Zoa's from divers den

[Jovreefer]

I appologize in advance if this is in the wrong forum. I dont think it goes in the vendor feedback because I'm not leaving feedback, just asking a question... but let me know

Has anyone ordered zoa's from divers den on live aquaria? If so what did you get and is the color and morph true to what they show without LEDs? Pics?

I had to jump on a colony of Darth Mauls, Flaiming Grape and PPE look alikes and I'm going nuts hoping the colors are nice and bright under normal 50/50 pc's.

I know they have a good rep but with all the LEDS now a days I've been really disapointed with a few zoa's I've bought.

 

[rajkovich207]

They actually don't use leds, I'm not sure if that's what you are implying. I believe they shoot under 20k halides.

 

[Jovreefer]

20k's make sense too ... their colors are really bright.

 

[mfinn]

I've bought stuff from liveaquaria before and most stuff was pretty close, considering their lighting. But 2 pieces didn't really look at all like the picture, so I called them and complained and they immediately refunded the money for the 2 corals AND shipping.
Outstanding customer service

 

[Jovreefer]

Thanks for letting me know I cannot wait till it gets here tomorrow. I wish I would have saved the pic off their site so I could compare but oh well.

 

[Jovreefer]

My corals came and the Darth Mauls were the first to open, HOLY COW BATMAT :jaw:they are insanly bright. Now I see why they are sought after. I've got about 50 polyps of those
The polyps they labeled 'flaming grape' look identical to lunar eclipse, they are not all open as of this morning, I'd say I have 15-20 of those, they looked much more intense in the DD pic but up close the body of the polyp is very striking in a more muted way.
There are 4 polyps of what appears to be 'purple puddle' the florecent green skirt really pops.
Then there is a few polyps of all deep purple.

All in all I am super pleased. I'll attempt some photography this weekend. Any tips on how to get the best pics without a macro lens?

 

[barbianj]

Shoot through a Portal, if you have or can borrow one.

 

[buddythelion]

Use google's picasa! It's free, lets you crop, and you can change the color temp to match the colors you see in your tank. Win win for everyone!

Can't wait to see those pics, I saw the colony on DD though.

 

[mfinn]

My corals came and the Darth Mauls were the first to open, HOLY COW BATMAT :jaw:they are insanly bright. Now I see why they are sought after. I've got about 50 polyps of those
The polyps they labeled 'flaming grape' look identical to lunar eclipse, they are not all open as of this morning, I'd say I have 15-20 of those, they looked much more intense in the DD pic but up close the body of the polyp is very striking in a more muted way.
There are 4 polyps of what appears to be 'purple puddle' the florecent green skirt really pops.
Then there is a few polyps of all deep purple.

All in all I am super pleased. I'll attempt some photography this weekend. Any tips on how to get the best pics without a macro lens?

What camera are you using?

Best tips I can think of you probally already know.
Tripod is a must. Turn off all flow in the tank.
Get you white balance set for the tank.
Do a bunch of test pictures of the same place using the cameras focus distance.
Set all the pieces in front on a rock or something that can be used as a shooting platform. You know, pose them. Do this a hour or two before, so they are open and lookin good.

 

[Jovreefer]

Well my boyfriend has a Cannon 7d I can use, but personally I have a little point and shoot thats dust, shock and waterproof. I'm gonna try my hand at the underwater setting first before the 7d.

I did not think about posing the pieces! *adds that tip to the list*

 

[mfinn]

With the cannon you should be able to get excellent macro's without a macro lens.

I made some frag racks a while back the would sit at a angle on the front glass, that tilted the pieces up and towards the front, so you could get a good shoot of the top of the zoanthid and still shot straight throught the glass ( add that last part to the tips)

I also cheated a little with my tank pictures and my close-ups of single pieces. I have atleast 1 actinic bulb mounted at the very front of the tank, so the posed pieces would have maximum actinic, while still being in full daylight mode.

 

[Jovreefer]

Ok, a few underwater pics

 

[Jovreefer]

I separated these from the main rock because the rock was already severed, it was just hanging on by a bit of polyp mat.
Both pics taken with full light not just actinics. This pic was taken with flash as well.

 

[Jovreefer]

And just because I was already taking pics, I got a pic I was actually proud of of my unknown pink palys.

 

[Jovreefer]

I could not get any good pics with actinics, but the color is so insane I had to share this blurry one.

 

[Jovreefer]

And one from outside the tank posed next to the glass. You can see the all deep purple polyps at the bottom in this one as well

 

[buddythelion]

Those aren't mauls, but they look good!