10.5 Gallon Planted CRS, Espei Tank -- Updated 2/6 More Pics

[allknighter]

What kind of lens do you use for your macro photography? I've been looking at a $1600 Nikkor (I can justify it for work) but I'm not sure what kind of flash I'd have to get to be able to catch fish.

Also, why use the 36W archaea instead of the 27W? I think it's narrower and would probably fit your tank better. I'm getting a ADA 45H in January and will probably go custom dimmable LED (I don't want to change a $35 bulb every year).

With regards to your composition, since your light is so bright, I think it would be interesting to see what happened if the floaters filled in entirely over the surface. It would filter your light and add perhaps some more drama to the environment where rays of light filter through.

Great tank - it looks like you've really got some luck fish!

[fusiongt]

Originally Posted by allknighter

What kind of lens do you use for your macro photography? I've been looking at a $1600 Nikkor (I can justify it for work) but I'm not sure what kind of flash I'd have to get to be able to catch fish.

Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you're a Nikon guy as I am, too. Most of the shots here were with a D3 and 18mm/f2.8 lens (an oldie but a goodie). The closeup of the shrimps were with a nikkor 105mm micr lens.

You mentioned a $1600 Nikkor for macro? I know practically all the lenses there are for Nikon and I can't put my finger on a macro lens that costs that much. A used 200mm f/4 micro? I haven't used that one myself but I've read it's probably the best macro lens as the next most expensive one is half that which is the one I use, the Nikon 105mm micro. But in the case with aquarium photography, I don't know if you need a focal length that high since you'll probably be sitting right next to your tank. If you were using the 200mm you'd have to sit a few feet away, but the optics are probably worth it (I'm just saying you don't need a far focal length since you have control of your enviornment; if you were shooting insects then the longer focal length is great).

I tried a few flash setups on my shots but really didn't have much success... I used the SB-900 by itself, then as the master with SB-600's with umbrellas. They really came out flat but those were for the full aquarium shots. Just for shots of the shrimps I could see using flash bringing out even more detail; however, the ones I have posted here are all without flash. I shoot aperture priority most of the time but anytime I need sharp pictures of fast moving things like dogs/birds/fish, I go to shutter priority. For my closeups of the shrimps in this thread, they were shot at 1/250s f/4 with no flash and the auto iso was around 1600. I don't think they were very good shots or anything, just saying their exif data if it helps because shrimps/fish could be difficult and I know I'm still learning. I just want to emphasize that with today's cameras with great high iso levels, and with the abundant lights from the aquarium, you should have no problem taking pictures of moving fish/shrimp without flash.

If you're on the look out for good lens prices be sure to check out fredmiranda.com's buy/sell forum - that's where I've gotten like 90% of my lenses for way cheaper than retail and I say more reliable than 3bay

Originally Posted by allknighter

Also, why use the 36W archaea instead of the 27W? I think it's narrower and would probably fit your tank better. I'm getting a ADA 45H in January and will probably go custom dimmable LED (I don't want to change a $35 bulb every year).

I actually didn't see the 27W one back when I was shopping for it. I went to aqua forest and I thought the 36W was good. If I was shopping now I'd definitely consider that one because the one sided mount is cleaner than the back mount on the 36W I am using. When you get the 45H be sure to post up a tank journal! =) I'd like to see its progress =)

[fusiongt]

Just an update on the tank.

Additions:
- Changed the lily pipe from the regular ADA one to the Do! Aqua Poppy Glass PP-1. The flow was too much (because of my over filtration) but the Poppy Glass does wonders. The water still goes fast but will hit the bottom of the glass , kill its momentum, then go upwards. The only downside is if I don't do a water change in 2-3 days a thin layer of film will appear but can be avoided if I lift up the glass for a few minutes which will disturb the water top enough.

- Added 5 assassin snails, purchased from NeoShrimp on these boards. They are really interesting to watch (more so because they seem to be nocturnal so seeing them out in the day is rare for me). I've seen lots of empty snail shells already so they're doing well.

- Made a DIY tank top with alumnium screen window sides and clear plastic mesh. I messaged speedie408 for info and he showed me the link of which he used: http://www.reeflounge.com/showthread.php?t=31685


New Picture:
- Here is the new tank top. Some challenges I faced were I had lily pipes on the left side and the top side had my light. I had to try to cover it all or my cat would find a way to drink the tank water which I didn't want (it must take like a cocktail to him heh). I wanted it to be easily taken off so making a one piece construction wouldn't work that well because I would have to lift up the lily pipes if I wanted to remove the top so instead I created a left side that goes under the lily pipes, and a right side that I can remove for trimming, feeding, and water changes. The right side has no back bar because of the light so it looks sloppier but I'm happy with it. My first attempt was with aluminum mesh but that was such a pain in the butt and was really hard to work with so plastic is a lot better. I was going to go with black plastic but found clear plastic and went with that (you can find it here http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...ing-7-x-3.html)




Video of the tank:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25xs5LI7Lb0

It's just filmed on my iphone so the quality is so-so but it shows the tank in motion. I was interested in the assassin snails because like I mentioned, they are rarely out during the day when the lights are on. Early on the video I tried to get a video of a berried CRS on top of frogbite but it was hard to pick up.

[fusiongt]

Got myself a new Nikon V1 camera with FT1 adapter (to allow for the regular dslr lenses to be used on it). It has a 2.7x crop so my macro lens, a 105mm, becomes like 280mm! I didn't get a good one of my shrimps as most were hiding today but I like how close I could get to my espei rasbora which are about an inch long and I had to back up to get their whole body in the frame!




The plants are growing well

[fusiongt]

Was getting really low flow from the Fluval G3 so I cleaned out the tubes and pipes. Took a few pics to show more plant growth (the background really filled in).

[chubbyone]

Really like this tank, very natural looking inside given all the tech outside. Great photos too! I envy good photography on here, I need to get myself a nice rig.

[pomby27]

love that picture of the school

[Kernowmcrae]

That's a stunning little setup, love the idea of the cats enjoying a quick drink occasionally.. What are the small, chunky leaved plants in the foreground?

[frrok]

Coeuple of questions, one where did you buy the metal ADA intake...thats looks really cool..always the aluminum bars that you have connected to the plastic mesh. where did you get that stuff? im looking for an easy cheap top for my tank as well. thanks.. was going to DIY a glass hood but I accidentally dropped it on the corner of my tank when measuring causing it to crack on the edge. luckily it didn't shatter! so I'm clumsy so I'd rather avoid the glass on glass thing... thanks

[fusiongt]

Originally Posted by Kernowmcrae

That's a stunning little setup, love the idea of the cats enjoying a quick drink occasionally.. What are the small, chunky leaved plants in the foreground?

Sorry I have to actually ask around. I bought it a while ago and didn't put it in my notes.

Originally Posted by frrok

Coeuple of questions, one where did you buy the metal ADA intake...thats looks really cool..always the aluminum bars that you have connected to the plastic mesh. where did you get that stuff? im looking for an easy cheap top for my tank as well. thanks.. was going to DIY a glass hood but I accidentally dropped it on the corner of my tank when measuring causing it to crack on the edge. luckily it didn't shatter! so I'm clumsy so I'd rather avoid the glass on glass thing... thanks

I think I saw your thread and replied to it back then. Glad the tank didn't break! As for the aluminum bars, just go to your hardware store and look for screen repair stuff. I don't think I even saw other versions other than aluminium.

If you scroll up (or go here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...ml#post1628932) you'll see some notes on the DIY screen top as well as a link to the thread I looked at describing how to do it. I like the aluminum screen top because it goes with the aluminum intake pipe.

For the aluminum intake pipe, I bought it at the physical Aqua Forest store but they also have it online here: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?m...cPath=76_26_44

It's really well made and I like it a lot. I haven't taken pictures lately but next time I do I'll try to isolate it. I added 2 hard sponge prefilters (as opposed to soft prefilters like the fluval edge kind that just get sucked up into the filter killing the flow) and it's worked well with no baby shrimps getting sucked up.

One other thing to consider is another of ADA's metal pipes that said to be for outflow (I've never seen it in action it looks more like an inflow) and that's here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com...pe-p-1-outflow

I really wanted one but my local stores can't get it to me for cheap but it looks pretty darn cool!

[frrok]

Originally Posted by fusiongt

Sorry I have to actually ask around. I bought it a while ago and didn't put it in my notes.




I think I saw your thread and replied to it back then. Glad the tank didn't break! As for the aluminum bars, just go to your hardware store and look for screen repair stuff. I don't think I even saw other versions other than aluminium.

If you scroll up (or go here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...ml#post1628932) you'll see some notes on the DIY screen top as well as a link to the thread I looked at describing how to do it. I like the aluminum screen top because it goes with the aluminum intake pipe.

For the aluminum intake pipe, I bought it at the physical Aqua Forest store but they also have it online here: http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?m...cPath=76_26_44

It's really well made and I like it a lot. I haven't taken pictures lately but next time I do I'll try to isolate it. I added 2 hard sponge prefilters (as opposed to soft prefilters like the fluval edge kind that just get sucked up into the filter killing the flow) and it's worked well with no baby shrimps getting sucked up.

One other thing to consider is another of ADA's metal pipes that said to be for outflow (I've never seen it in action it looks more like an inflow) and that's here: http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com...pe-p-1-outflow

I really wanted one but my local stores can't get it to me for cheap but it looks pretty darn cool!

thanks for the links! those metal pipes are cool!...but expensive. hahaha. yea man my tank is ok luckily. So any reason why you went with the foam pre-filter as apposed to the metal one it came with? are the openings too big? one of those steel mesh prefilters would look cool with that intake. i have the fluval one right now and its always getting clogged up..annoying!

by the way, your tank and pics look awesome.

[fusiongt]

Originally Posted by frrok

thanks for the links! those metal pipes are cool!...but expensive. hahaha. yea man my tank is ok luckily. So any reason why you went with the foam pre-filter as apposed to the metal one it came with? are the openings too big? one of those steel mesh prefilters would look cool with that intake. i have the fluval one right now and its always getting clogged up..annoying!

by the way, your tank and pics look awesome.

I've seen steel mesh prefilters and the metal intake pipe I have has a decent mesh around it. I even went to the store and bought plastic mesh and put it around it like a prefilter. The problem is it's like the soft sponges where sometimes they'll get sucked up so much that it'll start clogging and you'll have to clean the prefilters. That's not to say you don't have to clean the hard sponges, but it's way less often. Also if you've seen baby CRS, like literal newborn ones, they're really really small and you'll need a super fine prefilter to not get them sucked up. With the hard sponge, they would really want a death wish if they climb through the hard sponge areas (like a maze) so I feel it's safe.

So in short, I use the hard sponge because I don't have to clean it as much

[Volkswagen]

Excellent tank and photos.

[GMYukonon24s]

Great looking fish and tank. How do you like your filter?

[fusiongt]

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

Great looking fish and tank. How do you like your filter?

It's an excellent filter but like all canister filters requires maintenance. I like to break it down once a month by cleaning the mechanical filtration and also the intake pipes and tubing. I don't get too thorough on the tubing as that would require disconnecting all of them, but rather just run a bristle through it so it gets rid of the big gunk. I also clean out any gunk on the propeller. After this, I see a significant improvement in the filter as if it were new. The Fluval G3 is definitely better for larger tanks but since mine was out in the open I thought I'd splurge and get it since it looks nice... it has a very good flow control so I can reduce it a lot since my tank is small.