing station to your sump to do automatic water changes? That's the best thing I decided to do on my system. Let me know if you want details on how I set it up.
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This one I got recently from Jeff is similar, but yours definitely has more colors.
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Wow, that's gorgeous!
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You shouldn't base changing filters just on age. The two factors that really matter are how much sediment is in your water system & house plumbing, and how much RO/DI water you have produced. Portland-area water supplied from the Bull Run reservoir will be different than Beaverton's water from the Tualatin Water District, and those will both be dramatically different than rural homes with well water. Your own home's pluming can also make a huge difference (be glad you're not in Flint, MI). I'm in a newer home (1995) in Beaverton, but I used to live in a 1928 Portland house that had some really corroded pipes.
You should change your sediment filter when you start to see a drop in water pressure leading to the membrane filters. I'm using the BRS 5-stage 150GPD Plus Water Saver unit, and during the first few months I was producing a lot of water while curing dry rock and cycling my tank. I didn't count, but estimate I produced about 2,000 gallons within 4 months when I started to see a drop in pressure on my gauge. Here's what the sediment filter looked like when I changed it after 4 months:
Since that time my water production needs have dropped dramatically since I'm just doing routine water changes now. I'm planning to change my other filters soon which will be around the 6-month mark.
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I moved the Maxima clam up on the rocks and it seems pretty happy there. It's getting 400 PAR in this location.
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8 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:
Hopefully you got some good deals. He does have some really nice stuff for sure but everytime I go to his website the prices are soo offensive I typically just leave.
I paid between $19 and $39, so basically it was right in line with local shops once you factor in shipping. They offered a few at $5 and $10, but I wasn't fast enough to get those.
The highest price I saw was $1199, and it was sold within seconds. There were some high rollers out there.💰💸
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Instead of using orange filters, I adjust the white balance on the camera. The biggest problem with orange filters is that they make pink corals look yellow.
Send me a PM if you want to schedule a shoot.
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3 minutes ago, 503reefland said:
That’s a pc rainbow right?
They called it a JF Super Sonic Milli.
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I love my Radion XR30 Pro's with diffusers! I like how the cords can be tucked into the RMS mount arm since I'm a bit OCD as well.
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To be honest, I kind of got caught up in the competitive aspect of the live sale, where you just click as fast as possible to see if you can win the frag. In hindsight I could have passed on this one, but was just looking for one more purchase to make the $50 shipping charge seem more palatable. This was the first time I've ever ordered any corals online. Everything in my tank so far has been purchased locally, so I've never had to deal with shipping before.
As for your frags, let me know what else you'd like to "give away"!!! 🙂
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I ended up getting one more:
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Nice bike helmet! 🤣
Congrats on the new tank and fish.
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It helps if you figure out which info takes the longest to type (in my case, that's my credit card number), then copy that text to your clipboard so you can just paste it in quickly. Anything you can do to shave off a couple of seconds can help.
Once you manage to get your first order completed, your browser should remember your info so the next one you can just click Submit Order.
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It's addictive! Kind of like competitive speed shopping.
He must really rake it in with these sales.
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Are any of you following along on today's JF live sale on R2R? I snagged 4 frags, but it's not easy when you're competing with about 700 other people. I lost count, but I probably tried to buy at least 25 times and was only fast enough 4 times.
I better stop now before I regret it tomorrow!
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As many of you have probably seen in my recent posts, I’ve been shooting some very detailed coral photos with my new Nikon 200mm macro lens. (see examples below this post)
Since my tank is relatively new and only has a handful of small corals, I’m getting bored taking the same photos over and over. I’d like to improve my photography skills, so I’m looking to do some free photo shoots of corals in other local (Portland metro area) reef tanks. These photos won’t be used for any commercial use or profit; I just want to explore the various camera settings in order to improve my resulting images. I’ll provide you with copies of all photos taken.
I’m shooting these photos with a Nikon D610 DSLR camera and a Nikon 200mm f/4 macro lens, one of the best macro lenses available. It’s able to capture incredible detail, but there are certain requirements to get a good shot:
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Because macro lenses have a very narrow depth of field, in order to get a good focused shot showing a lot of detail requires using a high F-stop, but that also requires a long exposure time up to several seconds due to the reduced light entering the lens. In order to avoid motion blur during a long exposure, the flow pumps in the tank need to be turned off, otherwise the polyps moving in the current will just show up as a blur in the final shot. If you’re not willing to turn off the flow for a few minutes, we can’t get the detailed shots like the examples I’ve shown. It’s still possible to get a close-up shot with a quick exposure, but only with a small area in focus:
- Soft corals move too much even with the flow turned off, so getting a good macro shot of soft corals is impractical. I do have other non-macro lenses that can capture good shots of soft corals, but they won’t be the detailed close-ups like the macro lens. My equipment is better suited to SPS or LPS corals. Fish are practically impossible to shoot with this lens (except for gobies or blennies that just sit there motionless).
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I have an Avast top-down portal for the camera, but this macro lens requires a 10” working distance, so any corals near the surface of the water will not be within focus range of this lens. Anything at least 7.5” below the surface of the water should be within focus range with the portal attached for top-down shots.
- The long exposure times require using a tripod, so depending on your tank dimensions it may be difficult or impossible to position the tripod for certain shots.
- Most of the shots I take are through the aquarium glass, so you will want to clean the glass before taking photos for best results.
- The camera needs to be exactly perpendicular to the glass to avoid distortion of the image.
If you’re OK with the limitations outlined above, then you can expect to get some pretty cool close-up shots of your corals.
My camera captures each photo in both JPEG and RAW format. The RAW photos can be manipulated in LightRoom, Photoshop, or other photo editing software for enhancement and adjustment. I will provide copies in both formats to you on a USB memory stick that you provide. The Nikon D610 produces file sizes of approximately 12MB for JPEG and 29MB for RAW images, with a resolution of 6016 x 4016 pixels which can be printed up to 13” x 19” in high quality or even 24” x 36” with acceptable quality.
I’m retired so my schedule is flexible, though my wife would prefer to have me home for dinner with her than out shooting coral photos in the evenings. Mornings or afternoons would be best, any day of the week including weekends.
If this sounds interesting to you, let me know if you want to schedule a photo shoot.
-John (aka SuncrestReef)
Example photos:
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Because macro lenses have a very narrow depth of field, in order to get a good focused shot showing a lot of detail requires using a high F-stop, but that also requires a long exposure time up to several seconds due to the reduced light entering the lens. In order to avoid motion blur during a long exposure, the flow pumps in the tank need to be turned off, otherwise the polyps moving in the current will just show up as a blur in the final shot. If you’re not willing to turn off the flow for a few minutes, we can’t get the detailed shots like the examples I’ve shown. It’s still possible to get a close-up shot with a quick exposure, but only with a small area in focus:
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1 minute ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:
looking great!! I just cut a bunch of zoa frags if you want some more color.
are you dosing or using a ca reactor?
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Thanks! Yes, I'm pretty happy with how things are working out so far. Just trying to keep things stable, not rushing to react to any problems, but keeping a close eye on everything.
I'm always up for more color, so let me know what you have to offer!
I'm just dosing BRS 2-part. I started dosing in July to keep calcium at 420, alkalinity around 8.7, and magnesium at 1350. I've thought about adding a calcium reactor, but my cabinet is pretty cramped for space and I really don't want exterior equipment, so for now I'm just going to stick with 2-part.
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16 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:
how is this tank doing? I really like the scape
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Thanks for asking! Since I first posted this introduction, I've started posting updates with lots of photos in a separate thread in the Gallery forum. I've added a lot of new corals and my latest addition this week was a Maxima clam. Tomorrow when the lights come on I will post an update full tank video.
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I vote 750 XXL!! Do you have seating in that room with the wall? I originally planned to put my tank in our entry way because it has a similar 7' wall, but I ended up putting it in our living room instead. I'm really glad I did, because I can watch the tank from the couch or chairs while watching TV or in conversation.
In your subfloor photo, is that a crawlspace or a basement? Would you be able to set up a mixing station there below the tank? I ran plumbing from my tank to my mixing station for auto water changes and ATO. Best decision I've ever made.
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Here’s a time-lapse video of my clam opening and closing. It’s pretty sensitive any time I walk near the tank.
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I'm really excited about my newest tank inhabitant! I'd like to introduce you to my new 5" Maxima clam:
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3 minutes ago, R-3 said:
Wow sounds impressive! Im tagging along
Since my table of contents is 5 pages long, I expect the final document to be at least 100 pages long once completed. This will be good incentive for my wife to resist the urge to poison my food...🤣
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Here's a rough draft of my operations manual topics:
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1) System Overview
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a) Display tank
- i) Pumps
- ii) Lighting
- iii) Lid
- iv) Corals
- v) Fish
- vi) Inverts
- vii) Rock
- viii)Sand
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b) Cabinet
- i) Sump area
- ii) Control area
- iii) Interior lighting
- iv) Door release and hinges
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c) Sump
- i) Filter chamber
- ii) Skimmer chamber
- iii) Return chamber
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d) Plumbing
- i) Return pump
- ii) Manifold
- iii) Reactors
- iv) Valves
- v) UV sterilizer
- vi) Flow sensors
- vii) Refugium
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e) Electrical
- i) Aquarium dedicated circuit
- ii) UPS
- iii) Generator
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f) APEX
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ii) Probes
- (1) Temperature
- (2) Salinity
- (3) pH
- (4) ORP
- (5) Leak detectors
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iii) Modules
- (1) EB832
- (2) FMM_Leak
- (3) FMM_Flow
- (4) FMM_ATO
- (5) WXM
- (6) COR
- (7) DOS
- (8) PMK
- (9) PM2
- (10) DOS_AWC
- (11) AFS
- (12) WAV
- (13) Icecap
- (14) Breakout box
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ii) Probes
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g) Skimmer
- (1) Skimmate locker
- (2) Swabbie
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h) Mixing Station
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i) Conduit between tank & mixing station
- (1) Water tubing
- (2) Electronics
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ii) RO/DI
- (1) Water supply valve
- (2) Filters
- (3) Automatic flush unit
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iii) Water storage tanks
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(1) RO/DI storage
- (a) Float valve
- (b) Optical sensors
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(2) Saltwater tank
- (a) Optical sensor
- (b) Heater
- (c) Salinity probe
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(1) RO/DI storage
- iv) Mixing pump
- v) Valves
- vi) Automatic water change
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i) Conduit between tank & mixing station
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i) Accessories
- i) Refractometer
- ii) Water test kits
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j) Vendors & warranty information
- i) Red Sea
- ii) Neptune Systems
- iii) Bulk Reef Supply
- iv) Premium Aquatics
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a) Display tank
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2) Operations
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a) Apex monitoring
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i) Apex Interface
- (1) Fusion
- (2) Apex.local
- (3) Browser access
- (4) Smartphone app
- (5) Tablet in cabinet
- ii) Inputs
- iii) Outputs
- iv) Logs
- v) Alerts
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i) Apex Interface
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b) Feeding
- i) Feed Mode
- ii) Fish
- iii) Corals
- iv) Automatic feeder
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c) Routine Maintenance
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i) Water testing
- (1) Salinity
- (2) Alkalinity
- (3) Calcium
- (4) Magnesium
- (5) Nitrates
- (6) Phosphates
- (7) ICP testing
- (8) Nitrites
- (9) Ammonia
- (10) Recording test results in Fusion
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ii) Water changes
- (1) Auto water changes
- (2) Manual water changes
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iii) Automatic Top Off
- (1) Optical sensors
- (2) Float valve
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iv) Tank cleaning
- (1) Flipper glass cleaner
- (2) Sand vacuuming
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v) Filter cleaning
- (1) Filter cups
- (2) Pump filter covers
- (3) Refugium drain screen
- (4) Refugium and reactor drain filter socks
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vi) Skimmer maintenance
- (1) Emptying skimmate locker
- (2) Cleaning skimmer neck
- (3) Cleaning skimmer cup
- (4) Skimmer cleaning
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vii) Mixing new saltwater
- (1) Pump operation
- (2) Transfer RO/DI water to saltwater tank
- (3) Adding salt
- (4) Testing salinity
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viii)Dosing
- (1) Mixing soda ash
- (2) Mixing calcium chloride
- (3) Mixing Magnesium
- (4) Monitoring and filling dosing containers
- (5) Adjusting dosing quantities
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ix) Reactor maintenance
- (1) Replacing reactor media
- (2) Adjusting reactor flow
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x) UV maintenance
- (1) Diverting return flow for UV maintenance
- (2) Cleaning UV tube
- (3) Replacing UV bulb
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xi) Refugium maintenance
- (1) Drain cleaning
- (2) Refugium cleaning
- xii) RO/DI filter replacement
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xiii)Pump maintenance
- (1) Powerheads
- (2) Return pump
- (3) Refugium pump
- (4) ATO pump
- (5) Mixing station pump
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i) Water testing
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d) Lighting
- i) Lighting schedules
- ii) PAR monitoring
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a) Apex monitoring
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3) Troubleshooting
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a) Apex alerts
- i) ATO
- ii) Leaks
- iii) Power
- iv) Skimmer
- v) Refugium
- vi) RO/DI tank
- b) Salinity
- c) Water level
- d) Water temperature
- e) Water pH
- f) Lights disconnected
- g) UPS beeping
- h) Flow meters
- i) Apex backup/restore
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a) Apex alerts
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4) Supplies
- a) Salt
- b) Dosing additives
- c) Fish/coral food
- d) Test kit reagents
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e) Filters
- i) Filter socks
- ii) Filter cup fiber
- iii) Powerhead protective covers
- iv) RO/DI filters
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5) Online resources
- a) PNWMAS
- b) Reef2Reef
- c) Neptune forums
- d) Facebook groups
- 6) Local resources
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1) System Overview
Saltwater mixing station
in Tank Threads
Posted
I'm just doing daily 1.5 gallon water changes with a Neptune DOS from my 75 gallon storage tanks. If you ever decide to try it, it works amazingly well.