The Garden -- Rakies shallow SPS cube

[Rakie]

So looking into cameras.. not sure I'll spring for a macro lens right out the gate.

Looking at the Canon Rebel EOS T7. Entry level but quite good for my needs.

 

[najer]

So looking into cameras.. not sure I'll spring for a macro lens right out the gate.

Looking at the Canon Rebel EOS T7. Entry level but quite good for my needs.

I am a Nikon person, that will help you learn how to use a camera, if you want better pics you might get a year or two out of it before you want an upgrade.
Pick a budget and only search inside that budget, get the best body you can even if it comes with a standard lens!
... then start saving for a better lens!

 

[Rakie]

I am a Nikon person, that will help you learn how to use a camera, if you want better pics you might get a year or two out of it before you want an upgrade.
Pick a budget and only search inside that budget, get the best body you can even if it comes with a standard lens!
... then start saving for a better lens!

Thanks!

I like Canon simply because of the CHDK (Canon Hack Development Tool). Many cameras have the same abilities software wise, they just hide them or 'turn them off' on lower end models. CHDK allows you to turn a point and shoot into a full blown DSLR (option wise). It of course won't help with sensors or any of that, but you can unlock the same options a $10,000 camera has with CHDK.

That's how I got my 2005 Canon G7 to take such good pics considering it's age. It also allowed me to take RAW photos that the camera wasn't capable of.

@najer -- Price range is $400-500 US ($350 - $450 EU) -- What would you suggest in that price range?

 

[Rakie]

And welcome back @Hemmdog lol

 

[Hemmdog]

And welcome back @Hemmdog lol

Lol thanks Wow amazing frags you got lately! Super jealous!!! Everything is looking great!

 

[Rakie]

Lol thanks Wow amazing frags you got lately! Super jealous!!! Everything is looking great!

Thank you! The vast majority of them were mine already but there's some new ones in there too. All of them need a little TLC, I'm very excited to see what happens with them. Today I'm actually going to be putting them all on 2" discs for growout space.

As for the bubbles... next week I'll start scrubbing the rockwork. With the tang and emeralds they should be able to handle the remaining Bubble Algae post scrubbing. I am VERY ready to stop cleaning the pumps every 3-5 days lol.

 

[lbacha]

Thank you! The vast majority of them were mine already but there's some new ones in there too. All of them need a little TLC, I'm very excited to see what happens with them. Today I'm actually going to be putting them all on 2" discs for growout space.

As for the bubbles... next week I'll start scrubbing the rockwork. With the tang and emeralds they should be able to handle the remaining Bubble Algae post scrubbing. I am VERY ready to stop cleaning the pumps every 3-5 days lol.

A word of warning, I scrubbed all the bubbles in my tank except the ones under frag plugs. Well wouldn’t you know it but my emeralds liked those bubbles so much they pushed the plugs out of the way to get them. It took me a few nights of finding frags blown into a corner of the tank to figure this out. They even pried a couple frags that were glued down loose

 

[najer]

@najer -- Price range is $400-500 US ($350 - $450 EU) -- What would you suggest in that price range?

I know it is over budget, one body down from the one I use, with that lens it would shoot anywhere in your tank, not as good as a macro but a great starting point, the 3000 series would probably be better than the Canon you posted!

https://www.jessops.com/p/nikon/d5300-digital-slr-in-black-with-18-105mm-vr-lens-170818

 

[Stuartmercer]

I wis i had something like that

 

[Rakie]

I know it is over budget, one body down from the one I use, with that lens it would shoot anywhere in your tank, not as good as a macro but a great starting point, the 3000 series would probably be better than the Canon you posted!

https://www.jessops.com/p/nikon/d5300-digital-slr-in-black-with-18-105mm-vr-lens-170818

Does this camera allow you to set a custom white balance?

 

[najer]

Does this camera allow you to set a custom white balance?

Yes, loads of wb options, you can set it to your lights for "real" colours you see.

 

[Rakie]

Since we're talking about high end cameras, here's a cell pic of another great unnamed colony my buddy is working on

 

[Rakie]

So I should have documented this just for fun.. but I mentioned helping a friend remove aefw in his 270 (8x3x2). I've oy got the one pic, but here's what we did.

- Removed all rock with encrusted SPS
- Chiseled all encrusted SPS off the rockwork
- Put that rock in an outdoor garage tank with no light
- Left all base rock with no encrusted SPS in tank
- Made 2x1' coral platforms that can be pulled and dipped
- Planted over 100 colonies/frags onto 2" discs
- Dipping once per week for 8 weeks, at 6 minutes in melafix pond
- Rinse in Lugol's.

Everything is responding beautifully! Wish I had taken pics but we were too busy working on it.

 

[Rakie]

Some blue only shots with a light filter for my buddy @bubbaque

But seriously.. i try and sell pictures of things that are photo accurate and all I get is: "i OnLy TrUsT wUt i SeE wItH mY eYeS" -- No ya don't young man. You trust lies!

Anyways, here's some glammy lying pictures for ya with lots of shiny. Testing out a Polyp Lab filter on my camera to see if it's a cheaper alternative to a DSLR.


Overall shot of my frag rack close to the front glass!

RRUSA "Red Bull", supposedly.

RRUSA Unknown

Center: RRUSA Carolina Reaper
Background: RRUSA Rainbow Blossom

RRUSA Prometheus

TGC Orange Creamsicle

CB Golden Jawdropper

UC Lavender Sauguro (a FAVORITE)

RRUSA Rainbow Blossom

 

[Rakie]

Also, I'm begging a friend to come replace the ballast on my Aquatic Life hybrid fixture with a high end Phillips HEP ballast. PAR testing from a member here was showing the Aquatic Life 4 bulb fixture is only 20% stronger than an LET 2 bulb fixture, meaning an equivalent 4 bulbs from a better fixture (ATI, Geisemann, LET) should be an easy 80% more par than the Aquatic Life gives me..

So putting these ballasts in should give me about 80% more light.

That's all anecdotal, but he swears it made a huge difference for himself. So why not?

___________

And lastly. I ALWAYS put my money where my mouth is, always. I used to use an even mix of Blue+ and Coral+ bulbs when I ran T5 -- gave me exceptional color for T5. Having switched to LED Hybrid, I've been running 4 Actinics for color maturation.

Two different friends who have switched back to B+ bulbs as they've had much better results. One saying switching to B+ made his alk in a 260g SPS tank drop from 8 to 7.1 in a day. So he's a believer in it.

And being one that always puts my money where my mouth is... I'll be switching from 4 actinics, to 2B+, 2C+. Maybe it'll be an improvement, we'll see! I'm always happy to be wrong when it means I can get better growth LOL.

 

[Janci]

Also, I'm begging a friend to come replace the ballast on my Aquatic Life hybrid fixture with a high end Phillips HEP ballast. PAR testing from a member here was showing the Aquatic Life 4 bulb fixture is only 20% stronger than an LET 2 bulb fixture, meaning an equivalent 4 bulbs from a better fixture (ATI, Geisemann, LET) should be an easy 80% more par than the Aquatic Life gives me..

So putting these ballasts in should give me about 80% more light.

That's all anecdotal, but he swears it made a huge difference for himself. So why not?

___________

And lastly. I ALWAYS put my money where my mouth is, always. I used to use an even mix of Blue+ and Coral+ bulbs when I ran T5 -- gave me exceptional color for T5. Having switched to LED Hybrid, I've been running 4 Actinics for color maturation.

Two different friends who have switched back to B+ bulbs as they've had much better results. One saying switching to B+ made his alk in a 260g SPS tank drop from 8 to 7.1 in a day. So he's a believer in it.

And being one that always puts my money where my mouth is... I'll be switching from 4 actinics, to 2B+, 2C+. Maybe it'll be an improvement, we'll see! I'm always happy to be wrong when it means I can get better growth LOL.

80% more PAR by switching ballast might be difficult, but some improvement might be there.
I am interested to see which ballast you will be using.

 

[Rakie]

Phillips HEP 2x24w ballast. Supposedly the best ballast on the market.

Also, that's 80% more par relative to the 4 bulb fixture. That fixture typically puts out about 100-150 par. Very low! With 80% more par, were talking going from 100-150 to 180-240 par.

It's both significant, but not that much..

 

[Janci]

Phillips HEP 2x24w ballast. Supposedly the best ballast on the market.
Also, that's 80% more par relative to the 4 bulb fixture. That fixture typically puts out about 100-150 par. Very low! With 80% more par, were talking going from 100-150 to 180-240 par.
It's both significant, but not that much..

I used a Giesemann 8 x 54W fixture before, but not with ATI or Giesemann bulbs. Pacific Sun had some bulbs that I wanted to try.
These bulbs did not last long and PAR faded after 4-5 months.
A combination of improvements can give you a lot of extra PAR.

 

[Rakie]

I used a Giesemann 8 x 54W fixture before, but not with ATI or Giesemann bulbs. Pacific Sun had some bulbs that I wanted to try.
These bulbs did not last long and PAR faded after 4-5 months.
A combination of improvements can give you a lot of extra PAR.

I had a lot of longevity with my ATI bulbs when I ran an ATI fixture.

 

[drawman]

So I should have documented this just for fun.. but I mentioned helping a friend remove aefw in his 270 (8x3x2). I've oy got the one pic, but here's what we did.

- Removed all rock with encrusted SPS
- Chiseled all encrusted SPS off the rockwork
- Put that rock in an outdoor garage tank with no light
- Left all base rock with no encrusted SPS in tank
- Made 2x1' coral platforms that can be pulled and dipped
- Planted over 100 colonies/frags onto 2" discs
- Dipping once per week for 8 weeks, at 6 minutes in melafix pond
- Rinse in Lugol's.

Everything is responding beautifully! Wish I had taken pics but we were too busy working on it.

Very nice work. Super frustrating to go through that and I can imagine he appreciates the support.

Also, I'm begging a friend to come replace the ballast on my Aquatic Life hybrid fixture with a high end Phillips HEP ballast. PAR testing from a member here was showing the Aquatic Life 4 bulb fixture is only 20% stronger than an LET 2 bulb fixture, meaning an equivalent 4 bulbs from a better fixture (ATI, Geisemann, LET) should be an easy 80% more par than the Aquatic Life gives me..

So putting these ballasts in should give me about 80% more light.

That's all anecdotal, but he swears it made a huge difference for himself. So why not?

___________

And lastly. I ALWAYS put my money where my mouth is, always. I used to use an even mix of Blue+ and Coral+ bulbs when I ran T5 -- gave me exceptional color for T5. Having switched to LED Hybrid, I've been running 4 Actinics for color maturation.

Two different friends who have switched back to B+ bulbs as they've had much better results. One saying switching to B+ made his alk in a 260g SPS tank drop from 8 to 7.1 in a day. So he's a believer in it.

And being one that always puts my money where my mouth is... I'll be switching from 4 actinics, to 2B+, 2C+. Maybe it'll be an improvement, we'll see! I'm always happy to be wrong when it means I can get better growth LOL.

I've never seen an Aquatic Life fixture in person so I'm wondering if the bulbs will need to be cooled differently with the ballast upgrade? Will be curious to see how that turns out! You should take PAR measurements before and after with LEDs off