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SteveM

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Posts posted by SteveM

    New Large Tank Build (in Florida)

    in General Discussion

    Looks like a dream setup. The only thing I can add is that big tanks like that really benfit from ozone. You might want to sons under that.

    T

     

    I have thought about Ozone but honestly do not know anything about it. I would like to learn more about it.

     

    What's the plan for the two tanks above your sump?

     

    Looks amazing!

    Matt

     

    Those tanks are initially going to be quarantine tanks. Eventually I will turn one into a frag tank. I haven't decided on the sizes of the tanks yet.

    New Large Tank Build (in Florida)

    in General Discussion

    Plans do look great. I am sure you have planned to do so, but definitely a floor drain or 2 will be key. Might use waterproof/bathroom sheetrock for walls with marine paint on walls. Good ventilation of room will also be key.

     

    I do have floor drains, one in the center of the roofm for "just in case" and one at the end of the sump for my water changes. The walls are green board and all the paint will be water proof. I also have an exhaust fan built into the ceiling. Thanks for asking about those things.

    New Large Tank Build (in Florida)

    in General Discussion

    I thought I would stop by and say hello to everyone. It's been a while since I have been on. I have moved to Florida and my wife and I are currently building a house in Parrish and I am including a 410 gal reef tank. The tank is 96x36x28 and will be viewable from 2 sides. This will be a long process as the house will not be done until around the end of November but I am looking for some feedback on the design and layout of my set up.

     

     

    Here is a list of some of the planned equipment:

     

    Skimmer

    macro lense suggestions

    in Marine Photography

    Stay away from the "close-up-lens-kit" type of stack-able lenses. The quality is not very good and I don't think you would be happy with the results. With most reef tank type of macro photography you need some reach. The 105mm length works well for most all fish tank type of photos and I have one that I am very happy with. The Sigma 105mm is an excellent lens and I believe almost as good as the Nikon version at about half the price. That would be my recommendation.

    TOTM tank break down

    in General Discussion

    20 months and counting towards the BIG move. Yes, going to Florida to retire and build our dream house. The current plan is to put our house on the market this spring, hence the tank break down, and then start building the new house by the end of 2010. Planning on about a 300+ gal in wall tank in the new house with an entire fish room behind it to support it.

    TOTM tank break down

    in General Discussion

    I am planning on starting my tank breakdown this weekend. I wanted to give everyone a heads up in case you are interested. I am going to try to sell off the corals and some of the live rock first and then move to the fish, tank and equipment. I have had one person express interest in a package deal on most of it but as of yet I have not heard back from her.

     

    I am not exactly sure how I am going to go about selling the corals. Several of them are quite large and encrusted on the live rock. If anyone has done this before please let me hear your suggestions. Here is the link to my TOTM thread to see what I have. TOTM Several of the corals are much larger now and again; I am not sure how I am going to get them out.

     

    I will provide a complete list of everything that I have for sale in the For Sale section in the next day or two. My tank is a 110 gal Perfecto with a corner overflow. Along with the tank will be the stand, lights, sump and skimmer. I am hoping to sell those as a package deal.

     

    If you have any questions please fell free to PM me. For those of you that have asked in the past, I am not leaving the hobby. I am just relocating and planning on a bigger and even better tank. I will be selling my house soon and can not have the worry of keeping up with the demands of the tank during the selling process.

    Getting a DSLR camera

    in Marine Photography

    About the lenses, yes the Nikon lenses right now are quite a bit higher in price than the Cannons. As the Nikon prices level out the Cannon prices will catch up at some point. It is inevitable due to the economy and the price of the dollar against the yen. I am a Nikon shooter and have a D80 and a D300. I don't even want to tell you what I have spent on lenses to this point and I still have a couple of more high end lenses to pick up. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with a Nikon or a Cannon and the bottom line is what you feel most comfortable with and can afford. Like reef tanks, photography is addictive and expensive.

     

    Don't be discouraged that your pictures don't look great. Taking tank pics is not easy and to be honest with you a lot of it has to do with the processing of the photo after you take the pic. Getting a sharp image is one thing but getting the color correct is a totally different animal. No DSLR on the market can take a color correct image of a tank that is running 20K metal halides and blue actinics. that is accomplished in post processing. A good photo editor is a must if you are going to be taking a lot of digital images.

     

    Since you are in Fairfax I would be happy to help you out. I am close to Manassas and if you want to stop by I can show you my set up and my computer software to give you an idea of what can be done.

    Getting a DSLR camera

    in Marine Photography

    I have to agree with dshnarw, either a Nikon or a Cannon is a great choice. I personally use Nikon as do some of the other professional photographers on the board. I do not know that much about Cannon but I will say one thing about the Nikons, they are getting more and more expensive. The cost of lenses has skyrocketed. From what I understand the Cannon lenses are not quite expensive but then again it depends on what you get.

     

    A good beginner choice in Nikons would be the D5000. I have heard some great things about it as well as being able to shoot video. Nikon has also just released a D3000 which is about $150 less than the D5000.

    Ever seen this before???

    in General Discussion

    A few days ago i reloaded my tank with a clean up crew. Part of it was some dwarf snails that are pretty small. They sometimes get blown around in my tank due to flow and you never know where they are going to end up. This evening I was checking out the tank and notice my Lobo was "eating" two snails. I had never seen anything like this so I took a few pics.

     

    First snail being eaten

    lobo_snail_2.jpg

     

    Second snail being eaten

    lobo_snail_3.jpg

     

    Series of the first snail

    lobo_snail_4.jpg

     

    lobo_snail_5.jpg

     

    lobo_snail_6.jpg

     

    lobo_snail_7.jpg

    New D300 fish pics

    in Marine Photography

    Wow! Very impressive. I could never get shots like that. I love the second pic because it is focusing on the corals in the background along with the fish, whiling blurring out the coral in the foreground. What type of setting did you use?

     

     

    Thanks guys... I shot it with my Sigma 105mm f/2.8 in Aperture Priority Mode. Settings were ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/160 no flash.

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