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jlanger's 120gal Arts and Crafts Inspired Reef Build (1 Viewer)

eschulist said:
Finally got your own macro lens?
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Yup!
As soon as I knew I was getting the pintails, I knew I needed a better lens.
With all of the work I've had the past few months (Thanks guys!), I put enough money aside to buy myself something. It was either a macro lens or a 3D printer. I chose the macro lens. I found a decent used lens online, so I picked it up today.

I can already hear Angie complaining about her crappy photos.
 
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Turn on the lights take pictures of all the things.

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Since I was busy making cookies on Friday, touring The Cities meeting with a handful of TCMAS members all day Saturday and decorating cookies today, I finally got around to getting my weekly water change accomplished this afternoon.
It appears that I need to find better methods of nutrient control as my nitrates are "uber high" (quote credit - Angie) and I keep experiencing STN with some of the acropora colonies.
This has been really frustrating. I started dosing the NO-POX again, but all I've noticed so far is the associated bio-film likes to cover the tank's glass. It may take some time to see results, but I'm getting a bit impatient at this point. I hate losing coral's!

The new pintail wrasses are still adjusting to their new home. Yesterday, I mainly saw the male with a glimpse of one of the females. Today, the male and the larger female will come out to eat, but they mainly stay close to (or hiding in) the rocks during most of the day. I haven't seen the smaller female yet; dead or alive. Hopefully she's still in there somewhere and will someday venture out.

Since I performed a water change, pictures were expected.
The new wrasses are really hard to get in focus as they are constantly on the move; watching out for the other fish and finding holes in the rocks to hide in. As time passes, they should settle in and be more visible and calm. In other words, no new pictures of them.

Here's a few different macro shots of my PC Rainbow that has some of you getting excited.
I hope my water quality issues don't affect this piece, as it is really starting to come into its own. Just look at the polyps on this thing! There's a good reason why they called this coral a rainbow.

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Nice color, I want a frag :)
 
Jonty said:
Nice color, I want a frag :)
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Dammit! Usually what Jonty wants, Jonty gets!
The coral is just a frag itself, but I would love to see this grow enough to make frags.
 
What does the "PC" in PC rainbow stand for?
 
http://www.rottertube.com/filtration/

I stumbled across this and thought of your previous comments on reactors and filter socks. Easy to DIY, plenty of room for filter floss for mechanical filtration, and a filter bag of GFO/carbon for chemical filtration. At least to my unseasoned mind, it seems you'd get a lot more water contact with your filter media than just throwing it into a sock.

Food for thought anyway.
 
I looked at the rotter tubes the other day and I do not see any benefit. when they do clog and they will there is no overspill so you tank will back up and over flow instead of the water just flowing over the sock, it is a poor mans canister filter in my mind.
Total rotten idea, I actually I though is was a prank/joke at first but the guy is serious LOL
 
That PC Rainbow Acro was always one of my favorites, and it looks like yours is starting to show off how sweet it is!

..and yes I creep your build threads every now and again to get my saltwater fix!

 
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.Marshall said:
That PC Rainbow Acro was always one of my favorites, and it looks like yours is starting to show off how sweet it is!

..and yes I creep your build threads every now and again to get my saltwater fix!
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HEY!!! It's good to see you poking around again!
I wish I had more positive posts lately for you to read, but I suppose any fix is a good fix.

Your PC Rainbow looks amazing!
I'm hoping that my frag can survive the issues that have been plaguing my tank over the past six months or so.
 
It looks great, keep it up! :)

Whenever I get some free time from flying I try to stop in and see whats new! I am currently living in southern Alabama attending Army Flight School, should finish up sometime in 2017 then I should have a solid couple years without a deployment or schooling to start another tank.
 
Now that it has been a couple of days, the pintail wrasses have had time to settle into the tank.
The male and larger female are more confident; especially during feedings. The two of them will spend most of the time close to the rocks; weaving in and out or hiding underneath the montipora plates. There are times when they will swim together, but they tend to wander off on their own most of the time. I have yet to see the smaller female; which isn't good. She was the fish that wasn't doing well when I opened the box, so her well-being is in doubt at this time.

I am desperately trying to get some photos of the fish in the tank, but they are incredibly quick and reclusive. I may try getting video of them if the still photography doesn't pan out soon.

Even if it comes down to only having the pair of pintails, I'm still really happy.
Once they become established in the tank and no longer feel threatened, I'm anticipating watching the male become more vibrant and begin flashing his colors. (Jon says his male flashes without a female, so I'm hopeful that mine will flash more so.)
 
Well... I tried to get a decent photograph of the male pintail wrasse; they're just so active!

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The male and lone female have completely settled in; great appetites and now understand that the angelfish is the king.
Another thing that I have noticed with the wrasses is how their coloration changes with their mood. There are times when the female is a bright silver with just her back covered in pink. And the male will develop a bright red patch along each flank when evening comes about. They've been a great addition to my tank and they're very fun to watch.

Here's a photo of my leopard wrasse from yesterday.
When discussing the coloration changes in leopard wrasses in Chris' build thread, I wanted to show a recent photo showcasing the amazing spotted pattern of the transitioning M. bipartitus leopard wrasse.

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coralreefer said:
Love that Leopard Jason. How long have you had him (her lol) for?
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I added the wrasse in August of 2013.
"She" was one of a pair of females that I added together. The smaller female perished from being harassed by the Lamarck's Angelfish and this fish did just fine.
It appears that around January of 2015 the transition started and has gotten to the place where it is today.
 
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Having done 180gal worth of water changes this week, I haven't really took any time to do the normal photography sessions. Part of that my also be that I want to try and get some decent photos of the new pintail wrasses, but they're too elusive. They're very social, but also very camera shy.

Here's wide shot that includes both wrasses; albeit the female is swimming away at the very top of the photo.

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But one fish that is definitely not camera shy is the male Lyretail Anthias.
Having a macro lens really brings out the beautiful details that make the fish so stunning.

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Your turning into chris! I really gotta get me a macro lens so i can have rival pictures!
 
Flounder said:
You're turning into Chris! I really gotta get me a macro lens so I can have rival pictures!
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Not even close!
Chris has his fish trained to perform those incredible action shots for him.
And I am getting somewhat jealous of his blue "background" and how his colors appear brighter versus my photos against the black background.

And you should definitely get a macro lens!
I found mine as a used lens on Craigslist and got a decent deal on it.

(CC to Chris: Appreciate what I did there?)
 
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