Zibba's Reefs -- ADA 90P & Envision 100g

Raptor72 · Mar 18, 2014

zibba said:
Excellent news! Let me know if I can help. The T3 is a nice versatile camera, you'll enjoy it for both the aquarium and everyday photos of the fam/vacations. Check out Photoshop Elements or Lightroom, or the cloud-based Lightroom for editing. They try to make those programs pretty user friendly and it will go a long way in processing the unique lighting of our aquariums.

Thanks for the tip. Can you point me in the right direction as far as where to look for a good deal for a macro lens? Looking for a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, only about a grand.

zibba · Mar 18, 2014

revhtree said:
Superb shots!!

Hey thanks, Rev!

Raptor72 said:
Thanks for the tip. Can you point me in the right direction as far as where to look for a good deal for a macro lens? Looking for a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, only about a grand.

I don't shoot with a Canon, but I usually trust Ken Rockwell's recommendation: Best Macro Lenses

Looks like you could try the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM, which is nearly half the price of the f/2.8L. Perhaps pose the question over on the photography sub-forum -- I know there are plenty of Canon guys who can point you in the right direction. Personally, I like to stick with the same brand but if you don't mind venturing out, you could try the Tokina 100mm f/2.8.

Diesel · Mar 18, 2014

Z-Man........... shots are so unreal IMO, but again if I look good is see your fish breathing even in the shots.
About the rock, do it but do it slow.
Better idea is a bigger tank with all the hot coral you have on the sand bed and what about the collection of Acans.......... dude what were you thinking!!
Looking good as always.

zibba · Mar 19, 2014

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on a tank upgrade for the ADA -- looking seriously at the DSA 130 pro. In reality, it will probably be 2+ months before I upgrade that tank though. Even if I bought the tank this week, I don't have a two back-to-back weekends to get it set up (just guessing that's at least what it will take). Hopefully things will slow down a bit this summer and I can finally upgrade it.

On top of all that, I'm having issues that I need to get straightened out before upgrading. No reason to upgrade my problems!

These are enemy number one at the moment:

Hydoids!

by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Some form of hydroids and all of the research I've done leads me to thing there's not much that can be done short of a restart. Pursuant to advice from a friend, I'll be trying peppermint shrimp. Even if they don't take care of the problem, I like peppermint shrimp and hopefully they'll make a good addition to the tank.

Besides those darn hydroids, I've lost one of my absolute favorite chalices, the Reef Raft Red Barron. I'm also painfully watching the Jason Fox Sweettooth and Jason Fox Inferno die back a little more each week. I've tried iodine dips, moving them around so they get different flow, and checking them for pests (neither has hydroids). No clue what to try next.

Here's a shot of where the JF Sweettooth is at:

Dying JF Sweettooth by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Open to ideas!

At the same time, many corals are looking fantastic:

Kwoww Rhodactus by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Kwoww Rhodactus baby by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Seasons Greetings Monti by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

LA Lakers, Nuclear Greens, Captain Americas, X-Men, Miami Vice by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

The Spitfires are so bright in person:

Kwoww's RAP Zoas + Spitfire Zoas by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

And...this Miagi tort is out of control awesome:

Miagi Tort by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Not all of the chalices are struggling, which makes it just that much more frustrating! Here's the WWC Hot Stuff chalice:

WWC Hotstuff by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

ritter6788 · Mar 19, 2014

Do you use any coral foods? I get those hydroids when I use small coral foods like reef chili or coral frenzy. If I stop using them they die back.

zibba · Mar 19, 2014

ritter6788 said:
Do you use any coral foods? I get those hydroids when I use small coral foods like reef chili or coral frenzy. If I stop using them they die back.

I do on occasion feed rotifers and/or reefroids (maybe, once every 1-2x ever 2-weeks). I can cut that out all together but I've been battling these guys for at least 3-months. I've tried dipping corals invested with them in iodine and h202, but neither kills them. I've tried manual removal with a toothbrush and tweezers, they bounce right back even after repeated attempts. I'm clearly losing the battle!

Dowtish · Mar 19, 2014

Eric, those mushrooms are fantastic!

Excellent shots as usual.

zibba · Mar 19, 2014

Dowtish said:
Eric, those mushrooms are fantastic!

Excellent shots as usual.

Thanks, Chris! Hope all is well on your end. Appreciate you checking in.

zibba · Apr 18, 2014

Still fighting the good fight and most things are still holding strong. Absolutely in love with this unique lobo or acan hillae, not sure what it is exactly. Kwoww picked it up a few months ago out at Aqua SD when she was cruising out there to visit friends:

DSC_7351.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Corals are starting to battle for space:

DSC_7364.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

This trachy is blinding:

DSC_7353.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

POP, POP, POP:

DSC_7359.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Fruit loop chalice:

DSC_7362.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Phoenix Sunset Chalice -- first coral in the aquarium, still going strong...along with the barnacle (you can see the hole right in the middle).

DSC_7363.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Malibu Favia

DSC_7368.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Srsly! Acanthomania

DSC_7367.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

(Actually appears much more gold than this, but it's been impossible for meto capture the true colors)

DSC_7369.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

jlugo · Apr 19, 2014

Hey your tank is looking better every time!! any full shot tank update?

zibba · Apr 21, 2014

jlugo said:
Hey your tank is looking better every time!! any full shot tank update?

Thanks!

I'm hoping to get one up soon. Tried for one yesterday but things were a little stirred up after the water change and it didn't turn out that well.

revhtree · Apr 21, 2014

Beautiful!

jlugo · Apr 22, 2014

Zibba what's your opinion about kalkwasser reactor vs. 2 part dosing? I know you're using two part, but what is your opinion?

jlugo · Apr 22, 2014

For medium tanks*** (30-90 gallons)

zibba · Apr 22, 2014

revhtree said:
Beautiful!

Thanks Rev!

jlugo said:
Zibba what's your opinion about kalkwasser reactor vs. 2 part dosing? I know you're using two part, but what is your opinion?

jlugo said:
For medium tanks*** (30-90 gallons)

I dosed kalk via topoff on my old 90-gallon until it grew out to a point where I needed to add 2-part manually to keep up. While going that route, I overdosed kalk on accident two times and one of those times it almost crashed the tank. Kalk has some serious benefits but it's more risky in my opinion. 2-part is safer, but it's not accident-proof. For example, a good friend of mine just had his doser go AWOL and overdose alk causing pH to spike and a precipitation -- basically the same thing that happens when you OD on Kalk.

Another consideration for me was that I knew I'd be buying the 2-part anyway to make adjustments to new saltwater or the tank as it needed it. Since you're likely going to end up with 2-part on hand anyway, it sort of makes sense to just use that as your primary method of maintaining your big-3.

As you know, I decided to buy the BRS two-part (three-part) and manually dosed that while the tank was maturing, which is what I'd recommend you to do if your tank is new. I wouldn't jump right into a doser on a brand new tank. If your tank is more mature and you've made up your mind to get a doser one way or the other, I think a 3-part dosing system is the way to go. It allows more precise control, is a little safer and is easier to clean/maintain, especially if you're away from your tank for an extended period of time. The downside is that a 3-part dosing system is a bit more expensive so that's the trade-off.

BTW, I tried to get another FTS last night without success. 10-pictures and none of them turned out. They're my nemesis when it comes to reef photography.