GQLMAO's Small Peninsula Tank
 

Introduction:


After many years in this hobby, I have finally pulled the trigger and decided to document my current tank and share it with others. Hopefully it can help others who want to walk down a similar path as me. I have always been into small tanks, I use to have a 12x12x15 cube. However I found space to be limiting and being a all in one system it was honestly an eyesore when it comes to equipment hanging off the back. From that moment on I knew I needed to have a clean and efficient set-up where minimal equipment is in the display section. Here is my link to the old tank, I didn't make any effort to keep the thread alive. For you wondering what happened to the all the LPS and softies, I have sold most of them and unfortunately due to ignorance and neglect some withered away. Here's the link: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/29097...akes-fragrack/


On to the New Set-up:


I had the tank and sump custom built by a LFS Concept Aquariums, whom had exceeded my expectations with the overall quality and service.The tank was designed so I can hide 2 Vortech MP10 WES in a water free camber with the internal overflow. I decided to run an internal because I wanted it to have that clean 1 piece look with the stand and allow for the tank and stand to sit closer to the wall. Noise was a huge concern for me, the tank is going to be in my room therefore I needed to make sure it was dead quiet. A herbie overflow system is implemented in this tank, this way I am able to dial the overflows so no air gets inside allowing for quiet circulation.


Equipment:


Tank:

-Custom 30x18x14 3/8" starphire glass on all 4 sides

-Bevelled and polished

-6 Inch internal overflow with 3.5"x4" chamber for MP10s

-2x1" Overflows, 1X3/4" Return


Stand:

-Custom 30"Lx18"Wx32"H 1"x1"x.125" HSS steel stand


Sump:

-Custom 26x14x16 glass Sump


Flow:

-Currently running 2 MP10WES on 70 percent, long pulse mode with anti-sync

-Might add third MP10 (already have), the way I have it set up really limits the flow.

-Speed wave DC 790GPH return pump


Filtration:

-Super Reef Octopus 1000-int Skimmer

-4" Vertex filter socks

-Approx 20 lbs of life rock + 10 lbs currently cycling in separate bucket

-Cheato

-Two Little Fishies Phosban reactor 150, running HC GFO and ROX Carbon


Lighting:

-Ecotech Radion XR30W Gen 2


Other Equipment:

-2x Ehiem Jaeger 100 watt heaters

-Tunze 3155 osmolator auto top off

-600LPH Ehiem pump

-3 Channel Kameor dosing pump

-2 Small computer fans for ventilation

-1500Watt Cyber Power back UPS for return pump and 1 heater



Livestock:


2 Grade B Snowflake Clowns

1 Helfrichi Firefish

1 Multicolor Dwarf Angelfish

1 Cleaner Shrimp

1 Fire Shrimp



PICS:


I just got a DSLR with a 100mm macro lens, I'm new to phtography and the learning curve is steep. I will do my best to research and will try to get some better pics and macro shots soon!


Well, I'd be surprised if you guys actually read all that... Here are the first wave of pics:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psfa80503c.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psea199b3e.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps4bcc5d26.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps5e177c68.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...pse2b49bb3.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps0293e14c.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps7003ef06.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psa4bf9e19.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps6cfce404.jpg

Looks great!

I really like the stand too. Who made it?

Some macro shots, I am a total beginner at it. It's a T5i with EF 100mm 2.8 macro lense. If you guys got tips throw them at me. So far I am finding a very small aperture (32f), longer shutter speed (1 sec), iso 400, no flash to give me useable pictures. If you got some advice I would appreciate it!

MJC Candlelight Acropora:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps0ab3bebd.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps129b6d28.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps3f2b756f.jpg

Asylum's Blue Acro:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...pscf42bae7.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps032e6d4f.jpg

MJC Rainbow Stylophora:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps00c6a690.jpg

Reef Wonderland Green smooth skin acro:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps61821a46.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psd10a5e38.jpg

Concept's/Reefwars Zoas

God of War polyp + baby

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps6a2d096a.jpg

Rasta

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps89932e1a.jpg

Pink Wagon Wheels:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps619f000d.jpg

Sunny D's

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps84e4bfde.jpg

I have no idea:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psdadba797.jpg

Thanks! I got the stand as a steel frame from concept to fit the aquarium. then I went got some quarter inch plywood, painted it black. Thanks to Kien's ingenious thinking, he told me to go to Ikea and source out some panels to match.

Nice set-up and nice corals. With the pics, I recently learned to use a manual white balance setting with the LED lighting (otherwise you get a blue/purple hue). I pointed the camera at the white sand to get my white balance setting. But anything white under the LEDs will work.

PS: Good choice on your LED lighting...:wink:

Thanks! I will have to look into white balance, unfortunate I don't have any sand or white things in the tank. I might just cut a piece of white plastic and use that instead. I have noticed it is very hard to avoid the blue hue with the led setup, I have to use a ton of temperature correction to get the colors back to perspective.

I like the Radion, sleek, allows for tons of adjustment and shimmer. I run them at a pretty high output, the corals don't seem to mind after the initial acclimatization. But I have always been wondering... how would the tank look with a set up T-5s. I miss the purple/blue combo also the tank being 24 inches long I am having issues getting light to the corals in the far back. It appears that I have to go higher but any higher its going to bother the heck out of me when I use my computer.

Stanley,

I love the simplicity of your tank!!! really digging the aquascape.


~Tony

Wow, that's looking sweet! Love the stand. Very classy :wink:

Your pics are pretty good too. You could use a bit more exposure on them maybe. You can either bump up the exposure during post processing with an image editor, or, if you're finding that your pics straight out of the camera are under exposed based on the exposure metering that your camera is giving you (aperature and shutter and ISO), then try turning up the exposure compensation.

Photographing tanks is challenging for SLRs because the lighting, the glass, the water, and the subject can all mess with the camera's built in light/exposure meter. A lot of the time you have to adjust whatever the camera gives you, or redirect (exposure wise) what the camera thinks is a 'good image'.

I would also recommend getting at tripod. The 100mm macro lens is a great lens, but when shooting at 100m every little movement from your camera (hand shake) will register in the image (as blurry). If you have the IS version of the 100mm macro that will help, but I would still put it on a tripod. Tripods are cheap and will produce A LOT more usable images.

Finally, HOLY FRAK I want to see more Gundams ! Maybe sneak in a few close ups of those beauties :biggrin:

Thanks! Couldn't of done it without some Mad Jelly Corals in the tank!

Stanley

wow that took longer than expected.

Love the stand and wow that looks like a square footprint in the pics I was having a tough time at first believing it was 30" front to back. Tank looks great and your scape is unique too.

For your first macros those look awesome. At the very least I would shoot a particular shot at various settings and focus on different areas then just pick the best later.

Sweet start to your zoa garden!

Thanks! Good thing I asked you about your awesome panels that day or the stand would still be plain Jane.

I will try to fiddle around the settings some more tonight. I left exposure compensation out of the equation last night, so I will muck around with that as well. I found that even a slight tilt in the camera angel to the glass distorts the macro shot. It's really hard to get close in especially when I have to place the lens as close to perpendicular to the glass as possible. I am currently using a tripod, since I have such a slow shutter speed.

Haha, my gundams are full of dust right now. They have been that way since I was in school and that was a couple of years ago:redface:. One day when I get better at photography, I will throw in a couple shots. I don't think many on Canreef know what these things even are!

Now that you pointed that out, the pictures do look like a square tank. The display part is only 24x18x14, so it does come close to a square foot print. I will leave it on a tripod and same spot and tamper with the settings tonight. For me, its easier to learn by practice and experimenting. ::biggrin:

Calling it a zoa garden is an overstatement, I am getting 1 polyp growth per month or two. So if I wait a couple of years I might be able to cover those frag blocks :P

Very nice. I love smaller tanks

Nice tanks and pics.
Chambers for MP10s you say? Can you show a pic and explain please.

+1

Small tanks have always been a hit for me. Especially when it comes down to SPS, a large tank is way to costly to set up. Speaking of SPS and nano tanks, I've seen your thread and know you are a big fan of both :biggrin:

For sure. I did the big tank twice and while I loved them. The cost I felt could be put toward better things (acros). Lol

I don't have any pictures currently, but I will snap some tonight. But I can try to describe it in words. Basically its just a internal overflow, 6 inches deep. In the middle of the overflow area, I had ask concept to throw in a box that is right behind the overflow glass. The box is the same height as the panels of the tank and right above the emergency overflow drain, therefore water free.

Ahh, the acropora... Some how it demands all your attention, tons of money and on special occassion thanks you by turning brown or even better RTNing.

I went back at it tonight. I learned a few more things. Sharpening the imagine, no editing done. Long ways to go...

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psa5de628f.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps1077c5f6.jpg

very well put together. love the tank and the corals

I second the need for more Gundam pics! I have a couple perfect grades that I put together a long time ago!

Great looking little tank!

Thanks!


Ah... the perfect grades, they are a little too much work for me, not to mention big! One PG would take me at least a week or two to paint, build, ink. I am a big fan of MGs they are much cheaper, require less work, and they can be posed in smaller areas. I will get some pictures after I get off the dust that has been accumulated.

looking great little buddy nice zoa collection you got there too;) takes awhile for one polyp to split but then its all go after that lol

great job!!

denny

Thanks to a certain I know for hooking them up! When I am going to get some more world class zoas? :biggrin:


:lol::lol: My hinges and joints on the gundams would break after 3 frames of dancing. They kind of remind me of acropora; expensive, fragile, time consuming, require weekly cleaning and after staring at them everyday for years the only people who are interested in them is everyone but you.

[quote=gqlmao;859925]Thanks to a certain I know for hooking them up! When I am going to get some more world class zoas? :biggrin:



i actually made up a bunch of them last night (60 ) as i have a bunch of new rare zoos coming in the next couple of weeks and i need the space(and funds) to cover these :)

if you want to swing by for a peak send me a text at 403-554-2196

i made up pretty much all the best ones i have but only made a very limited amount of each and some are spoken for so act quickly;)
prob 15 diff types most are 1-4 polyps

cheers little buddy and anytime i can help let me know and ill help ya out:)

new zoas will be ready from my new batch in a few months im hoping early spring , most are small frags and colonies so i need to grow them out first but wont take tooooo long lol:)

denny

Small update: Picked up a purple acro mini colony from Reef wonderland!

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...psa9531610.jpg

My other mini colonies, still having troubles with the reflection of the lights on the water, again Reef Wonderland Fiji mini colonies!

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps33b4300f.jpg

Ric shot:

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...pse6c64581.jpg

African Deep Water Hornets from Reef wars!

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps6423d95e.jpg

Polyp Extension on the Yellow and Brown Milli mini colony

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...pse693897d.jpg

Wow you nailed that last shot, nice work!

Great looking coloured sticks and stuff too!

Thanks! I am still fiddling around with the camera, I find that as long as the shot is perpendicular to the glass it is easier to shoot. :) Hopefully I will get some more shots in the near future to document coral growth and coloration.

Nice tank and stick collection...btw I like your gundam collection as well!

Thanks! I am sure you have a very fine stick collection juding by the name :mrgreen:. Maybe I'll get a can of air duster and take some pictures of my favourite gundam, not in the picture shown. Then maybe Canreef will pay more attention to the tank! :wink:

I have quite a few high end sticks in my collection and slowly adding more.i love gundams...would be really interested to see what you have.

Very nice! Looks like you've figured out the whole photography thing :-)

I would trade you my gundams for frags :lol: JK. I am a big MG fan, they are just the right size for me and they have enough detail for inking and painting. I think I got about 8 MGs, 1 PG.


Barely, I think I just need to take lots more pictures. I don't know if it is the leds but pictures are really dark when I shoot the side profile of the acros. It is probably the hard shadows, rendering certain positions impossible without a flash.

I've come to realize that both from taking pictures and coral response, I might need a second unit and angle the lights to overlap, or go t-5s. I finally realized how limiting 1 led unit can be especially when you are trying to cover a 24"x18" area. Certain areas don't get enough light.:sad:

I got into Gundams during the Gundam Wing days. Started collecting those and then it got crazy from there.. I have a few boxes in my closet that still need to be opened :lol:

I dunno man, those pics look pretty good :-) LEDs are challenging to photograph though. They can easily trick the camera's sensor.

GQLMAO's Small Peninsula Tank
 

Alright guys!!! Team MJC will have to fly to Calgary to borrow all your gundams for our new skits!!! Team PewPew unite!!!


-Tony

Gundam wing introduced me to the Gundam series.then went to Gundam Seed and Destiny,Gundam 007,Gundam Unicorn,and now Gundam Build Fighter.my fav of all is Wing Zero,which I had to travel back to the Philippines to obtain.:mrgreen:

Wing Zero was cool, and my second fav after Heavy Arms along with the RX-178 series of Gundams. Do you guys listen to Two-Mix and the various j-pops as well?

Woah, I should call this thread would you like a reef tank with those gundams :P. Gundam Wing was what got me hooked. My favorite is wing gundam zero, I think the wings and the slender body design make that gundam simply the best looking one. Next is strike, then Exia seven swords. I like clean simple gundams, now I gotta take some pictures. What's a thread without pictures.

I used to listen to J pop back in junior high, and since I am a anime nut I still heard the odd song here and there in intros and endings.

On a serious note: I think I am going to do it. I am going to go back to T-5s. I have noticed the corals in the back arent getting enough light from one set up and I am not getting growth in a lot of the shaded areas of the SPS. I was thinking of going to the ATI Sunpower 24" 8x24W fixture. The fixture is 17.5" wide leaving around 15" for actual bulb length, my tank being 18" wide if I hang it semi low I shouldn't have much light spill. As for the corals, I am blasting the radions at 85 percent so there shouldn't be an intensity issue with the 8 bulb setup, of course lighting acclimation will be done to be safe. Anyone want to pitch in some advice or direction?

I'm not Japanese but I listen to j-pops:wink: