SuncrestReef

I agree about going hardwired. Most people don't realize how much wireless connectivity is impacted by other wireless users and interference from devices like microwave ovens and electric motors. It would be interesting to see a study on how much return pumps and dosing pumps within near proximity to the Apex can impact wireless connections. A hard wired connection gives guaranteed bandwidth and no risk of RF interference.

Go to PCH Cables in Hillsboro (right next to the airport). That place is like a candy store for cabling of all types, and the cheapest prices you will find anywhere. A 75 foot cable will only cost $12.68, and they have 10 colors to choose from! See https://www.pchcables.com/camoboetnepa.html (I'm a computer network engineer and have been buying cables at PCH for over 10 years. I would never bother looking for cables elsewhere.)

I posted this same question on Reef2Reef and got several responses saying they are probably spionid worms. Further research also pointed me to chaetopterid worms. Both are apparently harmless filter feeders. I plucked a couple of them off my coral with tweezers and they came off easily.

Today I noticed what look like some sort of tube worms growing in my lobo. Each tube has two very fine hairs sticking out. Can anyone ID what they are, and any guidance on what to do about them? Here's a photo from 2 weeks ago before the problem, with the area in question circled:

I'll take one Reef Gen Green Goniopora and one Citrus Mistress. I can pick them up at the meeting next Saturday.

Just curious, how old is the probe? I've read that they need to be replaced every 2 to 3 years.

Do you have any calibration fluid you could test against? That would tell you if your water pH is actually low or if your probe is the problem.

I picked up this beauty at @CuttleFishandCoral today. They had two to pick from, so one left for now. Thanks Jeff!

Anyone know if Oregon Tort is available at any local Portland area shops? If not, anyone have frags for sale?

Here's a photo showing the cord tucked into the top rail and the plastic tabs holding it in place.

I'm still working out the kinks on focus stacking, but I think this one really shows the potential for a fully-in-focus detailed coral image: (click the photo to view the full resolution version)

Have you looked at the sharing settings on your images? It's probably not allowing public access.

Here are a few I picked up today. Thanks Holly! My wife says it looks like this one is flipping us off:

I'm glad I got there early. Things were going quickly! Holly, that large frag didn't break! I managed to get it home and out of the bag safely. Everything looks great! Thanks for doing this. 😊

The only problem with focus stacking is dealing with movement. It works really well on SPS, but anything with longer polyps that sway in the current can be tricky. For this plate coral, I turned off all flow before taking the photos, but the coral still moved a bit in between the 8 shots I took. When stitched together, it takes on an illusion of motion, as seen at the tips of a few tentacles:

Here's my entry: A feather duster worm I discovered on a small zoa colony I picked up at @CuttleFishandCoral. This is the largest one, at about 1/2" diameter. There are several other smaller ones about 1/8" each. I hope the smaller ones grow to be larger because they're pretty cool to watch flowing in the current.

OK, and here is the first result of focus stacking 10 shots of a coral: It's pretty impressive how well this works. If you view the photo at full resolution it's amazing! (and since I'm using the free trial of the software, they limit the resolution, so it can be even better). Here's a snippet of one small section at full resolution: The biggest challenge is getting all 10 photos taken without any fish photo-bombing the scene! 🤣

What says Happy Birthday better than gifts of coral frags?!!!

Well @albertareef, here's my first try with focus stacking, and I have to say it was amazingly easy using Helicon! I downloaded the free trial (30 days, only limitation is they don't allow full resolution), attached my camera via USB to my laptop, and had it shoot 10 photos from closest focus to furthest focus. Then just using the default settings, it stitched them all together in under 1 minute. Here's one of the individual shots: And here's the full rendered image comprised of 10 shots: I can't wait for my tank lights to come on so I can try it out with some coral shots!

Wow, after some quick research on focus stacking I came across a product called Helicon that not only will stack the images, it can also programmatically control the camera to take the individual photos at different focus points. Check out their tutorial video: I used a similar product last year to automate my camera for the total solar eclipse so I got hundreds of hands-free photos during the event allowing me to enjoy the view with my naked eye. I love automation. 😎 This is going to be fun!!!

Some macro photos could make your $10 frags look like huge $100 frags! Easy way to pay for a lens...😏💵💵💵

@Gil&Fin Holly, when we first met at @CuttleFishandCoral and I mentioned taking macro photos, you said "Oh, you're one of those guys". Is this what you meant??? Ha! 😎

I never knew my pistol shrimp had hairy claws:

Here are a few more: (Note: These are scaled down. Click each photo to zoom in to 100%. It's amazing detail!)

I'm super excited about the new macro lens I just received. It's a Nikon AF Micro 200mm f/4D IF-ED. Previously I had been using a 60mm macro which was OK, but you had to get super close to the subject in order to get really fine details. This new 200mm produces way better detail even from longer distances. Here's the new lens on my Nikon D610, with the old 60mm lens next to it. Nearly half of the lens barrel is the focus ring, and it's amazingly smooth to operate. Here's just one example after playing with the lens for only a couple of minutes: Since macro lenses have a very shallow depth of field, it's impossible to get the whole coral into focus. I'm going to start trying a technique called focus stacking where you take multiple photos at different focus points, and then stitch the photos together in software to produce an image that's 100% in focus. Stay tuned and I'll post more shots as I get the hang of this new lens!