Reefoholic May 21, 2011 Share May 21, 2011 I am such an admirer of your photography! Can you please post a full tank picture as well. BTW, do you have the 12" Super Blue AI Sol? I was thinking about investing in a quality light fixture for my 20 gal and maybe this is the one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 22, 2011 Author Share May 22, 2011 I am such an admirer of your photography! Can you please post a full tank picture as well. BTW, do you have the 12" Super Blue AI Sol? I was thinking about investing in a quality light fixture for my 20 gal and maybe this is the one... Thanks! I'll see what I can do for a FTS tomorrow when I get a chance to clean the glass (something I haven't done since starting the tank - still doesn't look too bad either). Yup, that's the light. So far, I like it pretty well - it's a pain for photography because of the nature of LEDs, but that's not much of a concern for most people. I would warn you that even in a 24" deep tank, I'm only running the lights at 60% max for all levels to avoid bleaching, so in a 20g, it may be a bit of overkill. If you go that route, I would at least change out the optics for all 70* groups, since you won't need the penetrating power of narrower optics. The Caribbean spotted cleaner shrimp found the LTA today: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic May 22, 2011 Share May 22, 2011 I thought about that. I think I am gonna save up for it for now until I upgrade my tank. How is the white/blue ratio? Is it too blue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 22, 2011 Author Share May 22, 2011 I thought about that. I think I am gonna save up for it for now until I upgrade my tank. How is the white/blue ratio? Is it too blue? The mix is just about right for my taste once you power them all up to the same level. I like a 12000-14000k color for the majority of the light cycle, and even levels for white/blue/royal blue seem to give me that mix. And you can set it to pretty much anything you want from 6500k to well over 20000k with the controller and a little bit of experimentation, so it'll really work for anyone's tastes. As an example - my sunrise setting ramps the blues, then the whites, so I get a spectrum from nearly pure actinic to 12000k, and then backwards for sunset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 22, 2011 Author Share May 22, 2011 FTSs... Front: Viewing angle from my chair: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 23, 2011 Author Share May 23, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak May 23, 2011 Share May 23, 2011 That angel is awesome, you worried about it jumping at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 23, 2011 Author Share May 23, 2011 That angel is awesome, you worried about it jumping at all? Thanks! I put the glass top on the tank. I doubt it would jump since it stays so close to the rocks and in the bottom half of the tank but, given the difficulty of finding a well-acclimated specimen, I've no interest in taking that risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic May 23, 2011 Share May 23, 2011 How awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw May 24, 2011 Author Share May 24, 2011 Thanks! Mini carpets have spawned again. Got a video of one of the males releasing sperm at the same time that the AI went into thunderstorm mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44wiGWnE6mU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak June 1, 2011 Share June 1, 2011 I love the thunderstorm effect, did you pair that with any variations/increase in flow of pumps? Also what kind of lighting do you think those mini carpets will take? I'd love to put a couple in the Shock Trauma tank before I put it in its final resting place in 2 weeks or so. Its running 72 watts of PC in a tank thats around 12". Also how do you know the mini carpet is a Male? Because its the one releasing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw June 7, 2011 Author Share June 7, 2011 I love the thunderstorm effect, did you pair that with any variations/increase in flow of pumps? Also what kind of lighting do you think those mini carpets will take? I'd love to put a couple in the Shock Trauma tank before I put it in its final resting place in 2 weeks or so. Its running 72 watts of PC in a tank thats around 12". Also how do you know the mini carpet is a Male? Because its the one releasing? Currently, it isn't paired with flow changes in the pumps. The new AI Sol versions came with some changes in programming that created errors with the Reefkeepers, and it's taken them an excessive amount of time to reverse engineer the new software to pair with their module. Until that is working sufficiently, I'm using the AquaIlluminations controller. Eventually, I'd like to get the Vortech synchronized with it. IME, mini carpets will take pretty much any lighting as long as you feed them enough to cover their nutrient needs in lowered light. I used to leave them in the sump of the biotope when they found their way down the overflow and never had any problems - they would attach to a rock and pick up enough loose food to be happy in the dark. They tend to lose color or turn brown, but they'll live quite happily. The only way I know to tell male/female in mini carpets is to see it during spawning, and even then it can be difficult. The males are obvious with their big plumes of sperm, but the females and "unknowns" (nonparticipants in the spawning event) are more difficult because the eggs aren't released in such an obvious fashion, especially in smaller spawning events, so you really have to look hard for the females amongst the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw June 16, 2011 Author Share June 16, 2011 took a quick break from photo work to catch this guy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Camaron June 16, 2011 Share June 16, 2011 is that a Helfrichi? nice looking fish man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw June 16, 2011 Author Share June 16, 2011 is that a Helfrichi? nice looking fish man. yup, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw June 22, 2011 Author Share June 22, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reloadeddevil June 23, 2011 Share June 23, 2011 What kind of camera and macro lense you r using? Pics are awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw June 24, 2011 Author Share June 24, 2011 What kind of camera and macro lense you r using? Pics are awesome. Thanks. The last couple of months have been with a Canon 60d, prior to that an XSi. I'm currently using the Sigma 150mm macro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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