Smite's Stout CDA - 205G
- Thread starter Smite
- Start date
I swapped my G. Tropics for G. Actinic blue lamps today. I know the tropics are not the cause of my algae issues but I'm hoping going more blue might help me edge it out. Then maybe I can work them in down the line. Really not a fan of a blue tank, got a bit of that windex look now but the QuantaPros mix in nice with this spectrum.
For my records:
4 x B+
2 x ActinicBlue
2 x TrueActinic
2 x 14k aqua coral
Also during the swap I bumped my UV, that moved the pump into my CSB and stole a few tentacles. I had to chase them down in the tank and remove them as they blew around. It seems to be coming back out, hopefully it doesnt get an infection or anything.
For my records:
4 x B+
2 x ActinicBlue
2 x TrueActinic
2 x 14k aqua coral
Also during the swap I bumped my UV, that moved the pump into my CSB and stole a few tentacles. I had to chase them down in the tank and remove them as they blew around. It seems to be coming back out, hopefully it doesnt get an infection or anything.
I'm really starting to contemplate removing more sand. It seems like that's the only place affected still and I was having much better color and success in the last BB tank. Could be several factors though, or just lighting difference. Who knows but I'm getting tired of having the UV crap in the tank.
Whew, gotta admit, it's a bit of a roller coaster reading this thread, things were a up and down for a while! Everything certainly looks to be in good shape today with a slew of healthy corals. Dinos and algae seem to be our common links right now. I'm also contemplating removing sand little by little - mine is filthy with GHA everywhere on it (and GHA attached to sand is near impossible to separate.)
It has been a crazy this year for sure. My stomach can't handle too many more dips on this ride 
What really caught me off guard with this build is cycling my rock so long in my garage and still running into what I feel is a new tank type syndrome. I also used all the rock form my previous system. Transferring same corals and pretty much same fish I thought I'd be good. I may have been on EZ street had metals not bit me in the ass? Hard to say but I was very confident I'd bypass all that but NOPE here I am.
I usually end up dealing with some type of algae and end up with some kind of dinos at some point with every new system I set up. I've got a decent tang crew and am fairly well stocked on acros at this point. If i can just knock back the dinos I feel like the coral will start to take off and help combat some of the algae issues. As of today there is no bryopsis in sight, just GHA patches now. So that's a small win.
I'm not sure if my UNS tank was easier to combat because of size or being BB.
The look of sand wins hands down for me and has the potential to keep my anemones from finding the main structures, not to mention the added life from CUC and pods, but it's so much easier BB when it comes to flow. The rock work also looks much more drastic and it is fun to grow stuff right off the bottom glass. Hard call, but I'm leaning more towards pulling the sand slowly at this point.
What really caught me off guard with this build is cycling my rock so long in my garage and still running into what I feel is a new tank type syndrome. I also used all the rock form my previous system. Transferring same corals and pretty much same fish I thought I'd be good. I may have been on EZ street had metals not bit me in the ass? Hard to say but I was very confident I'd bypass all that but NOPE here I am.
I usually end up dealing with some type of algae and end up with some kind of dinos at some point with every new system I set up. I've got a decent tang crew and am fairly well stocked on acros at this point. If i can just knock back the dinos I feel like the coral will start to take off and help combat some of the algae issues. As of today there is no bryopsis in sight, just GHA patches now. So that's a small win.
I'm not sure if my UNS tank was easier to combat because of size or being BB.
The look of sand wins hands down for me and has the potential to keep my anemones from finding the main structures, not to mention the added life from CUC and pods, but it's so much easier BB when it comes to flow. The rock work also looks much more drastic and it is fun to grow stuff right off the bottom glass. Hard call, but I'm leaning more towards pulling the sand slowly at this point.
I've been playing around shooting with orange filter with blue light and some how they come out yellow. I guess I don't know what I'm doing. Im using Avast porthole and their orange filter. Im wondering if your using the same filter or the one that screws on to the lens. Im using an old Niknon D90 with Tamaron 90mm shooting white light I seemed to be Ok with it but not that great, I still have to take a bunch of shot to get one decent photo.
I still shoot a bunch and only end up with a few that came out good.
I didn’t have much luck with Avast orange filter. It’s more yellow and I’d get the same outcome you’re talking about. I didn’t play with it much though. Have you tried messing with white balance by presetting it? Usually a camera maxes out around 10,000k. Tried shooting in the 3k range then the 10k range to see which is closer and what they do then adjust from there.
A local member had a sheet of orange film I cut out for the avast porthole. That helped a bunch. it’s closer to the orange most reef shades have.
the hard part about shooting with the 90 tamron is getting more than just a polyp in focus. I shoot with a really high f stop high teens to low 20s. I have shutter speed as slow as possible without getting blur in the shot. That lets me keep my ISO as low as possible and reduces noise.
if your lights are controllable turn then 100% intensity while shooting. That alone will help a ton. Shooting through any filter makes the shot darker so crank them up and kill ambient lighting.
I didn’t have much luck with Avast orange filter. It’s more yellow and I’d get the same outcome you’re talking about. I didn’t play with it much though. Have you tried messing with white balance by presetting it? Usually a camera maxes out around 10,000k. Tried shooting in the 3k range then the 10k range to see which is closer and what they do then adjust from there.
A local member had a sheet of orange film I cut out for the avast porthole. That helped a bunch. it’s closer to the orange most reef shades have.
the hard part about shooting with the 90 tamron is getting more than just a polyp in focus. I shoot with a really high f stop high teens to low 20s. I have shutter speed as slow as possible without getting blur in the shot. That lets me keep my ISO as low as possible and reduces noise.
if your lights are controllable turn then 100% intensity while shooting. That alone will help a ton. Shooting through any filter makes the shot darker so crank them up and kill ambient lighting.
