I don't see an FTS in that group of photographic representations.

As always Kien, Beautiful shots and beautiful tank.

Hey Kien, I have the same Acro crab in my bonsai valida mini colony. Have you ever noticed yours to cause any problems. I know he's not eating anything on the coral, however ... my colony isn't all that big yet, and I kind of feel like him perching and hanging out in the same spots may be killing some of the tissue on the acro branches.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

In my years of reefing I have never known acro crabs to cause any harm. I have had quite a few over the years. Most of my larger colonies have one, sometimes two and my stylo has 3 large red ones! They are great caretakers actually, and will help maintain the health of the colony. For example, when acros collect gunk from fish food or fish poop they will promptly clean it up! I often wonder if they also eat parasites like coral flat worms off of acros.

more pics, OK!!

Itty bitty baby Hoeksemai. Got this as a teeny tiny skin flap frag last year. Literally only 5 polyps on it. It has tripled its polyps in a year! :lol:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3739/9...47332d39_o.jpg

Green Stylophora.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7375/9...b4293ae8_o.jpg

Unknown blue acro. Man, I have a lot of blue acros. Seems no matter what I buy, it turns blue!

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3708/9...6b248686_o.jpg

Green Acropora gemmifera.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3800/9...763a47fe_o.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2835/9...b834edb7_o.jpg

Unknown green Acropora.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3668/9...47681fe7_o.jpg

German Blue Polyp digitata.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2848/9...a44d04df_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7391/9...3c7e9880_o.jpg

Multicolour Prostrata

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/9...2721e7e1_o.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/9...88e70dd1_o.jpg

Rainbow Millepora

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7336/9...a962fe51_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/9...e4664b48_o.jpg

FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!
FTS!!! FTS!!! FTS!!!

That's it! I'm striking against your tank thread until an FTS gets posted. :ban:

**Thinks to himself as he leaves.... "Damn that is some nice SPS"**

Sexy corals you got there kien!

~Tony

Nice stuff Kien..

Calgary seems like it needs another tank tour this fall.

Man oh man does your tank look great lately!


I think the angry mob has spoken.

http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp...mob-simps.jpeg

Kien, amazing sps shots! Are you dosing anything in your tank? Please share your secret!

Another one? When was the last one?

Thanks! I am currently dosing the big three. Calcium, Alkalinity (bicarbonate), and prayers.

I have two secrets. 1. I like blue clove polyps. 2. My bioPellets don't crash my tank.

Your tank looks fantastic Kien.
I also think you should pop by my place and photograph my corals !

....and give us a FTS :D

Thanks!

OK!

Boring Green Acropora austera.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7297/9...0a6b42ea_o.jpg

Strawberry Shortcake knock-off.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/9...d4b0e0c0_o.jpg

Branching Cyphastrea

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2836/9...41d08070_o.jpg

Neon Green Pocillopora

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3713/9...3ef76230_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7326/9...58f70426_o.jpg

Forest Fire Digitata

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/9...bc61c896_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7349/9...197790bc_o.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3675/9...8d0c813f_o.jpg

Tyree Red Dragon

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/9...d556a21d_o.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/9...c4929ece_o.jpg

Kien, your tank makes me green with envy. The livestock you have is just amazing!

You say you're running biopellets, but from what I understand you aren't supposed to run carbon with biopellets. Do you use a different adsorbent? I'm seriously thinking about starting up a biopellet reactor but I'm also attached to my carbon (weird huh?).

Also what sort of photography setup do you have? I have a Canon 40D with all L-series glass. I have a 100mm macro lens with a matching polarized filter and that's what I'll likely be taking my tank photos with.

Thanks ! I can't say that I've ever heard that you shouldn't run activated carbon with bioPellets. They both do completely different things. I've been running carbon in conjunction with my bioPellets for 4 years now. Perhaps you (or your sources) were meaning organic carbon like what's used in other carbon dosing methods? That is, Vodka, Sugar, Vinegar, ZeoVit&Prodibio carbon sources, etc? I definitely would not recommend dosing other organic carbons with bioPellets. Having said that, I know of some people who have attempted this. And no, not weird, I like my activated carbon too :-) .. if in fact you were meaning activated carbon and not organic carbons.

You have the same photo gear I do. In addition I have a canon 5D Mark II. I shoot with the 5D sometimes but I actually prefer the 40D because it's smaller and lighter (for my dainty hands) :-) As for lenses, I'll either shoot with the 100mm macro or my 24-105 F4 zoom depending on my mood.

I'll see if I can find the article regarding biopellets and activated carbon. When I read it I sort of decided biopellets aren't for me but if they aren't mutually exclusive then I will more than likely take up their use. I do have a relatively smallish protein skimmer for my tank, do you have to run a much larger one?

5D huh? I would love to get a full frame camera one day. My 40D has the battery grip so I don't think I'm saving much in terms of size. That 100mm lens is amazing for its price point isn't it?

You need an appropriate skimmer for your tank in general. You should need to get overly larger skimmer just to run biopellets. So long as your skimmer is rated well for your tank, you should be OK. If not, then you should get a new skimmer anyway :-)

I actually don't take advantage of the full frame really. 90% of my photos are cropped down to 800x600 to post on canreef LOL. I'll crop to a slightly higher res for wallpapers but even a 40D 10mega pixel is fine for that. In the end, I don't produce any full frame resolution images to store. 1. They are HUGE and 2. they take too long to process. In other words, I have never needed more than 10 mega pixels. And ya, the 100mm macro is probably my favourite. Macros in general are my favourite photography genre/subject. I take a lot of macros of bugs, flowers, corals, etc :-)

Holy Majoly I want that Forest Fire Digi ... what a Beauty!!!

Great shots as always Kien

Thanks!

Acropora Florida.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7450/9...cd6968a4_o.jpg

Bird of Paradise

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/9...095b51da_o.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3779/9...0cefcc4c_o.jpg

Unknown Acropora.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7331/9...c62a6c5e_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/9...0e4660e5_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7390/9...825d3377_o.jpg

Acropora Loripes.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/9...3ed629cd_o.jpg

Joe The Coral.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5455/9...256a80f3_o.jpg

Montipora Setosa.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/9...59e20583_o.jpg

Wow your setosa growth form is crazy kien!

~Tony

edit.. wrong thread

Yup.. Just as crazy/drunk as Josh, apparently.

:drinking:
|
V

That's not a bad idea tonight.. haha:mrgreen:

Wow, that's a whole lot of nice stickage Kien

Funny, that's what my wife- oh nevermind.

Sorry to hear that your's is only referred to as a 'stick'

Never seen setosa grow like that. Neato dawg.

Lmao kien!

~Tony

Purple Gorgonia.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3667/9...a0cc9d55_o.jpg

Blue tipped green stag. This frag hasn't done much of anything for half a year now.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7400/9...3f6faf56_o.jpg

Unknown Acropora. Possibly Rosaria.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5491/9...c35dd09b_o.jpg

Green birdsnest. Very weedy. Fastest growing thing in my tank.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3787/9...83fa9929_o.jpg

Unknown Blue-Green Acro. Possibly Turaki.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2824/9...ef5a0002_o.jpg

Pink Millipora. Fast Grower. Started out as this 1" nub on a frag plug last fall..

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8...71602635_o.jpg

And is now this colony today.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3782/9...9353a11b_o.jpg

Orange Digi. Another fast grower which I really should frag soon.. Started out as a 2" frag on a frag disc last fall..

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8342/8...785dbea7_o.jpg

And is now this colony.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3737/9...33c037e9_o.jpg

Green Acropora turaki. 1" frag from last fall..

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/8...1c13d805_o.jpg

Mini-colony today.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2817/9...d6d8c96a_o.jpg

ORA Ponape Birdsnest.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/9...8e5c4aac_o.jpg

This was purchased as a pink Prostrata. It quickly turned into a Blue-Purple Prostrata.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/9...00d84713_o.jpg

Wow, what an amazing tank. Your photography is excellent - thanks for the eye candy.

PS where is the FTS everyone is asking for? :lol:

Thanks :-)

Mad Jelly. PEW! PEW!
 

So, since I recently had some room freed up in the tank I decided to go looking for stuff to fill the space with. I ended up stumbling upon an up and coming vendor known as MadJellyCorals (apparently their corals go PEW! PEW!). I didn't really understand their company name at first but after a few conversations with them I figured it out :lol:

First of all, great guys to deal with. Although they are only just starting to, well, start up, my experience with them gave me the impression that they'd been at this for a while already. The communication was top notch, the delivery was exceptional and the product was among the best I've ever received from an online vendor.

My MadJelly loot!

Tyree Rainbow Stylophora

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d5dbf40.jpg

Fire and Ice Enchinata

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2f106631.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9821cc03.jpg

Sunset/Christmas Millepora

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...pscee5b21c.jpg

Red-Yellow eye chalice.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...pseaba44ef.jpg

Great stuff 'fo shizzle.

And since I had the camera out I figured I'd snap a few more pics..

Dual colour (green and orange) octospawn (not to be confused with octomom).

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50e476ca.jpg

War Coral

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps317872b4.jpg

Long tentacle fungia plate coral

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps94f03f8a.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psda14f8dc.jpg

One of my two Maximas. (the other one that Catherine asked me to photograph).

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psc8c185aa.jpg

Halloween Hermit Crab.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10c11a4d.jpg

Sexi in the Maxi.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psb056bb62.jpg

Glass shrimp in the maxi?

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0745c6e9.jpg

While I was taking pictures this time around something occurred to me. I noticed that a larger number of my SPS had more growth tips than usual. Then it dawned on me that this actually happens every summer (save for the summers where the corals are dying slow horrible death).

Here's a blue stag that browned out earlier this year, then did nothing more months until just recently.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7250dbbf.jpg

This mille had a slow steady growth, but just recently I noticed an explosion of growth tips.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psc52606c2.jpg

There are a few other frags and colonies exhibiting this explosion in growth tips which is kinda cool. I am going to surmise that this is due to the heat. It's well known that many organisms metabolisms are directly tied to the temperature of their surroundings. Or more specifically, their body temperature. In the winter time my temp would max out at maybe 79 or 80. I had pretty steady growth through the winter months. However, since spring/summer hit my temps now top out at 82/83 (which is normal for my tank). Has anyone else observed this phenomenon ?

A few wider shots.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5a5383e9.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psce7c5225.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps90c7f145.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psd6fee51b.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9897b032.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps442cd98b.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psba91357c.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7577dc9e.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psd27d63dd.jpg

Full Top Downs!
 

Here are a few full top down shots that I don't think I've ever done before. I really like the results of these shots, minus the crazy reflections of my lights. I wonder if I can take these photos without the reflection some how..

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3e7304e.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15487768.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3920fe43.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49abbee9.jpg

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5d830b15.jpg

One More Thing..
 

I know most of you don't really care about these sorts of photos but here are a couple of FTS anyway..

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a588760.jpg

Played around with draping a blue backdrop over the tank for this one. Needs a bit of work in the execution I think.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...ps151d7f37.jpg

looks great with the blue... seems like your fish didn't think too much of it though!

Ya, I actually don't mind it! The fabric doesn't work though, the wrinkles show. I may try getting some poster board and spray painting it blue. Maybe add a gradient. I actually don't like taking FTS because of all the insane reflections and the distracting background of the room behind/in front of the tank. I think this will be a good solution if I can find a good medium for the blue.

Just use your polarizing filter. You must have a circ-pol by now. Set up your shot, then rotate the circ-pol until your reflection is gone. Easy Peasy.

Ah yes!! I totally forgot about that thing! Haven't used it in ages. I'm going to try that! Thanks!!