# 40B Aquarium ~Sandy Oasis~ *Update 11/9* Starting new tank!



## pandapr (Nov 10, 2008)

:thumbsup:

I like how you planted the blyxa. I always wanted a 40 breeder!!
good luck !


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## khanzer22 (Jan 14, 2008)

Your setup looks good, blyxa is already lush and healthy... It's a good start!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks everybody, I just noticed that almost all of the plants are pearling now, even the brand new ones :thumbsup:


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

nice start! I always like blyxa japonica, has a nice look to it. =D


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Update 4-13-10

Algae has taken over! I could really use some advice here. Keep in mind the tank has only been up about 2 weeks now, 1 of which was with plants. The cycle just finished a few days ago as well. I'm currently running activated carbon, as I was waiting for the cycle to finish but I plan on switching to purigen as soon as I can get down to the store, probably next week...maybe purigen will help? Maybe I'm having algae issues due to the fact there hasn't been any form of cleaning crew whatsoever in it until now? I just went and bought 5 otto's and added them to the tank tonight....so maybe they'll clear up the algae issues for me? They seem to already be voraciously attacking the diatoms, hungry little guys haha...


The first photo is what appears to be diatoms or brown algae/brown hair algae on the plants. Its all over the place, but especially on the sand. I hear this is common in new tanks and should go away on its own, but what about the hair/string like brown algae....is that the same thing and will it go away? I hear a main cause of brown algae is high silicates, which makes sense since my substrate is fluorite black sand and would explain why its mostly appearing on the sand...










The second photo is a small green spotty-type algae that has appeared on the glass of the tank. I've been brushing/rubbing it off with my fingers. Any ideas on a cure?










And the third picture is of co2 bubbles at the top of the water. Is that many co2 bubbles resting at the surface harmful to the fish? I have my spraybar pointed slightly upward to cause some surface agitation, but the bubbles do not pop and continue to swirl around. I seem to be having a hard time with the co2. My drop checker with 4dkh solution is green, but it just seems like theres too much co2 with plants pearling like crazy and that cover of co2 bubbles on the surface....


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## zeek21 (Mar 13, 2009)

I have a twenty long that is covered with co2 bubbles daily with no harmful effect on the fish.
Tha algae usually just takes time.My planted 90 gallon took a year to go through about every type of algae known to man but in the end the plants won


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

**Update 4/20**

Figured I'd give an update...

Everything's going pretty good. Not so sure the HC is doing so hot though, covered in diatoms but it seems to be slowly growing so hopefully it takes off. The Hygrophila Corymbosa 'Kompakt' disintegrated on me. Not sure what I did wrong, the leaves started turning partially black and would come off with the slightest touch. Moved it to the back of the tank and it only has a few leaves left but I left the roots in the substrate in case it decides to spring back to life. 

Moved some things around as far as stems go. Ottos are cleaning up the diatoms really well. Only real issue I'm having is keeping the fish happy with co2 levels. The fish start gasping even when the drop checker (with 4dkh) says the co2 level should be perfectly fine. Of course, it might just be that the drop checker hasnt caught up with the excessive co2...It seems to be pretty consistent that everything starts pearling about 4 to 6 hours into the 8 hour light cycle so I was considering turning off the co2 about 4 to 6 hours into the light cycle. Would that be reasonable, or would it cause an algae farm?

I also bought some purigen today and added it to the filter...

Fish are in now, as well as a few new residents that I added today. Tank is now fully stocked, with the exception of a few shrimp that I may get...I know theres a lot of fish, but they have a lot of free swimming space as well as plenty of hiding spaces. Plus the tank is overfiltered, so everything should work out....

New official fauna list:

-3 Het. Rasboras
-7 Neon Tetras
-4 Rummynose Tetras
-1 Black Kuhli Loach
-3 Black Neon Tetras
-2 White Clouds
-3 Glowlight Tetras
-6 Ottos

Pics...


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

hows your brown algae situation? take a look at my 90p iwagumi madness journal and tell me if its the same type. I used excel and bought me some SAE's. the sae's did more help on the brown hair like algae than the ottos. the ottos just mainly stuck to the glass. i was also told it was the sillicates that was causing the algae but the darn thing wouldn't go away even after 3 week of constant water changes so i finally used excell and ottos and sae's.

looking nice so far keep up the good work.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, just got back from a one week vacation recently. I left the lights and co2 off since I had noticed the co2 tank had dropped from 1000 PSI to 500PSI two days before I left ( Yeah, thats my luck lol )

Anyays, I returned to some staghorn algae and some minor green algae, and a severely overgrown tank. Plants were out of the water and growing sideways so I got my co2 tank refill today and did a trim and replant. 

Oh, I finally got a "real" camera (DSLR) so I figured Id give a little update. HC carpet didn't work out so well. Kept getting uprooted and/or floating. I'll have to buy some more and re-try.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Incredible pictures, and _very_ nice blyxa.  
What kind of camera did you get?


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

Tank looks great.


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

Tank looks really good, pics are nice and clear as well! Since you got a DSLR now, make the pics larger... 1024x768 would suffice to show the quality. 

Reference either of my journal threads to see.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

CL said:


> Incredible pictures, and _very_ nice blyxa.
> What kind of camera did you get?


Why thank you to both comments  It's actually "only" a Nikon D40, but I've only had it two days now and I'm already VERY impressed with the image quality from this "entry level" camera...



IC3D said:


> Tank looks really good, pics are nice and clear as well! Since you got a DSLR now, make the pics larger... 1024x768 would suffice to show the quality.
> 
> Reference either of my journal threads to see.


Good idea! I didn't want to make them too big and blow up anybodys monitor but since you're egging me on I'll go update it and make them bigger now :wink:


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

Yes! The new pics are so much better!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

It was a rainy, dreary day today so I figured I'd take a few random shots of the tank


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Blyxa galore! Looks great.

Those pictures you took with the Nikon D40 look amazing. I have a Nikon D3000, and i love it. They take great pictures.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Awesome pictures! That first one is especially good. Love the colors.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Blyxa galore! Looks great.
> 
> Those pictures you took with the Nikon D40 look amazing. I have a Nikon D3000, and i love it. They take great pictures.


Yeah they absolutely do! 



CL said:


> Awesome pictures! That first one is especially good. Love the colors.


Thanks so much! As you can see your blyxa was put to good use haha :hihi:


I'm actually thinking of making some changes, I'm gonna' start a thread about it over in the aquascaping section...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/aquascaping/110181-making-some-changes-help-me-decide.html


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## FastTimes (Oct 16, 2008)

nice tank.


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## g33tar (Jan 8, 2010)

I would marry that Blyxa.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

FastTimes said:


> nice tank.


Why thank you :icon_smil



g33tar said:


> I would marry that Blyxa.


That literally made me laugh out loud :icon_lol:


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## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

Tank is looking great. Very nice pics.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

TickleMyElmo said:


>


That picture is AMAZING. I wish I had the money to buy that camera


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Very nice tank and pictures. Keep the eye candy coming.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Got my new shipment of HC in today...two 5"x5" mats worth. May be a little overboard but I figured more was better and I didn't want to wait too long for it to grow in. Planting in small clumps didnt work out too well for me the last time, so I figured Id just plant as I saw fit, that and I bought so much HC that I was running out of space to put everything anyways :hihi: Pictures are nothing special, I just wanted a few quick snapshots...


If you look from far away and squint, it kind of looks grown in already! :tongue:



















The new HC is pearling already too, two hours after planting...



















Random shot...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

**Update 6/28/10**

Got a new desktop computer, a definite step up from my 5 year old laptop. I also now have a flat panel LCD screen....didnt realize how bright my pictures looked until now since the laptop screen was rather dim...

Anyways, I got my new Giesemann bulbs in....I went from the standard SlimPaq bulbs that came with the Nova Extreme Fixture (10k and Freshwater?) to the Giesemann Midday/Aquaflora combination...one of each bulb to be precise...

The new Giesemann bulbs look a little pinker, but thats to be expected as the Midday bulb is 6000K instead of the 10,000K Slimpaq bulb. I prefer the look of the Giesemann bulbs though, I love the warm feel they give the tank :icon_smil

Nearly all of the top layers of my blyxa is turning a yellowish green and moving away from the lush green color, more than likely due to the high light levels. I'm undecided on whether I like it or not :icon_conf

I also added a Koriala Nano powerhead to create some more flow...I was starting to get some staghorn algae but I've yet to see any more since installing the nano roud:

I should really start dosing fertilizers soon. I just received a bottle of plain Flourish to get me started. I know it's expensive in the long run, I plan to move to dry ferts once I get that all figured out. I figured the Flourish would allow me to test the waters so to speak :icon_idea

Anyways, heres some more update pics...

The HC is definitely starting to spread...its sending out runners like crazy as seen in the next two pictures...Don't mind the plant weights, I'm using them to weigh down the HC while the roots get a firm grip on the substrate...



















And just some general pictures...they're kind of ugly...forgot to unplug the co2 so there's microbubbles everywhere...


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## DDA (Mar 11, 2010)

looks great!!


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Nice work with the HC. I really like your tank.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

pictures and the tank are both amazing! did you buy more Hc or did it bounce back?


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

I can't believe the tank looks like this without any ferts! You've done a really great job with it:thumbsup:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

leon said:


> looks great!!


Thanks :biggrin:



Hyzer said:


> Nice work with the HC. I really like your tank.


Yea I was having trouble with HC but now that I bought a lot of it its starting to spread like wildfire.



VadimShevchuk said:


> pictures and the tank are both amazing! did you buy more Hc or did it bounce back?


I actually bought more, two 5"x5" mats to be exact....I'm not a patient person so I figured I'd buy a bunch so that it fills in quicker :icon_wink



ZooTycoonMaster said:


> I can't believe the tank looks like this without any ferts! You've done a really great job with it:thumbsup:


Yeah I really need to get the ferts going, imagine what it would look like if I used them :icon_mrgr


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

**Update 7/19/10**

Decided to take some more pictures today after I got done with a water change earlier in the day and some heavy trimming. I'm having some problems with algae at the moment, don't know exactly what kind it is but I'll get it under control eventually...its all over the driftwood and a lot of the plants. I'm thinking green hair algae but meh, I'm not too concerned just yet :tongue:

Still haven't started using fertilizers, I should really, _really_, get going with that....

Start the pictures!



















Found this guy today. I thought I only had one MTS, as I've only seen _one_ the entire time I've had the plants. I saw a bunch of little MTS babies today, and found this huge sucker near the blyxa line...He must be really good at hiding for me to not have seen him this whole time :hihi: Thats a nickel for size reference...










The HC is spreading well....Here's a similar shot to the last update to compare growth...










The new Giesemann bulbs have turned the yellowish high light area of the blyxa a darkish pink-red....and I absolutely LOVE it!




























And now for some random pictures...













































































































I felt like I was watching snail gladiator, seeing who could get to the top first...










Climbing Mount Driftwood...










Then I started messing around with a *cough* fish-eye lens...










As one of them...










My 40 gallon breeder just became a 40 gallon fish bowl...



















And just for some perspective on the tank's location....(And yes my roof is half off :tongue: It's under renovation!)


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow! That looks awesome! That's the reddest blyxa I've ever seen. Awesome.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Agreed, that Blyxa is awesome...the tank looks great! No ferts yet? Really? :tongue:


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

lol, your camera fun pays off more than mine. Those are some great pictures.

Is that a snake or something living across the way?


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

what type of wood is that???


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

CL said:


> Wow! That looks awesome! That's the reddest blyxa I've ever seen. Awesome.


Thanks! That means a lot coming from you :icon_smil



Chaos_Being said:


> Agreed, that Blyxa is awesome...the tank looks great! No ferts yet? Really? :tongue:


Really, no ferts. Well, I do have flourite black sand as the substrate, so maybe that counts for something. I did buy a bottle of Flourish to get me started until I get the dry ferts, but I've only used it twice in the 4 weeks or so since I've gotten it. I keep forgetting to use it...



Reginald2 said:


> lol, your camera fun pays off more than mine. Those are some great pictures.
> 
> Is that a snake or something living across the way?


That would be my blue tongued skink's 125 gallon tank....here's a thread I made a while ago with some pictures...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lounge/109475-ever-seen-snake-legs.html



chris.rivera3 said:


> what type of wood is that???


Malaysian driftwood. I got super lucky because my LFS had a bunch of really nice pieces, but the best part was that it sank instantly and didn't leach a single tannin into the water roud:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

The tank really looks beautiful!

I like those special effect shots- especially the first one from up high.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Awesome blue tongue you have there  I have a co-worker that has a few that he is trying to breed.


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Well ok, hes not really a snake, he's a "Blue Tongued Skink" Very peaceful animals, he looks MUCH meaner than he is


lol, he doesn't look mean. He just looks like he's thinking: "yeah, I'd be a snake...if I didn't grow these awesome legs and have this sweet blue tongue."

It looks like he's got a great house too.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

*Update *8/30/10**

Well I got a new lens for my camera so I figured I'd test it out :red_mouth Its a Nikon Nikkor 35mm 1.8, which means my pictures should be sharper and allow me to use higher shutter speeds in low light...which happens to be perfect for fishtanks!

I also did some serious tank maintenance today. I kinda neglected the tank, hav'nt touched it in like a month and a half. For some odd reason, nearly all of my blyxa uprooted and started floating, especially on the left side. The left side is just barely hanging on, I had to basically replant the entire right side. Neither side has many small roots anymore, just the main stems if you will, wonder what's causing that? Lack of ferts maybe, or my rambunctious kuhli loach? Oh well, at least its still red :biggrin:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Bumpity bump! I'm about to remove the last picture, I really don't like it anymore. Way too bright :icon_roll


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Fantastic photography and great looking tank too! About the Blyxa, I've noticed that if it gets too big, it will release itself somehow and float around.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Very pretty!


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Love 40B's. I use to own one myself. Great work with the camera too. Keep it up. Nice tank btw.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks everybody for the comments, really inspires me to keep up with the tank and all :smile:



cah925 said:


> Fantastic photography and great looking tank too! About the Blyxa, I've noticed that if it gets too big, it will release itself somehow and float around.


Thanks, and that actually makes perfect sense considering I've never trimmed the blyxa before...now I know! :icon_idea


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

The color on that blyxa is absolutely amazing. SO jealous!


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Wtb update!!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, I haven't really been keeping up with the tank very much, and as a result, nearly all my blyxa has lost its roots and floated to the surface. It's still red though! Haha.....

Anyways, I suppose I could trim the bigger pieces and replant and wait for the roots to regrow, but it kind of seems like it would be a pain to wait and to keep it anchored while they regrow, so I was thinking of just tossing the blyxa and getting something else. I kind of feel like it was too big and bushy for my tank anyways, took up a lot of space and was kind of too-big for my mid-ground plant. Anybody have any suggestions? Or am I insane, and I should keep the blyxa at all costs :hihi:

And I should really really REALLY get started using fertilizers, but it seems like such a hassle...

Here's all that remains...(I really need to do a maintenance day soon lol)


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

*Elmo's 40 Breeder Journal *Update 10/6/10**

Awww, such a shame! It was looking so amazing. Still my favorite planted tank though. 

I actually really liked all of the blyxa- but I'm sure it was a pain to maintain. You could get some good cash for all of that blyxa if you decide to get rid of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, I cleaned everything up, got rid of the floating blyxa, did a serious trim of the LARGE amount of overgrowth, and replanted what was reusable. I'll be building this back up, still need to find a new mid-ground plant though. I could just get some more blyxa, but I kind of want something _different_. Problem is I have no idea what. I was briefly tossing around the idea of using rocks as a mid-ground instead. I'm actually kind of tired of the whole scape, just want to rip everything out and start over with new driftwood and all :icon_roll But I'm crazy like that, and I like change haha...

Anyways, some post-cleanup and recovery shots!







Getting back into it now,...photography has been taking up most of my free time. I got a shiny new DSLR and some nice glass that hasn't left my hand since I bought it :drool: Click on any of the pics to go to my Flickr account, check it out if ya want


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to do with this tank. Thanks for the update, and keep em coming.

This tank was part of the reason I went with a 40 breeder.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks Hyzer! I remember when I was planning my 40 breeder and looking at tank journals to get inspiration...its nice to know I was the inspiration for somebody else roud:

Here's a short video I made with my new DSLR. Click 1080p for full HD!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WiV3vvQ_0w&hd=1


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I was thinking of something like this, using manzanita driftwood and where the gray are largeish stones, the dark dark green is a belem aka dwarf hairgrass lawn, the medium green is needle leaf java-fern, and the light green is some kind of moss attached to the manzanita.










Thoughts anyone?! lol...The manzanita would be bigger than depicted though, maybe even extending out of the surface of the water...


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

That has seemed to be a winning combo in the past. There are a few tanks on here with a similar setup. Check out speedies tank (120p?).


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Nice video! Glad to hear that you will be restoring this tank. It was my favorite tank of all time!

Plan looks great... can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

It's been a while since I've dropped by this thread. Incredible photographs, and excellent scape! Can't wait to see how things are going to turn out, though, I do like the looks of it right now. Nice and clean, the scape is highly visible too. Maybe some low lying plants that wouldn't cover up the wood would be a good choice :thumbsup:


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Sick vid.


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

Very nice tank! I'm setting up a 40 breeder in the coming weeks. Were you happy with the light spread front to back with the Nova extreme fixture? I like the giesseman bulbs - I have the same in my TEK on my 75. I have access to a 96 watt compact fluerescent. I wonder if it would provide similiar lighting to your Nova fixture? I might just have to breakdown and buy the nova. 

would anyone suggest a different fixture for a 40 breeder - or is the nova extreme a good one?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

helgymatt said:


> Very nice tank! I'm setting up a 40 breeder in the coming weeks. Were you happy with the light spread front to back with the Nova extreme fixture? I like the giesseman bulbs - I have the same in my TEK on my 75. I have access to a 96 watt compact fluerescent. I wonder if it would provide similiar lighting to your Nova fixture? I might just have to breakdown and buy the nova.
> 
> would anyone suggest a different fixture for a 40 breeder - or is the nova extreme a good one?


I REALLY like the nova, a commonly overlooked feature is that it has individual reflectors for each bulb, something no other light fixture that I can think of has in this price range. T5HO is a high amount of light from the start, but with individual reflectors, its even better. And yeah, I love the Giesseman bulbs too, gives the tank great coloring, and was responsible for turning my blyxa a beautiful red color.

Only thing I kind of miss on the nova is the ability to hang it, as it doesn't come with any suspension points. Probably for the best though, I'd probably royally screw up trying to hang it from my ceiling anyways haha...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Hey everybody! Recently a member here PM'd me, asking...

"What is your maintenance schedule like? I cant see from one end of my 40 to the other clearly like you can in your 40."

So in my reply, I gave an honest answer of what I do as far as maintaining my tank. I think my reply shows the true side of my planted tank, and what really goes on behind a nice tank. I thought it showed that behind every tank, there is _not_ always a guy enslaved to it's maintenance, fine tuning every whim and detail.

My response is below:

"As for a maintenance schedule, I don't haha...I really don't maintain the tank very much. I don't dose ferts, I maybeeee do a water change once every two months, I really just set and forget. I do so few water changes, the only time I really do anything close is when the water level gets so low that I top it off for evaporation just before it gets so low that the filter spraybar is about to be spraying over the water line instead of into it lol...

Every once in a rare while I clean the filter, I'm talking maybe once every 6 months, if that. I hav'nt adjusted co2 output in I'd say 5 months or so....I found an acceptable level and just kept it there. I'm sure I need to adjust it a little higher since it must have gone down in output since I last set it, so I'll probably do it once I do this rescape this coming week. The only thing I've done to my co2 in that time is to replace the tank, which I do once every 6 or 7 months or so (10lb tank) To give you an idea of just how much I don't touch my tank, everything is on timers, and I havnt even gotten around to setting the timers back an hour for daylight savings time yet haha....

As for feeding, I feed the fish when I remember. With my hectic schedule, that means its usually a while in between feedings. A lot of time I'll forget to feed them for 4 to 5 days at a time, then remember and feel guilty, feed them two days in a row, and go back to forgetting for 3-5 days in a row again. Fish really don't need to be fed all that often though. 

I actually feel guilty telling you that, but its true, and hey, it seems to work lol."

.....By the way, I haven't tested my water since....well....I've actually never tested my water :icon_eek:


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## helgymatt (Dec 7, 2007)

A lack in maintenance - filter cleaning, water changes, fert dosing, etc. has worked well for me to! I have not had any algae problems - in fact I have had less problems than I did with a rigid EI schedule and water changes. 



TickleMyElmo said:


> Hey everybody! Recently a member here PM'd me, asking...
> 
> "What is your maintenance schedule like? I cant see from one end of my 40 to the other clearly like you can in your 40."
> 
> ...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I was boreddddddd so I took some pictures with my new flash, used it off camera above the tank in wireless commander mode fired down into the tank from on top of the light fixture. 

Anyways, back to the fish....


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

HI ELMO!!!
Elmo has a nice camera.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> HI ELMO!!!
> Elmo has a nice camera.



Why thank you! Elmo approves of your commentary and extends his most heart-felt thank you's. 

Man I'm hyper tonight haha....but seriously. I just buy big cameras, cuz' they look the nicest and most impressive. When people say, "Wow, nice camera! What kind is it?!?!" I say, "I don't know, but look how BIG it is! Hardeee Har-Harrrr!" I'm buying the battery grip for it on Friday, which will make it twice as big, which will make me twice as professional, obviously! 

But yeah really,...thanks! lol


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Why thank you! Elmo approves of your commentary and extends his most heart-felt thank you's.
> 
> Man I'm hyper tonight haha....but seriously. I just buy big cameras, cuz' they look the nicest and most impressive. When people say, "Wow, nice camera! What kind is it?!?!" I say, "I don't know, but look how BIG it is! Hardeee Har-Harrrr!"
> 
> But yeah really, thanks! lol


Well duhhh. Who doesn't like big cameras? They're much more impressive-looking than those little point and shoots. 

I think Elmo should take some FTS's with that nice camera.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Well duhhh. Who doesn't like big cameras? They're much more impressive-looking than those little point and shoots.
> 
> I think Elmo should take some FTS's with that nice camera.


My next FTS's will be of this tank completely torn apart and rescaped, with basically none of the same plants lol....


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## Born4spd (Oct 22, 2010)

Nooooo!, i liked that scape :/ 

lol

Looking forward to the rescape, keep us updated.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, its 1/2 done....I got my dwarf hairgrass belem and stauro from CL today, so I ripped everything out and started anew...Now I just have to wait for my manzanita driftwood and needle leaf java fern to arrive...I'm also waiting for my rocks, but I'm going to collect those myself sometime in the next few days. I also moved my diffuser to under my koralia powerhead, figured I'd give that a try... 

I might sell my HC in the swap and shop, I was going to throw it out, but maybe I'll sell it...

Don't mind that random pile of plants in the back left corner, its just in there until the new driftwood arrives so my kuhli loach has somewhere to hide. He'd go crazy without somewhere to lurk in the shadows lol...

Anyways, here's a few quick snapshots.....


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Elmo's tiny fish are an excuse to buy a macro lens.

Nice tank, nice shots, and what model camera is it?



TickleMyElmo said:


> Only thing I kind of miss on the nova is the ability to hang it, as it doesn't come with any suspension points. Probably for the best though, I'd probably royally screw up trying to hang it from my ceiling anyways haha...


I drilled holes on each end of mine so I could suspend it. I used screw in hooks (secured with nuts to keep it from ever falling off) and then used shelf brackets to hang it from the wall (drop ceiling in my basement, so that wasn't an option)


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

FSM said:


> Elmo's tiny fish are an excuse to buy a macro lens.
> 
> Nice tank, nice shots, and what model camera is it?


There's a waiting list, lol...

I still want a:
-17-55mm 2.8
-11-16mm 2.8
-105mm 2.8 Macro

So yeah, I'll get a macro sometime soon, the list wont necessarily be in that order lol.....I just got my 80-200 2.8 a couple weeks ago...

And its a Nikon D7000


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Glad the plants came fine. The grass has filled in great already! haha


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

CL said:


> Glad the plants came fine. The grass has filled in great already! haha



Yep! I figure now I should only have to wait half as long for it to fill in lol....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, the scape is pretty much done. Just have to wait for the belem carpet and the needle leaf java fern to fill in or buy some more. Either way, I'm liking it ....

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The Manzanita does have a beautiful contrast from the burn area it was collected in as stated when I bought it, thanks PC1!


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'Lotta traffic these days :icon_wink...


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

That's gonna be a sick looking tank pretty soon. 

Question for you... do you do any PP on your shots, or are they all straight out the box?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

speedie408 said:


> That's gonna be a sick looking tank pretty soon. Subscribed
> 
> Question for you... do you do any PP on your shots, or are they all straight out the box?


Thanks :biggrin: Means a lot coming from you...

And no, not really, except the ones that are obviously cartoonish (HDR-ish), I just adjust the exposure and occasionally some contrast. Exposure doesn't really count as post processing in my book though, since I'm just to lazy to adjust it fully in camera with the exposure comp. button so I just edit it in the raw file instead :icon_lol:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Forgot to mention, to get the look I wanted with the manzanita I had to chop it up a little bit. I zip-tied two pieces together to give it that look and then zip tied a gigantic rock to the back of it to keep it submerged until it sinks on its own. So yeah, don't mind the gigantic rock on the back of the manzanita that you can kind of see through the java fern 

Also, my inital plan was to cover some of the manzanita with moss, but I'm thinking I might leave it alone now, since I don't really want to cover up the beautiful contrast of the wood...thoughts anyone?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

The belem is already sending runners everywhere. Every "bunch" has quite a few runners already...




And a fish pic, because I can :tongue:...and it shows some runners too lol....Off camera flash was used...


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Looks good, Elmo!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks Philip!

I bought more fish today. I realized the other day I was down to 1 otto, 4 glowlight tetras, 3 black neon tetras, 1 neon tetra, 1 black kuhli loach, and 4 rummynose tetras, so 13 fish all together. Sounds like a lot, but it was pretty empty in the tank so I went to my usual really nice LFS...

I got 8 gold bar tetras and 6 Beckford's Pencilfish, which prompted me to take some pictures, lol....Everyone seems to be getting alone fine, although one or two of the pencilfish appear to be pecking at the algae growing off my narrow leaf java fern. At first I thought they were eating the java fern, but upon closer inspection it seems they're just pecking at the algae, which is great lol....I took a video of one of them doing it, I'll upload it soon enough....Also, one of the new gold bar tetras appears to have a bloody eye, I was wondering why he was swimming all kinds of stupid. Not upside down or anything, but just swimming into walls and such. Hopefully he makes it...it does give him a rather cool look though...








Anyways, on to the fish pictures...click for bigger versions...

The injured tetra






























Lunch?







And my two personal favorites.....

Peek-a-Boo!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

i really like the pencilfish. i have always wanted some just never had the right setup for them....i would like to get the coral red ones but thats a little out of my price range looking good though elmo!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> i really like the pencilfish. i have always wanted some just never had the right setup for them....i would like to get the coral red ones but thats a little out of my price range looking good though elmo!


Thanks! I never really thought about them before today, just saw them at the LFS and googled them on my phone while I was standing there and realized they'd be a pretty good match for my tank and it's inhabitants lol...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

i love being able to look stuff up on my droid when i need it. especially when its in the pet store!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Yeah, I don't know how I lived without a smart phone :hihi:

Here's the video I was talking about of the pencilfish eating the algae. I had a hell of a time trying to keep focus on the little bugger lol....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5256961534/

Sorry, don't know how to embed Flickr video...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

videos are so much better then pictures!!!! those look real nice in the setup.

and i dont know how i could live with out mine either they are amazing!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> videos are so much better then pictures!!!! those look real nice in the setup.
> 
> and i dont know how i could live with out mine either they are amazing!


I hope to make another video soon, finals are tomorrow and I'm free after that so it should be coming sometime soon :icon_smil


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

yay


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Figured I'd take a few pics and a few clips for the movie. Here's some of the pictures, the video will be up sometime soon.

The belem hairgrass is spreading quickly, and my stauro/topica 049 is melting. Don't know what the heck I'm doing wrong, but hopefully it'll bounce back. It was grown emersed before I bought it, so it's probably just converting to submerged form.

These shots are particularly educational because I once again duct-taped the speed-light flash to the light fixture, but this time I set the shutter to a speed so fast, that it captures the actual flash going off. The high shutter speed allows me to freeze the action of the fish (and everything else) even during full tank shots. It also provides a cool lighting effect. THe white light being emitted from above the tank is from the flash going off, not the light fixture itself, which is pretty cool 















Again, the video will be coming to a planted tank forum near you soon!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Looking good! If you ever get to much belemi would try a small but to see if I can grow it


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## imdanny (Feb 23, 2009)

sick pictures!


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## imdanny (Feb 23, 2009)

very sweet tank. youre makin me miss my breeder =[[[[


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Looking good! If you ever get to much belemi would try a small but to see if I can grow it


I'll keep you in mind :icon_wink



imdanny said:


> sick pictures!


Thanks so much!

The video is up, nothing special, thrown together in about 15 minutes. Anyways, make sure you watch it in 1080p HD!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsOa60JERf8


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## imdanny (Feb 23, 2009)

what do you mean nothing special!? This video ROCKS! hahah i love it


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That's looking great! Gotta love that grass! 
Oh, and the pictures aren't so bad either 
Oh, and the stauro is melting? Hmm, I've never had a problem with it converting, but that's probably what it's doing.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

CL said:


> That's looking great! Gotta love that grass!
> Oh, and the pictures aren't so bad either
> Oh, and the stauro is melting? Hmm, I've never had a problem with it converting, but that's probably what it's doing.


Why thank you!  Yeah, I guess its kind of melting. Some of the leaves are falling off but I figure its normal, probably just getting acclimated. Even if its permanently melting, I don't really care. I'll just replace it with something else. I'm really laid back when it comes to my tank/plants lol....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I cant waitttttttt for my new lens to get here....should get here tomorrow around 10 A.M...

Christmas gift to myself :icon_wink

And yes, there will be tons of tank and fish test shots :hihi:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I love the smell of new glass in the morning :icon_smil

I wont tell you what it is, just that it has a gold ring around it....


Just kidding, its the Nikon 17-55 2.8...




I love that huge 77mm front element size :icon_mrgr


I'll take plenty of shots with it tonight, gotta' test it out of course :icon_wink


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

I just watched the video. Very good and it will be even better after it fills in.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I added 6 new ottos today, I originally had 6 when I started but the population dwindled to just one, and I figured he was lonely and having a hell of a time cleaning the whole tank by himself so I got 6 more today, for a total of 7. 

Of course, I also got my new lens today, so of course I had to take a bunch of pics :biggrin:...and I mean a BUNCH lol....







Not bad for a non-macro lens...this lens is sharp :hihi:
































































The underwater version of the moon...


You takin' a picture of ME?!?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

The blizzard is trying to eat my tank! Bet the fish are glad they have a heater lol...





And yes, the snow actually _is_ that high...

Outside shots:


[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5297881613/]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5297881613/


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

The tank looks great, the snow... not so much. Those are some great pictures.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

A self portrait :icon_wink


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Well aren't you cool, Elmo.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Well aren't you cool, Elmo.


More bored and with access to a camera than cool :hihi: Nah, I actually took it to demonstrate my two newest gifts to myself, the MB-D11 grip and the BlackRapid RS-7 camera strap and I just thought it looked cool :red_mouth


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

TickleMyElmo said:


> More bored and with access to a camera than cool :hihi: Nah, I actually took it to demonstrate my two newest gifts to myself, the MB-D11 grip and the BlackRapid RS-7 camera strap and I just thought it looked cool :red_mouth


Yeah it's a nice portrait, i like it. :thumbsup: Your lucky you have such nice equipment to play around with.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Yeah it's a nice portrait, i like it. :thumbsup: Your lucky you have such nice equipment to play around with.


Yeah, its nice when you have a job and can buy all kinds of fun stuff :hihi: Don't let anybody tell you growing up is all bad, this sure beats the heck out of the days when I had to save a year of birthday and holiday money to buy one $500 item :icon_lol:


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## SpankyMR2 (Nov 11, 2010)

LOVE your tank. I'm going to try a 40 gallon breeder next. I already have 6 tanks so I'm running out of room! Also, if that is your stang in the picture, that is nice too. I had a GT that color and body style. Now I have an '07 black Roush. It is great to grow up and get a job!

Patti


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

TickleMyElmo said:


> A self portrait :icon_wink


You look like cyclops lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

SpankyMR2 said:


> LOVE your tank. I'm going to try a 40 gallon breeder next. I already have 6 tanks so I'm running out of room! Also, if that is your stang in the picture, that is nice too. I had a GT that color and body style. Now I have an '07 black Roush. It is great to grow up and get a job!
> 
> Patti


Why thank you! And yes, thats my 'Stang roud: I like the color a lot too!



problemman said:


> You look like cyclops lol


Heh, that was the point. Wanted to make it look like my eye was the camera lens,...seeing through the lens, get it, lol.....


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Yeah, its nice when you have a job and can buy all kinds of fun stuff :hihi: Don't let anybody tell you growing up is all bad, this sure beats the heck out of the days when I had to save a year of birthday and holiday money to buy one $500 item :icon_lol:


Dude i've been so sick of being a kid for years... 
I laugh every time someone says that it's better to be a kid. Hah, yeah right. Someone pay me to go to school and i'll stop complaining about being young. :icon_lol:


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Phil
How old are you?


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

problemman said:


> phil
> how old are you?


16.

Edit: Sorry about the side conversations on your journal, Elmo. :flick:


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

yah sry elmo!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Dude i've been so sick of being a kid for years...
> I laugh every time someone says that it's better to be a kid. Hah, yeah right. Someone pay me to go to school and i'll stop complaining about being young. :icon_lol:


Yeah I couldn't wait to grow up when I was younger. Now I'm 20 and wondering where the last 2 years went :help: lol...



AzFishKid said:


> 16.
> 
> Edit: Sorry about the side conversations on your journal, Elmo. :flick:





problemman said:


> yah sry elmo!


No problem, who cares lol.......


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Yeah I couldn't wait to grow up when I was younger. Now I'm 20 and wondering where the last 2 years went :help: lol...


Im 21 and wonder what I even did when I was 20....getting older just makes you feel old lol keep your youth!


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Just wanted to let you know that your wonderful journal is inaccessible on tapatalk, as it crashes every time i try to look at your amazing pictures. Even my phone can't handle the awesomeness that your pictures contain, congratulations.

:hihi:


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I haven't been into this journal before. Your fish pictures are awesome. Some day I need to invest in some good camera equipment.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Just wanted to let you know that your wonderful journal is inaccessible on tapatalk, as it crashes every time i try to look at your amazing pictures. Even my phone can't handle the awesomeness that your pictures contain, congratulations.
> 
> :hihi:


LMAO! Wow, must be because of the large number and size of the pictures, or at least that's my best guess. Although I like the awesomeness reasoning better 



hydrophyte said:


> I haven't been into this journal before. Your fish pictures are awesome. Some day I need to invest in some good camera equipment.


Why thank you! The pictures should be getting better shortly, my next lens purchase will be a macro lens :thumbsup: Photography gets to be very expensive though. The setup I used for the last pictures, consisting of 1 camera, one lens, and one flash, cost $2870, and that's with a used lens! And thats just one lens! Gah! lol....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, the tank has been lacking updates due to technical issues, but that'll be fixed tomorrow...

Anyways, when I get bored and I don't have the tank to take pics of, I get creative in other ways! lol....(These are not photoshoped!) 




Whoah bro! lol...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Little creepy but very neat!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

So since I haven't updated in almost a month, that means I can post tons of pics, right?!? :hihi:

You know, my tank and especially my fish are one of my favorite things to take pictures of....It can be really frustrating and tiring waiting for that perfect moment, since fish don't listen to posing instructions very well :help:, but man, when it works out, it's almost like fine art...

*make sure you view them large, so you can see the fine detail on the fish roud:*

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3.


4.


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29.
My "Belem' Hairgrass carpet is pretty much done by the way, just a few semi-bare spots...



*All pictures were taken with the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 lens, just in case you were wondering...


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

I want to frame these pictures and put them on my wall.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

You need to do a full photo watermark man, because I am going to steal them and make posters out of them. 

Great tank


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Wow elmo! Amazing pictures! Contest worthy!

I did notice in some of the pictures of the pencil fish they look a bin on the thin side....what are you feeding them?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> I want to frame these pictures and put them on my wall.


Heh, I was actually thinking of printing some of these on 3D canvas and hanging them above the tank, but I thought that might be a little pretentious lol....



Caton said:


> You need to do a full photo watermark man, because I am going to steal them and make posters out of them.
> 
> Great tank


Heh, I might make some of 'em into posters to hang on my wall, but its expensive to do....



problemman said:


> Wow elmo! Amazing pictures! Contest worthy!
> 
> I did notice in some of the pictures of the pencil fish they look a bin on the thin side....what are you feeding them?


Why thank you! The one that looks thin is probably the one that seems to be getting bullied lately. I'll have to make sure he gets some individual feeding time :smile:

Thanks for the comments everybody, really gives me motivation to make some nice pics! :biggrin:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Bump! for easy finding purposes.....


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Lol


TickleMyElmo said:


> Bump! for easy finding purposes.....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Lol


I don't mean that in a pretentious way lol, I mean so a person I know can find it :hihi:

Don't want people thinking I was all like "My journal is gods gift to TPF and I demand everybody see it at once!" lol.....

:iamwithst


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

pic #14 is my favorite. nice fish!


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## PRSRocker3390 (Apr 20, 2009)

Awesome tank! I just went through it all to check out the progress. I have to say the most impressive part is the fact that you don't use ferts! The latest pictures are amazing with my favorite being the first pic.


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## ace123 (Mar 3, 2008)

I was going through your flickr account and noticed some shots of sandy hook and some other shots that look rather familiar. Where abouts do you live? I am constantly around the hook, my step brother actually lives in sea bright. 

Anyway, tank related question. Did you get those pencil fish from tropiquarium in ocean? I just bought some new fishes(including pencils) from there yesterday and was just wondering. I was also trying to mess with my fathers camera (Cannon Rebel, pics are in my journal fyi) last night and got some decent pics but nothing like yours. I dont have the black background that you do. 

Your tank looks amazing btw.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Great photos. I think my camera is just not up to the job . . . No matter what settings I use, I can't seem to get anything decent (or maybe I just suck, LOL!).


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Fat Guy said:


> pic #14 is my favorite. nice fish!


Why thank you!



PRSRocker3390 said:


> Awesome tank! I just went through it all to check out the progress. I have to say the most impressive part is the fact that you don't use ferts! The latest pictures are amazing with my favorite being the first pic.


Thanks so much, but yeah, I'm really happy I don't have to use ferts! Ferts just confuse me lol...



ace123 said:


> I was going through your flickr account and noticed some shots of sandy hook and some other shots that look rather familiar. Where abouts do you live? I am constantly around the hook, my step brother actually lives in sea bright.
> 
> Anyway, tank related question. Did you get those pencil fish from tropiquarium in ocean? I just bought some new fishes(including pencils) from there yesterday and was just wondering. I was also trying to mess with my fathers camera (Cannon Rebel, pics are in my journal fyi) last night and got some decent pics but nothing like yours. I dont have the black background that you do.
> 
> Your tank looks amazing btw.


I actually live right next to you, in Cliffwood Beach  Small world lol...I'm always at the Keyport waterfront taking pics, its a beautiful area and its only 2 minutes away, literally, lol....I spend most of my photo time at Sandy Hook though, so many opportunities, everything from landscapes to nature photography...

And yep, got the pencilfish, and most of my fish from Tropiquarium. I've been going there since I had my saltwater tank 3 years ago, awesome store and great quality. Can be expensive, but I'd rather pay more for quality roud: My other fish came from PetSmart in Holmdel, since I worked there for 2 years lol....I left about a year ago though....I have to say the animals there are treated really well, and from what I see, they still are. It's not a disaster area, like some PetSmarts and especially most Petco's lol...

Just checked out your journal, lookin good! DSLRs are hard to use unless you really really know what you're doing, but those pics didn't come out bad at all. You dont always need a black background, I could make any background black with my editing program lol (Adobe Lightroom 3.3)....Also, my pictures have more to do with flash photography than what camera body you use (although a more advanced model certainly helps)

And thanks for the compliment on the tank! Yours is lookin' real good too! 



Betta Maniac said:


> Great photos. I think my camera is just not up to the job . . . No matter what settings I use, I can't seem to get anything decent (or maybe I just suck, LOL!).


Lol, it depends what you're using. If you're using a point and shoot, your just not really gonna get the same results as using a DSLR with an operator with lots of experience (and $$$!, lol) behind it...if it makes you feel any better, the gear I used to take these pics (1 camera, 1 lens, 1 flash) cost over $2500 lol....


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## ace123 (Mar 3, 2008)

TickleMyElmo said:


> I actually live right next to you, in Cliffwood Beach  Small world lol...I'm always at the Keyport waterfront taking pics, its a beautiful area and its only 2 minutes away, literally, lol....I spend most of my photo time at Sandy Hook though, so many opportunities, everything from landscapes to nature photography...
> 
> And yep, got the pencilfish, and most of my fish from Tropiquarium. I've been going there since I had my saltwater tank 3 years ago, awesome store and great quality. Can be expensive, but I'd rather pay more for quality roud: My other fish came from PetSmart in Holmdel, since I worked there for 2 years lol....I left about a year ago though....I have to say the animals there are treated really well, and from what I see, they still are. It's not a disaster area, like some PetSmarts and especially most Petco's lol...
> 
> ...


Nice, I thought that cement wall looked familiar!(cliffwood beach) I grew up in keyport (22 yrs there, im 24 now) I now currently reside in the burg (cant stand it but its free) and like i said my step brother lives in sea bright so im always down there especially during the summer. Definitely a small world. 

Yeah this petsmart is great when it comes to quality. I just went to fins and feathers (hole in the wall) in red bank today to see what they had. They had some decent tetras(assorted) and i was pretty impressed to see pretty nice rummies. Too bad i dont have my 75 gal set up (or any other tank for that matter). I would need my own place for that big mess. 

I mentioned your pic taking skills to my father and told him about the flash setup over the tank. Hes like "ive been meaning to get a remote flash setup for some time, Im gonna pick one up tomorrow". So i will prob try it out on thurs. Ill post up when i get some decent pics.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

ace123 said:


> Nice, I thought that cement wall looked familiar!(cliffwood beach) I grew up in keyport (22 yrs there, im 24 now) I now currently reside in the burg (cant stand it but its free) and like i said my step brother lives in sea bright so im always down there especially during the summer. Definitely a small world.
> 
> Yeah this petsmart is great when it comes to quality. I just went to fins and feathers (hole in the wall) in red bank today to see what they had. They had some decent tetras(assorted) and i was pretty impressed to see pretty nice rummies. Too bad i dont have my 75 gal set up (or any other tank for that matter). I would need my own place for that big mess.
> 
> I mentioned your pic taking skills to my father and told him about the flash setup over the tank. Hes like "ive been meaning to get a remote flash setup for some time, Im gonna pick one up tomorrow". So i will prob try it out on thurs. Ill post up when i get some decent pics.


Cool stuff. I'm 20, but I spent my whole life here too lol....sounds good about the flash, let me know if you get anything good with it!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well I plan to take more pictures Sunday, but I was bored so I decided to mess with light :biggrin:

I had a huge hair algae outbreak, I removed most of it manually today and trimmed off whatever I couldn't remove by hand. My carpet now has some bare patches, but it'll grow back shortly. I plan to dose some excel tomorrow, but nevertheless....

It's ALIVE!


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Awesome! Do you have any updated FTS from straight on/closer?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

SearunSimpson said:


> Awesome! Do you have any updated FTS from straight on/closer?


Nope :icon_conf But it's not ready for a FTS yet anyways...It's still only half done. I'm waiting for some last pieces of needle leaf java fern to fill in the back before its really "done". I have a WTB thread in the Swap and Shop for some needle leaf, but I haven't had any replies yet. Hopefully I find some soon though, it's driving me crazy! lol...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

if you would have only needed about a month ago i had a ton that i got rid of lol now i only have a 3 inch rhizome to start again with


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> if you would have only needed about a month ago i had a ton that i got rid of lol now i only have a 3 inch rhizome to start again with


Darn, lol...Oh well, I actually just bought some seconds ago, so hopefully this will be complete soon lol...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

good now when it comes in get it attached and get us a darn picture! lol no pressure!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> good now when it comes in get it attached and get us a darn picture! lol no pressure!


Haha, will do....will do :icon_mrgr


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

fantastic tank =D


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

.Mko. said:


> fantastic tank =D


Why thank you!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Tanks still not done, but I'm waiting for the last plant to be delivered. Anyways, I was bored so I took some pics :icon_bigg....

1.


2.


3.



4. Since I was using the flash at 1/320, aka super fast, the camera caught the lights of the tank in the "off-flicker". Fluorescent lighting isn't actually steady light, it constantly flickers, but it happens so fast our eye just sees it as constant. With a camera and a high speed flash sync though, you can catch it when its "off". The light below is coming solely from the high speed flash sync going off roud:


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.


11.


12.


13.


14.


15.


16.


17.


18.


19. This one looks like the skeleton of a fish, ironically lol....:icon_lol:


20.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

How did you get your belem hair grass to stay down?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> How did you get your belem hair grass to stay down?


Just planted it like any other plant, stays down by itself :icon_smil In fact, its actually quite hard to rip out of the sand lol....


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

oh man i hope my hairgrass grows in like yours =) i want a lawn too!!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Just planted it like any other plant, stays down by itself :icon_smil In fact, its actually quite hard to rip out of the sand lol....


Must be nice I have it in sand thinking it would help and nothing


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Beautiful tank. I so want to do something like this with my empty 20L. Just need to find the right piece of drift wood . . .


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Looks awesome man! Really nice pics too!


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## rwong2k (Dec 24, 2004)

awesome photography and aquascaping!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Must be nice I have it in sand thinking it would help and nothing


Really? That's weird, didn't think it would be a problem for anyone. Maybe it has something to do with the strength of the roots?



Betta Maniac said:


> Beautiful tank. I so want to do something like this with my empty 20L. Just need to find the right piece of drift wood . . .


Thanks! I got my driftwood from PC1 in the swap and shop, if that helps any.....might be some cool pieces over there...



Dempsey said:


> Looks awesome man! Really nice pics too!


Thanks so much!



rwong2k said:


> awesome photography and aquascaping!


Thanks! Its simple, but I've found I like the simpler approach much better, easier to maintain and manage :icon_smil


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

A random video of a black kuhli loach eating a shrimp pellet, because I'm bored lol.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5449923838/in/photostream/


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Y are you bored?


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Any updates elmo?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Any updates elmo?


I gotta' do a maintenance day soon, and then I'll take some pics....


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

You better lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> You better lol


Heh, not much changed, just got the last piece of needle leaf java fern for the back, but you can't really tell....

Oh yeah, I've also managed to grow huge amounts of algae on my dwarf hairgrass :hihi:


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Still we need pictures to be entertained lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Alright, still haven't done a maintenance day or cleaned up at all, which will be done within the next 2 days, but here's some teaser pics....




http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5578815088/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5578815118/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5578814736/


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Think you need some stems lol


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## brianyu (Dec 30, 2009)

nice tanks and camera , i like the green color .


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## g33tar (Jan 8, 2010)

Well, your photography is O.K..


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## g33tar (Jan 8, 2010)

Bahahaa just kidding, your shots look great.

This that a Black Rapid strap? Jared Polin fan? 

I've been thinking about stepping into the DSLR world myself and was looking into the D3100. Any good?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Think you need some stems lol


You know, I was thinking about it. The top portion is so bare. I wanted to get a really large needle leaf java fern to fill in the top section, but I still haven't found one, so I settled for the one I have now. A really big one would probably cost me big $$$ anyways, lol....



brianyu said:


> nice tanks and camera , i like the green color .


Why thank you! 



g33tar said:


> Bahahaa just kidding, your shots look great.
> 
> This that a Black Rapids strap? Jared Polin fan?
> 
> I've been thinking about stepping into the DSLR world myself and was looking into the D3100. Any good?


Pffft. Jared Polin. How dare you insult me, lol j/k...Great guy and all, but I'm a little past anything he can offer, lol...I do admire his willingness to help newcomers though, so I do support him! But no, black rapid straps were always popular, even way before Jared Polin discovered them :red_mouth

It could be worse, you could have called me a *shiver* _Ken Rockwell_ fan, in which case, those would be some fighting words lol....

But yes, the D3100 is a great camera, very capable...roud:


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## g33tar (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm guessing you shoot RAW then, eh?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

g33tar said:


> I'm guessing you shoot RAW then, eh?


Not only do I shoot RAW, I shoot 14-Bit Lossless Compressed Raw in 32-bit color :icon_eek: Yeah, my files are huge. One picture is usually 15- 20mb, and thats _after_ I convert it to JPEG for web use lol...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I got an idea for you...buy some hygro willow leaf...looks like java fern but isn't lol I fixed your problem!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> I got an idea for you...buy some hygro willow leaf...looks like java fern but isn't lol I fixed your problem!


You know, thats actually a really good idea.....brilliant!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Thank you I will be here all night! 

No really that's my shift lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5584299928/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5584300098/


Two very different environments, lol...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5584301188/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5583712509/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5584302660/





http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5584303098/


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

What's in the lizard tank? An albino iguana!?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> What's in the lizard tank? An albino iguana!?


Nope, blue tongued skink :icon_bigg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5419804431/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/5420398286/


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm actually working on a diy setup for a group of bumble bee toads


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> I'm actually working on a diy setup for a group of bumble bee toads


Sweeeet. Very nice lol


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Yah. I wanted poison dart frogs but mom said no so I showered her that pic and she said I said no dart frogs...its a toad mom...oh keep it in your room lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Ill be working on a video tonight....coming to a planted tank forum near you soon! ( and by soon, I mean tonight!)


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Whoah! I was just staring at my tank, when I saw a tiny ( 1cm maybe?) red cherry shrimp on a leaf of the narrow leaf java fern....wouldn't be unusual, but I never added any red cherry shrimp, lol......

Must have come in with my last shipment of narrow leaf java fern. I found a RCS body in the bag, but never saw any others. I'm actually glad, I really want shrimp, but I didn't think I'd be able to since I have a bunch of tetras. I guess they can survive if they stay within the massive lump of narrow leaf java fern, cool! Now granted, they'll probably get picked off left and right, but hopefully there's more than one, and they've bred or something, lol....

EDIT: Found him again, and got some quick pics/video...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Video is done! Watch it in 1080p to really do it justice....its quite relaxing too lol...:icon_lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIcUpoiseW8


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Looking great!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> Looking great!


Thanks!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Some more pics (mainly Oto's and Shrimp) because the tank is one of the few things available/convenient to photograph at night :icon_bigg

1.


2. Poop-a-Loop! Literally!


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.


11.


12.


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## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Amazing pics...and the tank is stunning too!


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## glndrifts (Jun 8, 2010)

Love the pictures, especially against the black background. very very nice skills on the tank and photowork.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

This tank makes me want to rescape my recent rescape


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Nate McFin said:


> Amazing pics...and the tank is stunning too!


Thanks so much!



glndrifts said:


> Love the pictures, especially against the black background. very very nice skills on the tank and photowork.


Thanks! I'm glad people like the pics, I was starting to think problemman was my only fan lol....



accordztech said:


> This tank makes me want to rescape my recent rescape


Haha, I know the feeling....:icon_smil


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Thanks! I'm glad people like the pics, I was starting to think problemman was my only fan lol....


I was two lol


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The tank looks beautiful.
Nice work :thumbsup:


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Good stuff Elmo! 

You need more photo subjects! haha Takes skill to make such a simple fish become a star.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

CL said:


> The tank looks beautiful.
> Nice work :thumbsup:


Thanks man! 



speedie408 said:


> Good stuff Elmo!
> 
> You need more photo subjects! haha Takes skill to make such a simple fish become a star.


Yeah tell me about it. The problem is that once the flash starts going off, all the fish run (swim) for cover. The only fish that don't care at all are the oto's. 

Sometimes the pencilfish and black neon tetras tolerate the flash, but certain other fish.....forget about it. I have rummynose tetras, gold bar tetras, neon tetras and more, but you'd never know it because at the first sign of a flash going off they all take cover deep in the narrow leaf java fern, avoiding the open water at all costs lol.....

Really wish I had other people's tanks I could photograph, just for some more variety lol....I almost want to set up another tank just for some more picture taking opportunities :icon_mrgr


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I vote for more fish tanks lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

problemman said:


> I vote for more fish tanks lol


Of course you do lol...

So, I "rescaped" my lizards tank today, and got what I thought was a pretty cool picture :smile:


"Two Very Different Environments"

DSC_4295-2 on Flickr


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

So I got a new Nikon lens! Its a 300mm f/4, and I plan to get a Nikon 1.4x teleconverter within a few days. I got it mostly for wildlife photography, but it has a very close minimum focus distance, so I'm gonna' try to get some cool near macro shots with it of the tank and fish, but I don't know how successful I'll be.....

Ever see a Nikon lens in this color before? :eek5: 


DSC_4602-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


IMG_0146-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice tank! ill be honest, i didnt read through the whole thread, but it looks very nice! and your photography is great! never seen a white nikon lens! im envious of that monster! must have cost you a fortune! 

i have a question on how you set up for your tank pictures- how do you get the flash centered over the tank? i have a nice tripod and i had a hard time getting the flash centered over the tank. and the tank is only a 10 gallon.

ps. i shoot with a d90


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Looks like Nikon is starting to catch on to Canon BLING 

Nice lense bro. Now get to snappin!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> nice tank! ill be honest, i didnt read through the whole thread, but it looks very nice! and your photography is great! never seen a white nikon lens! im envious of that monster! must have cost you a fortune!
> 
> i have a question on how you set up for your tank pictures- how do you get the flash centered over the tank? i have a nice tripod and i had a hard time getting the flash centered over the tank. and the tank is only a 10 gallon.
> 
> ps. i shoot with a d90


Thanks man! You may not like my answer about the flash though lol....I duct tape it to the light.....I make sure to tape it in 2 directions (From back of flash backwards and back of flash to either left or right) so I have less of a chance of loosing it and it going for a nice swim in the tank. It can be really nerve-racking watching your $200 flash sitting an inch above 40 gallons of water held up by duct tape, so yeah, the weak-willed need not apply lol.....

I tried the tripod/lightstand approach but found it was just too cumbersome, couldn't manipulate the light the way I wanted....so yeah, taking risks is necessary lol...

Oh yeah I forgot to mention, the duct tape tends to mark up the flash, and it gets harded to remove the longer you let it sit, so you may not want to ruin your flash that way either....



speedie408 said:


> *Looks like Nikon is starting to catch on to Canon BLING *
> 
> Nice lense bro. Now get to snappin!


Psssh, not so fast....I only bought it so I could confuse all the Canonites! Muahahaha

Excited Canon Owner: Oh hey, I saw your white lens, which Canon are you shooting with?!
Me: I'm not! Its a Nikon, get your Canon cootie self away from me! Muahahahahahahaha :hihi:

Ok, so not really lol.....I have to say the white lenses have really grown on me. At first I absolutely hated them lol......

But thanks! lol....I want to use it for real so bad but I don't have off till the weekend,...when its supposed to rain :icon_roll


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

Dude your photography makes me angry _and_ motivated. (compliment).


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

FDNY911 said:


> Dude your photography makes me angry _and_ motivated. (compliment).


LOL, I completely understand what you mean, thanks!


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## ktownhero (Mar 21, 2011)

Great pictures man. Goes to show how important it is to spend the money on decent lenses. I was checking out your flickr, it looks like you were using a 30mm f/1.8 for a lot of your photos and now that big dog? Interesting technique with the flash, I've been really unhappy with the pictures I've taken of my tank just relying on the fluorescent light. The light looks so bright, yet it seems to be so challenging to get a proper exposure.

EDIT: Oh I also see you are using a 17mm-55mm f/2.8 -- those lenses are SWEET.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Psssh, not so fast....I only bought it so I could confuse all the Canonites! Muahahaha
> 
> Excited Canon Owner: Oh hey, I saw your white lens, which Canon are you shooting with?!
> Me: I'm not! Its a Nikon, get your Canon cootie self away from me! Muahahahahahahaha :hihi:
> ...


Here's my take :icon_twis

Excited Nikon Owner: Ohh boyyeeeee!! Nikon finally has a Godfather of all lenses!! A WHITE lense!! It's about time!! I've been drooling over all those white Canon L lenses F O R E V E R!! Now I can be just like the Canon guys! Yay!! 

:hihi: :icon_lol: :wink:


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Thanks man! You may not like my answer about the flash though lol....I duct tape it to the light.....I make sure to tape it in 2 directions (From back of flash backwards and back of flash to either left or right) so I have less of a chance of loosing it and it going for a nice swim in the tank. It can be really nerve-racking watching your $200 flash sitting an inch above 40 gallons of water held up by duct tape, so yeah, the weak-willed need not apply lol.....
> 
> I tried the tripod/lightstand approach but found it was just too cumbersome, couldn't manipulate the light the way I wanted....so yeah, taking risks is necessary lol...
> 
> ...


Ahh!!!! I'm not sure if I could do that! Actually I probably would, if I didn't have this ugly hood on my tank. The hood doesn't really present a good way to rape the flash to it. Darn! That's a pretty daring thing to do though, albeit something I may have to try. 



You can call me Bob 

"have no fear, help is here!"


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## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

How did I miss this one?!
Nice 'scape & killer pics! What body are you using?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

ktownhero said:


> Great pictures man. Goes to show how important it is to spend the money on decent lenses. I was checking out your flickr, it looks like you were using a 30mm f/1.8 for a lot of your photos and now that big dog? Interesting technique with the flash, I've been really unhappy with the pictures I've taken of my tank just relying on the fluorescent light. The light looks so bright, yet it seems to be so challenging to get a proper exposure.
> 
> EDIT: Oh I also see you are using a 17mm-55mm f/2.8 -- those lenses are SWEET.


Thanks!

I used to use my 35mm 1.8, but now I really only use it for movies, since the 1.8 aperture allows me to keep the ISO down, and the focus ring is nice and smooth, allowing me to keep the footage steady. 99% of my shots come from the Nikon 17-55 2.8, since its much more flexible and with the flash I can stop down and get even sharper results then wide open. I have a 80-200 2.8 but never use it since there's not enough space between the tank glass and the nearest wall, making it really hard to use with its rather far minimum close focus distance. 

You would think if I couldn't use my 80-200, the 300mm would be way too long, but with the 1:3 focus ratio, the close focus is a little under 5 feet, so I should be able to get really close and still get shots, especially with the stiller subjects (Shrimp, otto's, etc.)

I agree though, the flash is incredibly useful. I'm always experimenting with it, trying to get creative new ideas. I actually duct taped my flash to the ceiling above the tank a week or so ago, worked well, but the flash came really close to falling 5 feet down into the tank a few times, lol.....plus when I went to remove the flash, the duct tape ripped the paint off my ceiling in big chunks......woops! :icon_eek:

Good glass absolutely does give amazing results though! It's all about the glass as they say lol...



speedie408 said:


> Here's my take :icon_twis
> 
> Excited Nikon Owner: Ohh boyyeeeee!! Nikon finally has a Godfather of all lenses!! A WHITE lense!! It's about time!! I've been drooling over all those white Canon L lenses F O R E V E R!! Now I can be just like the Canon guys! Yay!!
> 
> :hihi: :icon_lol: :wink:


Hehe, yea sure!.....although I have to be honest, I was and actually am becoming tempted towards Canon, but only for the supertelephotos. I want to buy a 500mm f/4, but the price differences between Canon and Nikon telephotos are amazing. If I buy the Canon 500mm f/4, its $6,500...yet for the same lens on the Nikon side, the Nikkor 500mm f/4, its $8,500. Its tempting me to buy the Canon and a cheapish Canon body just for the price savings alone, lol....



orchidman said:


> Ahh!!!! I'm not sure if I could do that! Actually I probably would, if I didn't have this ugly hood on my tank. The hood doesn't really present a good way to rape the flash to it. Darn! That's a pretty daring thing to do though, albeit something I may have to try.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL, it definitely does take guts. Although just taping the flash up top won't create instantly great photos, there's still a lot of finessing and fine tuning you have to do :help:



roybot73 said:


> How did I miss this one?!
> Nice 'scape & killer pics! What body are you using?


Why thank you! I'm using a Nikon D7000 for now, but I plan to get the successor to the D300s (D400?) when it comes out, but who knows when that'll be. I was originally planning on going to the D700 sucessor (D800?), but I'm starting to really get into wildlife photography, where DX format is king. 

The D7000 is absolutely amazing though, it really has a ton of pro features for a great price. The resolution and ISO performance alone are great reasons to buy it.

Here's an example of the high-ISO performance, taken using my new (300mm f4) lens, wide open at f/4....I don't know if I'm more impressed with the high-ISO performance or the sharpness of the new lens wide open at f/4...plus it was shot through 125g aquarium glass!

3200 ISO! No noise reduction applied...You can verify the 3200 ISO by clicking the link at the bottom and checking the EXIF data, lol...

4545 - Sharpness Test by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

Yeah I get that. It just would be easier without having to worry about the tripod in the right positions. I just get someone to hold it for me! Ha!


You can call me Bob 

"have no fear, help is here!"


----------



## ktownhero (Mar 21, 2011)

3200 ISO, that's pretty sick. I have an older Canon XSi and it only goes up to 1600 but it's noisy so I don't use it too often. It's a great body though


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> Yeah I get that. It just would be easier without having to worry about the tripod in the right positions. I just get someone to hold it for me! Ha!
> 
> 
> You can call me Bob
> ...


Yeah, the tripod just gets in the way lol....



ktownhero said:


> 3200 ISO, that's pretty sick. I have an older Canon XSi and it only goes up to 1600 but it's noisy so I don't use it too often. It's a great body though


Yeah it's definitely a good body. Besides what I or others may say or have, you can still get excellent results with just about any body. As you said before, its more about the glass than the body 

I took the new lens out yesterday, and got a few shots that were technically so-so, but the bokeh was amazing, and shows just how sharp the expensive telephotos are. 

Take this pic for example, it was cloudy out with virtually no light, so I really could'nt get any good depth of field on the flower. In fact, the flower itself is technically embarassing, since it looks very sloppy with the thin DOF. Thats not what I'm trying to show though,....what I am trying to show is the amazing bokeh (out of focus background smoothness) that can be achieved with some nice glass with a rounded 9-bladed diaphragm...

Again, the flower sucks but thats not the point, the bokeh is what caught my eye here lol....(See if you can spot the ant, lol)

4951- Close Focus Test by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

This one is just razor-sharp!

DSC_4929 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

Anyways, I'll be posting some pictures later tonight hopefully. I cleaned the filter on the tank tonight and took out the massive clumps of hair algae that were growing on the hairgrass carpet. I'm out of co2 too, so I'm gonna have to get that refilled as soon as possible. I definitely want to try out my new lens on the tank though,...should make for some great closeups!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Couldn't get many quality shots at all, focus was having a hard time locking on due to all the debris floating in the water from cleaning the filter, and even if I did get focus, the dirty water made the pictures come out like crap...and it seems like the 300mm will be tough to use with the tank. In order to use it I have to have my back and head pressed against the wall opposite the tank, making it pretty uncomfortable....

Anyways,....


DSC_5067 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSC_5020 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSC_5048 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

Still pretty decent!


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## xJaypex (Jul 4, 2009)

Ahh... what a great tank and photography.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Soooo, its been a while.... :icon_eek: I had a period of serious lack of maintenance on the tank, it was covered in huge threads of hair algae. Anyways, I cleaned it out the other day, had to take out a bunch of my dwarf belem hair grass carpet as it was completely choked out and covered in algae, but that's okay, it'll grow back shortly...Didn't have time for any serious photos, but I should be getting some soon. In the mean time, enjoy a panorama of the general area :icon_lol: Taken with the X100 in near darkness, so not the sharpest since it was shot at f/2, but eh, whatever lol......


DSCF0315 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

I think you'll be proud to know that I found out how to sync my sb600 as a slave without a picket wizard. And I duck taped it to my light. 


You can call me Bob


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> I think you'll be proud to know that I found out how to sync my sb600 as a slave without a picket wizard. And I duck taped it to my light.
> 
> 
> You can call me Bob


Haha sweet. I checked out the flash pics on your tank journal,...very nice, It's amazing the difference the flash makes :icon_smil


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Lovely. I really appreciate your photography skills. One could only hope to be that good.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> Lovely. I really appreciate your photography skills. One could only hope to be that good.


Wow, thanks so much! That really means a lot to me :icon_bigg.....

So everyone, I have a question, what do you think of me pulling out all of the dwarf hairgrass and black sand, and replacing it with just pool filter sand? Imagine something like this:










I would leave the black sand where the needle leaf java fern is, as it would be very damaging to remove the java fern. I would just remove the rest of it, and replace with plain pool filter sand. I have a 12 gallon eclipse tank and filter I could keep the fish in while I do all of this. I'd use the current tank water to fill the 12 gallon, replace the sand, and then refill the 40B with the tank water that was originally in it (I'd drain the water from the 40B into a tub or something) The only problem with that is the tank water may be extremely cloudy after replacing the water because of the new sand, but I'm assuming the fish would be okay. If necessary, I could keep all the fish in the 12 gallon for a few days, since it has a filter and light and all that stuff...

My reasoning is that now that my hair grass carpet is half-destroyed, I feel like it's high maintenance ( Yeah I know, it was my fault, but still :icon_mrgr ) and its really the only high maintenance part of my tank. I feel like if I replace it with regular pool filter sand, it will look more natural, and I wont have to deal with the upkeep of hairgrass. I'll still keep the co2 on for general algae busting purposes....So, yes/no/maybe?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I say go for it. You might have an algae flare up with the new sand, but if you keep your lights subdued for a few weeks, you shouldn't have an issue. It would look like a beach scape. I'm with you on the hair grass. It's lovely, but it's high maintenance.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> I say go for it. You might have an algae flare up with the new sand, but if you keep your lights subdued for a few weeks, you shouldn't have an issue. It would look like a beach scape. I'm with you on the hair grass. It's lovely, but it's high maintenance.


Yeah, I think I'm gonna' switch to pool filter sand tomorrow.....thanks for the tip about the lights! :smile:


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

PFS is a lot harder to keep clean, keep that in mind. I like both looks so it would be a hard decision for me.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

lnstevens said:


> PFS is a lot harder to keep clean, keep that in mind. I like both looks so it would be a hard decision for me.


Yeah, I definitely realize that. I had a small eclipse tank setup at one time with play sand, and I remember fish poop always being on the surface, etc, but I think it'll be worth it. Another reason I want to switch to PFS is that I feel like my tank right now is too "dark". The background is black and the sand is black, so I feel like its not bright and catchy enough. I feel like sand would brighten it up and definitely add a more natural feel to it :smile:

This talk of my old 12 gallon eclipse has me thinking about setting it up again. I always intended to make a small riparium out of it, but I think I'll buy a new, scratch free one and turn it in to another low light tank. I really have a urge to try another new scape/photography subject, and this seems like the perfect excuse :hihi:

Come to think of it, I also have another 40B with stand in the garage, sitting unused. I would turn that into a riparium in a heartbeat, but I don't have anywhere to put it :help: 

The thought of two new tanks really has me salivating (lol), but like I said, I just don't have anywhere to put the other 40B. At least with a small eclipse tank, I can put it practically anywhere...


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

I have black sand and a black background. With 2xT5HO 39W bulbs it doesn't look dark to me at all. But I also realize everyone has different perceptions.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

lnstevens said:


> I have black sand and a black background. With 2xT5HO 39W bulbs it doesn't look dark to me at all. But I also realize everyone has different perceptions.


Yeah, I think I'm just looking for a change lol....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

The tank rescape is well under way! Had a few setbacks, but all is going well at the moment! More details later...

*Look for a super awesome time-lapse video of the rescape process and after scape pictures later tonight!*


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

The time lapse of the re-scape is done :smile: ....Pictures will be done tomorrow night, the re-scape and time lapse video production took longer than I expected :help:

With the new look, I figured I needed a new title to my journal 

The time lapse is 6 hours condensed to 3 minutes or so...I added a few funny parts, be on the lookout for them! And watch it in 1080p HD! lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ExEmvAe48

I didn't even think to do a time lapse until about 5 minutes in, so the video starts a little late, but better than nothing at all...I figured it might be educational, at they very least lol :icon_lol:

The whole process didn't go exactly as planned...I thought I would be able to get the fish out after I took out half the water, turns out as soon as they saw the net they took off into the massive lump of needle leaf java fern, making them impossible to see, let alone catch! :icon_eek: So I was forced to leave a few inches of (cloudy) water in there, meaning I couldn't really see what I was doing, at all! I had planned on draining everything! 

Oh well, it turned out okay, although I couldn't get all the fish out, they made it through, and even make a guest appearance in the video! As I went along with taking the old sand out and putting in the new, I would catch them and put them in the other tank if I saw them swimming in the murky open water. The eclipse 12 is on the ground in the video, and was their temporary home, along with the red cherry shrimp...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

A teaser before the real pics tonight:


9908 - Planted Tank Re-Scape by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Amazing


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Chrisinator said:


> Amazing


Thanks!

All of the following are with the X100...not sure how I feel about those rocks in the right corner :/

Don't forget the timelapse video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ExEmvAe48


DSCF0472 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0468 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0447 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0460 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0454 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0437 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

That tank looks really good. I want your backyard.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

lnstevens said:


> That tank looks really good. I want your backyard.


Hah, my backyard is a beach! Before they built the house behind me, I had a waterfront view. Now theres a house, a new waterfront park/boardwalk they built, and then the beach! But the beach is still less than a block away, so I guess I can't be too upset lol...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Haha sweet. I checked out the flash pics on your tank journal,...very nice, It's amazing the difference the flash makes :icon_smil


thanks! im glad i found out how to do it! w/o a pocket wizard


TickleMyElmo said:


> Thanks!
> 
> All of the following are with the X100...not sure how I feel about those rocks in the right corner :/
> 
> ...


looks awesome! love the new sand


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> thanks! im glad i found out how to do it! w/o a pocket wizard
> 
> 
> looks awesome! love the new sand


Yeah, matter of fact, how do you do it? Maybe I could use it to sync my X100 with my flash :hihi: Does it involve covering up part of the contacts on the hot shoe? Do tell, do tell....lol


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

That video is great especially when the baseball bat comes out. I have almost been to that point a couple of times during a rescape. BTW the tank looks beautiful. Simple and elegant.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Simple yet elegant, If I were to get a 40gB, I would do something like this and just a few red stems.

GRR! UA HUA! You ninja'd me on the "Simple elegant" part. I shall come up with something original. *Beauty in a box*. There we go!


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

what kind of sand is that? Its so pure white..


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

ua hua said:


> That video is great especially when the baseball bat comes out. I have almost been to that point a couple of times during a rescape. BTW the tank looks beautiful. Simple and elegant.





Da Plant Man said:


> Simple yet elegant, If I were to get a 40gB, I would do something like this and just a few red stems.
> 
> GRR! UA HUA! You ninja'd me on the "Simple elegant" part. I shall come up with something original. *Beauty in a box*. There we go!


Haha, thank you guys. I agree about the simple yet elegant part, and I love it simple. I had the red/pink stems and all that at one point, but I've really come to appreciate the simplicity of the this tank, yet it has the ability to still remain elegant. Just goes to show you don't _need _high light to create a stunning tank :icon_bigg Plus, maintenance is a breeze, and I can actually have a life while still having a planted tank lol :icon_lol:



accordztech said:


> what kind of sand is that? Its so pure white..


Its pool filter sand, from a Leslie's Pool Supply store. It's not really that white, it's actually a very natural beach colored mix, even has some black specs in it and varying colors. Very very beach like. It just looks so white in the pics because all cameras have problems with exposing whites accurately, since if they expose for the white correctly, the rest of the picture comes out very dark, and the opposite if they expose for the scene properly but not the color white. 

As a side note, I got my lens hood for my X100 today, and it makes it look 10 times sexier if I do say so myself  Here's a pic of it that's also planted tank related! lol...


9927 ~ X100 and Planted Aquarium by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


9932 ~ X100 and Planted Aquarium by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice x100! looks amazing! i want one


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Some more pics, all taken with my X100, mainly because I was bored! lol...


DSCF0512 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0515 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0502 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


DSCF0519 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

*drool....



You wouldn't mind telling me where you got that aquarium stand, would you?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

RipariumGuy said:


> *drool....
> 
> 
> 
> You wouldn't mind telling me where you got that aquarium stand, would you?


Sure, it's just a standard Aqueon classic pine stand...:smile:


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Sure, it's just a standard Aqueon classic pine stand...:smile:


Nice! Thanks much! It would be perfect for my 40g breeder, as the current DIY one doesn't match the new furniture... :icon_neut


Keep up the good work!


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Cool video and sweet looking camera. The pics looks very nice.

All you need now is a caravan of camels and some desert travelers in the sand part trying to reach the oasis...hahah


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Cool video and sweet looking camera. The pics looks very nice.
> 
> All you need now is a caravan of camels and some desert travelers in the sand part trying to reach the oasis...hahah


Haha, yeah really, that would be great :hihi:

It was looking a little barren in the tank, so I got some new inhabitants...

8 x Bronze Cory's (I remember reading they like to be in large, social, groups...)
8 x Blue Eye Killies
6 x Beckford's Pencilfish

I already had some pencilfish in the past without any problem, and everybody else should get along just fine. The cory's have been in for less than 15 minutes, and they're already rooting through the new pool filter sand, looking for food :smile: They must like it, lol....

The cory's were dashing to the surface every once in a while. I had them a long time ago, but I forgot if that's normal for them, so to be safe I disconnected the c02 for the night, figured the new fish would'nt be used to it anyways and I would slowly raise it....


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## Ashok (Dec 11, 2006)

That's very very nice!


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## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

Very nice! I do like the rocks in the other corner, by the way ... if you don't fancy them as much, perhaps get different shaped / sized ones and play around with positioning? Definitely keep something there I think.

And yes, cories do zoom to the surface every once in a while as regular behaviour


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Ashok said:


> That's very very nice!


Thanks! :smile:



Rhaethe said:


> Very nice! I do like the rocks in the other corner, by the way ... if you don't fancy them as much, perhaps get different shaped / sized ones and play around with positioning? Definitely keep something there I think.
> 
> And yes, cories do zoom to the surface every once in a while as regular behaviour


Yeah, they're growing on me. I actually bought 10lbs. of river rock today. I had planned on switching them out with the smaller rocks and the rocks in the corner, but I think the river rocks would be too big for replacing the smaller rocks, and I've actually grown to like the 3 black rocks that are in there. Oh well, I'll have to use the river rocks on my new tank :icon_wink /hint lol

Anyways, I havn't done an actual photo session in a while, so I figured I better get to it....roud:

1.

DSC_0207 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

2.

DSC_0204 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

3.

DSC_0032-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4.

DSC_0213 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5.

DSC_0217 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6.

DSC_0241 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

7.

DSC_0230 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

8.

DSC_0223 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

9.

DSC_0233 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

10.

DSC_0239 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

11.

DSC_0015 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

12.

DSC_0144 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

13.

DSC_0148 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

14.

DSC_0163 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

15.

DSC_0258-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

16.

DSC_0141 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

17.

DSC_0142 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

18.

DSC_0145 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

19.

DSC_0249 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

20.

DSC_0154 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

21.

DSC_0044-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

22.

DSC_0260 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

23.

DSC_0143 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

24.

DSC_0074 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

25.

DSC_0059 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

26.

DSC_0016 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

27.

DSC_0034-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

28.

DSC_0107 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

29.

DSC_0111 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

30.

DSC_0045 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

31.

DSC_0109 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

32.

DSC_0051-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

33.

DSC_0123-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

34.

DSC_0085 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Amazingness! Is there any editing to those pictures at all? (Other then the watermark and edging?) 

And, one last question about your stand... Could you by chance tell me where you got it?


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

love the photography! what flash do you use?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

RipariumGuy said:


> Amazingness! Is there any editing to those pictures at all? (Other then the watermark and edging?)
> 
> And, one last question about your stand... Could you by chance tell me where you got it?


Hah thanks :smile: Just some standard contrast adjustments, and some cloning to remove the occasional air bubbles, etc...

The stand was from a local LFS (Tropiquarium - Great store!) that sells their fish tanks and stands at cost (you pay what they pay) 



orchidman said:


> love the photography! what flash do you use?


Thanks, I use an SB-600 roud:


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice! the same one i have! i had it on sync mode, then someone reset it, and i cant get it back to sync mode. even when i follow the same steps i didnt the first time.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> nice! the same one i have! i had it on sync mode, then someone reset it, and i cant get it back to sync mode. even when i follow the same steps i didnt the first time.


Hah, the SB-600's interface is such a pain in the ass! I know you're probably already doing this, but to get to the wireless sync mode, hold "zoom" and the "-" until the little squiggly arrow comes up (if not on the squiggly arrow, hit "+" until it gets there) then hit "mode" until it says "on", then hit "ON/OFF" to get it to go back to the standard screen. 

Then, make sure your camera is set to match the flash. I have my flash set to channel 1, and group A, and my camera under the bracketing/flash menu>commander mode> is set to....

built in flash "--" (make sure its set to "--", otherwise the built in flash will influence the exposure. When set to "--", the built in flash only triggers the SB-600, which is what you want when being used remotely)
Group A "TTL" Comp 0
Group B "--"

and below that, the channel is set to 1...


Maybe that'll help lol...:icon_lol:


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

thanks alot! it was the squigly arrow that messed me up! its fixed now, thanks alot


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

do you shoot with the lights off? is it hard for you to focus if its dark in the room


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> thanks alot! it was the squigly arrow that messed me up! its fixed now, thanks alot


No problem :thumbsup:



orchidman said:


> do you shoot with the lights off? is it hard for you to focus if its dark in the room


I leave the tank lights on, but turn the lights in the room of the tank off. Minimizes glare, while still letting me see what I'm taking pictures of lol...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

okay, i didnt think about that! thakns alot.. sorry for all the questions, but your photography is stunning!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> okay, i didnt think about that! thakns alot.. sorry for all the questions, but your photography is stunning!


Haha thanks, that's nice to hear...this is the only place people appreciate pics of my fish. Anybody else I try to show them to is like...."Oh, ummm, cool I guess?"...nobody understands just how difficult it is :icon_eek: lol

And don't worry about the questions, that's how you learn lol...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i agree! nobody else appreciates the difficulty. a while ago when i was just experimenting with taking pics of my fish, i got a whole shoot of really nice fish pictures, but i could never get the same quality again for my fish shots. here is one from that shoot. i downloaded it off facebook because i dont feel like messing with my HD tonight, so its not he best quality


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i agree! nobody else appreciates the difficulty. a while ago when i was just experimenting with taking pics of my fish, i got a whole shoot of really nice fish pictures, but i could never get the same quality again for my fish shots. here is one from that shoot. i downloaded it off facebook because i dont feel like messing with my HD tonight, so its not he best quality


Get me the full size, full resolution version, and I'll show you how to make your pictures really stand out :hihi:


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

sure thing. ill try to remember to do it tomorrow. 

another semi related question, do you use lightroom?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> sure thing. ill try to remember to do it tomorrow.
> 
> another semi related question, do you use lightroom?


Yep, lightroom 3.3...

I couldn't wait, I was bored lol...I had to save it a little from the crappy FaceBook quality, but it still doesn't look too bad...










Here's another version, because I can, lol....












I could edit pics all day, I love transforming pics from good to amazing lol...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice, i use LR 3.3 too. 

thansk for the edits. they look good. did you do anything that maybe im not picking up? or was it just cloning out the little food pieces and the leaf? i kind of like the leaf actually. thanks!


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Lightroom? Psh, I am getting Photosho cs5 

Elmo, you got some serious talent, and for that I give multiple kudos to you.

KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS TO YOU!!


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i love cs5 too  its great  but lightroom is for editing RAW photos mainly


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> nice, i use LR 3.3 too.
> 
> thansk for the edits. they look good. did you do anything that maybe im not picking up? or was it just cloning out the little food pieces and the leaf? i kind of like the leaf actually. thanks!


That's about it...



Da Plant Man said:


> Lightroom? Psh, I am getting Photosho cs5
> 
> Elmo, you got some serious talent, and for that I give multiple kudos to you.
> 
> KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS TO YOU!!


Haha thanks man. And photoshop is okay, but honestly, I don't have it. Never saw it as necessary, lightroom does everything I need. Photoshop is more for heavily editing one picture, where lightroom is more for editing a bunch of pictures, and creating more of a quick and efficient workflow. You could edit a lot of pictures in PS, but it would be a huge pain in the ass! I do have gimp though, but I only use it for heavy cloning jobs, where lightroom 3 is lacking in flexibility. Lightroom isn't really inferior to Photoshop, they just serve two very different roles...

If you plan to pick up Photoshop in the future, don't forget to use the student store and get the student discount if you are in fact a student. Can't beat 80% off :hihi:


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i agree with you about editing any quantity of things on PS! its a real pain.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i agree with you about editing any quantity of things on PS! its a real pain.


Yeah definitely


Good news everybody! I will be starting another tank soon (_Hint: It was recently bought from the swap and shop )_...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

woohoo!! what tank is that? 

rams would be nice. or angelfish.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Ada time! That was a really good deal for that set up. roud: 

I vote shrimp tank. Not that I have a say...but I'm biased ...lol


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> woohoo!! what tank is that?
> 
> rams would be nice. or angelfish.


Hehehe, if you haven't figured it out yet, go look at the S&S and look for the last post by me lol....



shrimpnmoss said:


> Ada time! That was a really good deal for that set up. roud:
> 
> I vote shrimp tank. Not that I have a say...but I'm biased ...lol


I was thinking of a shrimp tank, but it's going to be in the TV room, so I want some fish to watch, while I and others hang out in there lol...I think rams would be cool, and maybe a few smaller corys and maybe a couple others if I can fit them in. I don't know if 17 gallons is even big enough for a pair of rams?! let alone other fish...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

ahh the 60p an amazing deal!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Yup! Got it on the stand today, just have to order all the supplies from Dr. F&S and then I'll be setting it up as soon as possible...Just have to get a few small things right now, and then I can set it up as soon as the stuff arrives from Dr. F&S! And maybe a few plants too...This is gonna be sweet! roud:

EDIT: All supplies for the new ADA tank are on their way, including some nice Manzanita driftwood...only thing left to get is some plants when everything is setup and running, although I might not get any plants at all....

I probably won't be going with rams. From my research, they'd probably be pretty crammed in a 60P, maybe I'll get some dwarf gouramis or smaller regular gouramis instead! lol...


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## Jimi (Jul 18, 2011)

This tank is really nice. I would ask you how do you get the HC growing so well? I have a life glo 54w T5 HO and an arcadia tropical plant light also 54w T5 HO but my HC seems to be yellowing and growing so slowly. The java ferns are pearling but thats about it. I have DIY co2 in mine and a lime wood diffuser. Do you think I would be better off getting a glass diffuser with shop bought co2? 

I dont use ferts either. Everything seems to be growing but not as lovley as yours. I dont have any reflectors on my lights though. I would of thought with more light I would be getting the same results as you but alas no! Any advice?

Jimi


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## plecostomouse (Jun 9, 2011)

sweet tank, just looked through the whole thread.
only thing i can think of is that in my opinion you should stick to 1 or 2 schooling fish and get a lot of them.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Jimi said:


> This tank is really nice. I would ask you how do you get the HC growing so well? I have a life glo 54w T5 HO and an arcadia tropical plant light also 54w T5 HO but my HC seems to be yellowing and growing so slowly. The java ferns are pearling but thats about it. I have DIY co2 in mine and a lime wood diffuser. Do you think I would be better off getting a glass diffuser with shop bought co2?
> 
> I dont use ferts either. Everything seems to be growing but not as lovley as yours. I dont have any reflectors on my lights though. I would of thought with more light I would be getting the same results as you but alas no! Any advice?
> 
> Jimi


I'd definitely get pressurized c02, makes a world of difference. Plus I've found a lot depends on the bulbs as well. The growth really took off when I switched from the stock Current bulbs that came with it to the german made Giesemann bulbs. Reflectors make a big difference too, especially when they're individual reflectors like in my light fixture. More watts is useless when its not going directly to the tank...

Of course I no longer have HC or any carpet plant in general, but when I did, I never used ferts, and it still grew okay. Would have grown better with ferts, but I was content with what I had lol...



plecostomouse said:


> sweet tank, just looked through the whole thread.
> only thing i can think of is that in my opinion you should stick to 1 or 2 schooling fish and get a lot of them.


Yeah I realize that but the reason I get a variety is so I have a nice mix for pictures lol....nobody wants to see the same fish over and over again in pictures.....my new ADA tank will have more limited fish but bigger schools though


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## plecostomouse (Jun 9, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> I'd definitely get pressurized c02, makes a world of difference. Plus I've found a lot depends on the bulbs as well. The growth really took off when I switched from the stock Current bulbs that came with it to the german made Giesemann bulbs. Reflectors make a big difference too, especially when they're individual reflectors like in my light fixture. More watts is useless when its not going directly to the tank...
> 
> Of course I no longer have HC or any carpet plant in general, but when I did, I never used ferts, and it still grew okay. Would have grown better with ferts, but I was content with what I had lol...
> 
> ...


swwweeettt.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm out of witty introductions,........here's some flippin' pictures!



0429 ~ Gold Bar Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0358 ~ Gold Bar Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0399 ~ Gold Bar Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0354 ~ Gold Bar Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0437 ~ All of the Lights by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0402 ~ Glowlight Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0388 ~ Gold Bar Tetras by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0380 ~ Glowlight Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0415 ~ Glowlight Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0381 ~ Gold Bar Tetra by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Found a dried up blue-eyed killifish in the carpet near the tank today.....woops! Forgot that killifish are jumpers :icon_frow Oh well, happens to the best of us, even with fish that aren't usually jumpers....


----------



## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

Holy Crap your pics are insane!!!!! Fantastic


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

PC1 said:


> Holy Crap your pics are insane!!!!! Fantastic


Haha thanks man. I don't know if you saw, but on page 17 there's the latest FTS shots....the driftwood in the tank came from you roud:


----------



## PC1 (May 21, 2010)

I thought that was mine. I'm thinking of making a thread to show off manzanita pics. When I do please add some your tank looks great.


----------



## Ashok (Dec 11, 2006)

gorgeous tank and pictures!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

PC1 said:


> I thought that was mine. I'm thinking of making a thread to show off manzanita pics. When I do please add some your tank looks great.


You definitely should! Nothing sells Manzanita like nice pics of it in actual customers tanks! I'll even add pics of the wood in the 60P as soon as I get it roud:


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Those pictures are fantastic!

I need to get a good camera with good lenses. My pictures are so pathetic.


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Ashok said:


> gorgeous tank and pictures!


Thanks! Appreciate it...



hydrophyte said:


> Those pictures are fantastic!
> 
> I need to get a good camera with good lenses. My pictures are so pathetic.


Thanks to you too! I love photography and think it's a great hobby, but I'll be the first to warn people, its freakin' expensive! This hobby pales in comparison to the cost of photography lol....just something to consider


----------



## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

Such an ugly tank... i don't know what to say...


NOT! 

Amazing... i'd like to buy it


----------



## kcirtappatrick (Mar 16, 2009)

your photography skills are amazing!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well I'm a little late but....



doncityz said:


> Such an ugly tank... i don't know what to say...
> 
> 
> NOT!
> ...


Thanks!



kcirtappatrick said:


> your photography skills are amazing!


Thanks to you too! I love when people say they like my photography! Gives me motivation lol...

----------------------------------

I'm getting pretty bored of this scape.....feel like I have to change it up, even if it's just a little bit. I'm probably going to be getting LEDs for this tank too (the 60P got me hooked on LEDs!) and taking off the c02 for good....I've come to the realization that you truly don't need co2 or high light to make a beautiful tank...I'll also be replacing the current sand with the darker more natural sand from my 60P....

Just feels like this scape is way too plain :icon_roll


----------



## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

TickleMyElmo said:


> I've come to the realization that you truly don't need co2 or high light to make a beautiful tank...I'll also be replacing the current sand with the darker more natural sand from my 60P....
> 
> Just feels like this scape is way too plain :icon_roll


Hah same here about the co2, im sure you will make something beutiful.


----------



## mrchach (Sep 8, 2010)

Very well done tank sir. Beautiful photography. My picture taking isnt so good... But my camera is a little 100 dollar bestbuy special...


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

mrchach said:


> Very well done tank sir. Beautiful photography. My picture taking isnt so good... But my camera is a little 100 dollar bestbuy special...


Thanks man! And yeah, for really really good pictures you have to spend teh moneyz $$$ :icon_eek:


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, I took some new fish pics tonight! I'm still going through all the pictures now, but while I do that, I figured I'd show what good quality glass (lenses) are capable of as far as resolution and sharpness....

Here's the original shot:

1238 ~ Cory Catfish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

Now for an artistic crop...

1238-2 ~ Cory Catfish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr



And finally the same picture, cropped all the way down to macro level (1:1)!...

1238-3 ~ Cory Catfish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

It's actually even sharper than that, but Flickr compresses the picture slightly so the quality goes down from the original, still good though! 

More pics to be posted shortly! :thumbsup:


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

woahh!! what glass is that?


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Whoa! What did you do to get it like that? And I mean the cropping and sharpening....


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> woahh!! what glass is that?


Nikon 35mm 1.4G :red_mouth


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> Whoa! What did you do to get it like that? And I mean the cropping and sharpening....


Just cropped, sharpened, and took the wood out of the shot for the Macro detail shot since it distracted from the fish lol...you can tell its still the same picture though hehe...


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Here's another one for your entertainment lol...

Original

1253 ~ Blue Eyed Killifish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr



Macro-ish Crop 1:2

1253-2 ~ Blue Eyed Killifish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

1.

1238-2 ~ Cory Catfish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

2.

1238-3 ~ Cory Catfish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

3.

1253-2 ~ Blue Eyed Killifish by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4.

0EH_1227 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5. Where's Waldo? The fish says "Excuseee me WTF are you doing?!?"

0EH_1231 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6. Protecting his Domain!

0EH_1234 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

7.

0EH_1256 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

8. FOOD!

0EH_1267 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

9.

0EH_1268 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

10.

0EH_1270 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

11. Cory Cat Acrobatics! Right after this photo, he slapped the wood with the side of his tail,...it's one of their favorite activities! lol...

0EH_1275 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

12. 

0EH_1283 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

13. The Fish Says - "Its...so......BEAUTIFUL!" 

0EH_1305 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

great shots!!! what lense is this?


----------



## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

Looks like me after dinner. Full. and lazy. lol


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> great shots!!! what lense is this?


35mm 1.4G again, 90% of the pics are heavy crops too...



doncityz said:


> Looks like me after dinner. Full. and lazy. lol


Haha same here! :hihi:


----------



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Awesome shots WOW


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

nice! i cant wait to get my SW fish so i have something new to take pictures of!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

2in10 said:


> Awesome shots WOW


Haha thanks :icon_lol:



orchidman said:


> nice! i cant wait to get my SW fish so i have something new to take pictures of!


Heh, I wish I had my nice camera setup when I had my saltwater tank, would have made for some awesome pics! Oh well, I'll live vicariously through you lol...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

lol! i really have to learn how to take better photos!

the focusing mechanism is broken on either my lens or my camera. im thinking the camera because switching lenses doesnt help much. so im sending it in after thanksgiving./ after that hopefully.

do you seriously only use 1 strobe?


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> lol! i really have to learn how to take better photos!
> 
> the focusing mechanism is broken on either my lens or my camera. im thinking the camera because switching lenses doesnt help much. so im sending it in after thanksgiving./ after that hopefully.
> 
> do you seriously only use 1 strobe?


Yeah, 1 strobe is all you really need. I wouldn't buy a second simply because I wouldn't get much use out of it. If I was going to buy more lighting equipment, it would be a set of Einsteins and softboxes, etc. from Paul C. Buff, the same company that makes alienbees. In fact, I've been torn lately on whether to get a set of Einsteins or a long wildlife lens....eh, that has nothing to do with aquariums anyways lol....

As far as the focusing, if its far off then yeah, send it in. Too bad the D90 doesn't have AF fine tuning, or you could have done it yourself, but thats a pain to do anyways so you might as well have Nikon do it....

Speaking of which, where are you planning on sending it? If you know for fact that its covered by warranty, then yeah, send it to Nikon. If it's not under warranty, I'd avoid sending it to Nikon like the plague lol.....always takes forever to get your camera back when you send it to them, like 6-8 weeks isn't unheard of, plus you pay out the nose for the "official factory service" 

Try something like Authorized Photo Service instead, they have a quick turn around, usually a matter of days or 2 weeks at most usually, plus the cost is way cheaper if your not under warranty. They used to be an official repair facility for Nikon, until Nikon consolidated its repair centers. They're still listed as a authorized repair facility though, so it's not like they don't know what they're doing...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Yeah, 1 strobe is all you really need. I wouldn't buy a second simply because I wouldn't get much use out of it. If I was going to buy more lighting equipment, it would be a set of Einsteins and softboxes, etc. from Paul C. Buff, the same company that makes alienbees. In fact, I've been torn lately on whether to get a set of Einsteins or a long wildlife lens....eh, that has nothing to do with aquariums anyways lol....
> 
> As far as the focusing, if its far off then yeah, send it in. Too bad the D90 doesn't have AF fine tuning, or you could have done it yourself, but thats a pain to do anyways so you might as well have Nikon do it....
> 
> ...


what exact strobe do you use? or do you use like an SB-600 or 800? i have a sb-600. 

einsteins would be nice! although i would get the lens. 

i borrowed a friend's lights a bit ago for a portrait party. i had 2 zeuss' for the main and fill and an AB for the backdrop.. it turned out really nice. and i wish i never had to give them back!










i am borrowing his AB ringlight right now. really cool thing! i found out how to use it as a slave, but i cant figure out how to control the intensity that way. if i can find out, i should be able to get awesome fish shots!

i dont think the camera is under warranty anymore. i sent it in a month or two ago to get the shutter fixed. and i think they might have messed with the focus by accident. its a realiable company but i cant remember what company. anyways, they have a 90 day guaruntee on their work, and so we are sending it back to them because we think it was them who messed it up.


sorry for the derail!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> what exact strobe do you use? or do you use like an SB-600 or 800? i have a sb-600.
> 
> einsteins would be nice! although i would get the lens.
> 
> ...


I only use a single SB-600, I don't have any studio strobes at the moment. 

That's a really nice shot, the alienbees are awesome. I was considering those at first, but figured I might as well pay the extra for the new Einsteins that everybody's raving about, especially considering I'd be using them professionally,...I'm trying to break into commercial automotive photography :icon_bigg

I'm thinking the alienbees would be too powerful for fish/ aquarium shots, in fact I have to power my sb-600 down quite a bit as it is lol...

Sounds good about the camera though, make them fix it lol...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i find it hard to get evenly lit shots, sometimes i get things that are blown out. if you dont mind, next time you shoot, tell me what your settings are for you flash and camera  its especially hard for me to get FTS that are evenly lit, i get dark spots or blown out spots if i compensate either direction.

thanks, im really proud of the shot. whats the difference between ABs and an einstein? i honestly dont know i havent looked into them at all because i cant afford them  show me some test shots of the automotive photos when you get them!!

im sure they will work with me


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i find it hard to get evenly lit shots, sometimes i get things that are blown out. if you dont mind, next time you shoot, tell me what your settings are for you flash and camera  its especially hard for me to get FTS that are evenly lit, i get dark spots or blown out spots if i compensate either direction.
> 
> thanks, im really proud of the shot. whats the difference between ABs and an einstein? i honestly dont know i havent looked into them at all because i cant afford them  show me some test shots of the automotive photos when you get them!!
> 
> im sure they will work with me


Sure thing! I'll let you know but in all actuality my settings change constantly, I'm always adjusting for the particular situation lol...

The biggest difference between the Einstein is the color consistency and that power range. For example, an AB800 goes from 10ws to 320ws, while the Einstein goes from 2.5ws to 640ws, all with the best color consistency around. Yeah, total flash geek stuff, nothing crazy, but its nice to have 3 different alienbees in one light instead of buying three different alienebees lol...Oh yeah, and everything on the Einstein is digital, so when you use the cyber commander or pocketwizards you can set everything from the camera...

In all reality though, I'll probably just put the money towards a wildlife lens, I find wildlife photography much more relaxing and gives me something to do on my days off lol...


----------



## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Elmo, man! What's up?

This has been an awful long page with no eye candy.. err pictures ( Posted by you) to be found! Post some up, man! Even if it isn't new stuff. 

Bob, nice portrait.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

zachary908 said:


> Elmo, man! What's up?
> 
> This has been an awful long page with no eye candy.. err pictures ( Posted by you) to be found! Post some up, man! Even if it isn't new stuff.
> 
> Bob, nice portrait.


Psssh, look back one page, there's plenty of new pics on page 20 :hihi:

But I will be taking more pics tonight :icon_lol:


----------



## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Psssh, look back one page, there's plenty of new pics on page 20 :hihi:
> 
> But I will be taking more pics tonight :icon_lol:


I know, and although those pics were fantastic as always... this is page 21! :flick:

Awesome, can't wait!


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Sure thing! I'll let you know but in all actuality my settings change constantly, I'm always adjusting for the particular situation lol...
> 
> The biggest difference between the Einstein is the color consistency and that power range. For example, an AB800 goes from 10ws to 320ws, while the Einstein goes from 2.5ws to 640ws, all with the best color consistency around. Yeah, total flash geek stuff, nothing crazy, but its nice to have 3 different alienbees in one light instead of buying three different alienebees lol...Oh yeah, and everything on the Einstein is digital, so when you use the cyber commander or pocketwizards you can set everything from the camera...
> 
> In all reality though, I'll probably just put the money towards a wildlife lens, I find wildlife photography much more relaxing and gives me something to do on my days off lol...



awesome! like i said, i always get hotspots when i take tank pictures, i dont know why though!

i would be such a light geek. if i could afford it! haha so i just borrow my friends and wish i could keep them! wow, thats a large range! and the color consistency sounds like a dream!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Absolutely awesome pics incoming!...


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

1. The Participants!...

0EH_1355 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

2. One small step for shrimp, One GIANT LEAP for Shrimpkind...

0EH_1443 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


3. Notice the reflection of my flash going off in his eye...

0EH_1495-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4.

0EH_1481 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5. 

0EH_1495 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6.

0EH_1427 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

7.

0EH_1460 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

8.

0EH_1497 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

9.

0EH_1399 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

10.

0EH_1487 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

11.

0EH_1423 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

12.

0EH_1409 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

13.

0EH_1458 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

14.

0EH_1420 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr



Man, just imagine what I could do if I was actually using a macro lens lol...

EDIT: Wow, just noticed I have over 21,000 views on this thread, thanks everybody! Hope I keep you coming back lol...


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

How do you do it man?.... 
Someone get this guy a macro lense!!!!!


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Amazing Photos Elmo







, I love the shrimp one.

Also what lens are you using?


----------



## allaboutfish (Oct 14, 2011)

what fish is that in number 11?


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> How do you do it man?....
> Someone get this guy a macro lense!!!!!


Hah, yeah I should really pick one up, even if I just get the older AF-D model for like $450 instead of $950 for the newer version....something is better than nothing lol



[email protected] said:


> Amazing Photos Elmo
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! The shrimp one was my favorite, just because of the vibrant color. That's how red that particular shrimp is naturally by the way, I didn't add any saturation to that picture...

And I'm using a Nikon 35mm 1.4G - http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2198/AF-S-NIKKOR-35mm-f%2F1.4G.html


allaboutfish said:


> what fish is that in number 11?


That would be a lamp eye killifish/blue eye "tetra"/killifish and or "Poropanchax Normani"


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Great shots as always, Elmo! I really like the cory cat ones!

By the way, congrats on hitting 21k views.


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## driftwoods (Feb 2, 2011)

Amazing pictures I hope you do that for a living.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

love the shots!!! the shrimp shot is really cool. and so are all the rest! im tempted to make one my desktop background! haha!

did you happpen to get settings for me?


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

zachary908 said:


> Great shots as always, Elmo! I really like the cory cat ones!
> 
> By the way, congrats on hitting 21k views.


Thanks! :icon_bigg



driftwoods said:


> Amazing pictures I hope you do that for a living.


Haha thanks! 



orchidman said:


> love the shots!!! the shrimp shot is really cool. and so are all the rest! im tempted to make one my desktop background! haha!
> 
> did you happpen to get settings for me?


Haha I like to make them my desktop background too, except I remove the borders from the pics and make my background black, that way it looks like the fish is swimming in my computer monitor lol...

I was thinking I should start posting them in the larger sizes too....like so!


0EH_1443 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0EH_1495 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


As far as the settings, I always keep my EXIF information attached, so all you have to do is go to the picture on Flickr, and click on Nikon D700 where it says, "This photo was taken yesterday using a Nikon D700" in the top right of the flickr page....

For example, the information for the shrimp shot is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyerexpectationsphotography/6374700001/meta/in/photostream


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

ahh there it is! thankyou! so you know what you have your flash set to? thats something im wondering about too. if not, then thats okay, but it would help.


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> ahh there it is! thankyou! so you know what you have your flash set to? thats something im wondering about too. if not, then thats okay, but it would help.


I just have it set to the normal wireless setting, TTL I think, I don't have it on manual or anything, I'm 99% sure thats just TTL but I dont have my flash near me at the moment so I cant check for sure lol...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

what does TTL mean? do you just leave on plain TTL? or do you have it like up or down any stops?


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> what does TTL mean? do you just leave on plain TTL? or do you have it like up or down any stops?


Just checked, nvm about the TTL, don't know where I got that from lol...

I just have it in wireless mode, you know, with the little squiggly line, and no, not adjusted up or down any stops (manual).....just plain wireless mode. I do have it set to 24mm though...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

when you go to your menu on the camera, to the on board command system for the flash, you have the flash set to manual and not adjusted up or down. okay!  thanks! ill try it! i always use the command center to adjust the flash up or down a few stops. ill try it with your exact settings then adjust and see where that leaves me. thanks!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> when you go to your menu on the camera, to the on board command system for the flash, you have the flash set to manual and not adjusted up or down. okay!  thanks! ill try it! i always use the command center to adjust the flash up or down a few stops. ill try it with your exact settings then adjust and see where that leaves me. thanks!


Wait, nope....

I have the mode set to TTL, and the comp set to 0, as in no adjustment...

No wonder where I got the TTL from, I knew I remembered seeing it somewhere!

:iamwithst


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i see! thanks alot! haha

what does TTL mean? i keep wanting to right TTYL haha :iamwithst


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i see! thanks alot! haha
> 
> what does TTL mean? i keep wanting to right TTYL haha :iamwithst


*T*hrough *T*he *L*ens, meaning the system meters for flash exposure through the lens, to give the most accurate results. It's not so much an option, it's just Nikon's name for flash metering lol...


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

ohhh! ive always wondered! thanks so much!


----------



## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

do you cover the back of the tank with black boards for your shots? lovely.


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

zenche said:


> do you cover the back of the tank with black boards for your shots? lovely.


Whoops, must have missed this one! Nope I don't, but I do have the back of my tank painted black with Krylon latex based matte black paint....so,...yes and no lol....


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Feeding Time!

1.

0EH_1891 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

2.

0EH_1873 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

3.

0EH_1905 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4. Nom Nom Nom

0EH_1899 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5.

0EH_1852 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6. Foooooood

0EH_1900 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

7.

0EH_1909 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr





Experimenting with black and white...

FISH FROM OUTER SPACE!

0EH_1873-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0EH_1891-3 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


0EH_1905-2 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Updated with new pics! ^


----------



## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

Wow Elmo! Those pictures are great!! I'm so jealous! Haha


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow, more fantastic pictures. Nice work!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> Wow Elmo! Those pictures are great!! I'm so jealous! Haha





hydrophyte said:


> Wow, more fantastic pictures. Nice work!


Thanks guys!


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Very nice pics! If only I could get mine to be like yours...


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> Very nice pics! If only I could get mine to be like yours...


Whoops, I'm a little late, but thanks! I appreciate it :smile:


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

It's time for a big change with this tank, as in a totally different scape...

Not sure exactly what yet, but I'm in the process of looking for inspiration! lol


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Same here man! Gonna completely tear down my tank  You should go high tech.


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> Same here man! Gonna completely tear down my tank  You should go high tech.


Hah same here, total tear down! I was high tech for a while, but I've now switched to completely low tech. I enjoy the challenge of making low tech tanks just as beautiful as the high tech tanks, and without the maintenance and headaches that go along with the co2, ferts, etc :hihi:


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

True dat... Which is why I'm goin low tech... Just need to figure out how to mess with my lighting... Haha with school and college in 2 years, low tech is the way to go!


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> True dat... Which is why I'm goin low tech... Just need to figure out how to mess with my lighting... Haha with school and college in 2 years, low tech is the way to go!


Hah I know the feeling, and its definitely another reason I need to go low tech. I have a full time job, I'm a full time student, another part time job, oh, and then add wedding photography on top of all that which requires me to travel frequently, and its easy to see why I DO NOT want to worry about dosing my fish tank everyday or doing a water change every week haha :icon_lol:


----------



## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Haha the good thing about low tech along with shrimp is that you could theoretically leave your tank for a month and still come back to it... Just with a decent amount of growth :hihi: its what happened to me and my 11.4G shrimp tank.


----------



## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

jkan0228 said:


> Haha the good thing about low tech along with shrimp is that you could theoretically leave your tank for a month and still come back to it... Just with a decent amount of growth :hihi: its what happened to me and my 11.4G shrimp tank.


Yeah I'm totally hands off with my riparium. I havn't done anything to it since I set it up, besides cutting back the growth once. No water changes or anything like that, its a wonderful thing lol...now to make my 40B just as self sufficient! lol...


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Thats pretty much the same with any crypts, moss, anubias etc. Just let it rip! Haha moss just requires the occasional trimming. Once both my tanks are low tech, I can leave it there, maybe feed the fish once a day and relax.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Can't wait to see what you do next. Come to the shrimp side!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Well, with this scape on the way out, I figured I would take some last pics, and a self portrait, showing what every one of us often does, staring at their tanks in wonder...

1.

0EH_2023 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

2.Yargh, I caught two fish with the algae line captain! (No fish were harmed in the making of this photograph :icon_wink )

0EH_2046 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

3.

0EH_2061 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4.

0EH_2092 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5.

0EH_2045 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6. Male and Female Beckford's Pencil Fish

0EH_2057 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

7.

0EH_2083 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

8.

0EH_2090 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i like the self portrait


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

So what are you leaning towards for the next scape Nikon man?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

shrimpnmoss said:


> So what are you leaning towards for the next scape Nikon man?


No idea, but I'm half tempted to replace it with a rimless tank. I really don't want to do that though, too much money I could be spending on better things, plus the regular style tank matches the lizard tank next to it...

EDIT: Thanks orchidman/bob! It was a pain to take, setting the focus manually, marking the spot to put my head, etc etc lol...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

I can imagine! I tried before, but u jut have up. Lol


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> No idea, but I'm half tempted to replace it with a rimless tank. I really don't want to do that though, too much money I could be spending on better things, plus the regular style tank matches the lizard tank next to it...
> 
> EDIT: Thanks orchidman/bob! It was a pain to take, setting the focus manually, marking the spot to put my head, etc etc lol...


So you think a 60P ADA Rimless tank that costs only $125 is too expensive when you have a Nikon D700 that costs $3,000 with tax? :icon_roll


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Uptown193 said:


> So you think a 60P ADA Rimless tank that costs only $125 is too expensive when you have a Nikon D700 that costs $3,000 with tax? :icon_roll


Hah, I wish it were only $125, if that was the case I would already have it haha, but the closest to the 40B I have now is the 90P, which last I checked was $499 plus tax and shipping...


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Hah, I wish it were only $125, if that was the case I would already have it haha, but the closest to the 40B I have now is the 90P, which last I checked was $499 plus tax and shipping...


True, but still that should be loose change in your pockets since you got that $3,000 cam. :fish:

Oh plus the closest thing to a 40g breeder is the 75P which is only $329


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

$3000?...doh!...well a couple of wedding shoots should take care of that....Elmo you should know by now from your 60p....the actual tank is one of the least expensive part of a build...hehe


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Uptown193 said:


> True, but still that should be loose change in your pockets since you got that $3,000 cam. :fish:
> 
> Oh plus the closest thing to a 40g breeder is the 75P which is only $329


Yeah, but I need a tank that would fit on my current stand, which is 36x18...the only tank with those dimensions is the 90P, the 75P is too small lengthwise (only 30 inches)...

Everywhere I've looked the 90P's are $499...

And hah, the $3,000 camera is just the start, and thats for the body only. It's the lenses that really add up, the 24-70 and 70-200 VRII 'aint exactly cheap lol...



shrimpnmoss said:


> $3000?...doh!...well a couple of wedding shoots should take care of that....Elmo you should know by now from your 60p....the actual tank is one of the least expensive part of a build...hehe


Oh I know, but I already have everything else I need, so the new tank would be the most expensive part by default lol...


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## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

sad to see this scape go! such an awesome tank roud:

pretty sure you hear this all the time but WOW amazing pics! Your fish pics are sick!

I also say you should go 90P, with your scaping and photo skills.....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

salmon said:


> sad to see this scape go! such an awesome tank roud:
> 
> pretty sure you hear this all the time but WOW amazing pics! Your fish pics are sick!
> 
> I also say you should go 90P, with your scaping and photo skills.....


Thanks so much! Always nice when people appreciate the pics and nice to have new visitors to my tank journal lol...

I might go with a 90P or a GLA depending on how much tax and shipping would be for the ADA...Probably won't though, just have other pressing expenses to handle first (Car Repair, Business Equipment, etc...)

It's a need to spend money to make money to have money to spend kind of thing, if that makes any sense to all of you lol...


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

Yea you are correct., the 90P is $499. I say just save up for it and when u get it together pull the trigger. I think the lens for your fancy camera costs more than the tank alone. Come on rich boy do it. Lol just kidding.


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## Uptown193 (Apr 25, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Thanks so much! Always nice when people appreciate the pics and nice to have new visitors to my tank journal lol...
> 
> I might go with a 90P or a GLA depending on how much tax and shipping would be for the ADA...Probably won't though, just have other pressing expenses to handle first (Car Repair, Business Equipment, etc...)
> 
> It's a need to spend money to make money to have money to spend kind of thing, if that makes any sense to all of you lol...


It makes sense and you also have to pay like $65 for the crate they ship it in. So yea it's like $600 with tax and crate. Big bucks. Looking forward to u decision in coming weeks.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Eh, if I do replace it with a rimless tank, I'll probably get the Mr. Aqua. I know people say it has a greenish tint, but frankly, so does the tank I have now haha...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i have a small mr aqua. its leaps and bounds ahead of a standard rimmed tank! mr aqua has a line of low iron tanks as well!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i have a small mr aqua. its leaps and bounds ahead of a standard rimmed tank! mr aqua has a line of low iron tanks as well!


Yeah, I figured it might even be a little better...

The whole green tint issue isn't that big of a deal to me honestly, especially when I'm going to fill it with green plants haha...I have an ADA tank and it is really nice, but nothing super noticeable, but what is noticable is a rimless tank vs a standard one


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

haha! a green tint would just make your plants look greener  haha i say go for the mr aqua! the seems arent as nice as an ADA ( obviously) but if you pack it full of an awesome scape, nobody will even look at the silicone job!!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Thought I'd share a different take on a self portrait!....figured I would try the SB-910 out tonight instead of the usual SB-600, not that it makes much difference with fish pics lol...

1.

3009 ~ Master of Light by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

^That one was taken with the 50mm 1.4G, but the rest were taken with the 24-70...

2. Special Guest Appearance by Mr. Shrimp!

0EH_3022 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

3.

0EH_3032 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

4.

0EH_3048 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

5.

0EH_2974 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr

6.

0EH_3092 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


7. Low gravity Fish! 

0EH_3031 by Hyer Expectations Photography, on Flickr


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

those are some great shots! What software do you use for image processing and watermark addition?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

AquaStudent said:


> those are some great shots! What software do you use for image processing and watermark addition?


Thanks! I use Adobe Lightroom 3.6 (latest version) for everything...


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i love lightroom!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

orchidman said:


> i love lightroom!


Me too! Cant imagine photographic life without it! lol.....


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm taking some more pics now,...coming to a planted tank forum near you soon!


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## rwong2k (Dec 24, 2004)

love your fish photography, wondering where do you position your flash for these photos?
(sorry didnt' want to search through the whole thread again, so thought i'd ask  )


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

rwong2k said:


> love your fish photography, wondering where do you position your flash for these photos?
> (sorry didnt' want to search through the whole thread again, so thought i'd ask  )


Thanks! And it's always above the tank pointing down :thumbsup:


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

1.





2.





3. *A-Team, ASSEMBLE!* lol...





4.





5.




6.





7.





8.





9.





10.* I can touch my tongue to my nose!*...Don't see it?



11. *How 'bout now?*


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Erick, what's the trick to getting shots with black backgrounds? I shoot a D5100. 

Is it using a high aperture + high shutter speed + off-shoe flash? Or lower aperture?

Thanks


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> Erick, what's the trick to getting shots with black backgrounds? I shoot a D5100.
> 
> Is it using a high aperture + high shutter speed + off-shoe flash? Or lower aperture?
> 
> Thanks


Yep.

Smaller aperture (f8 and above), high shutter speed (1/250 to 1/320), off camera flash and the often overlooked ingredient,...low ISO (whatever the base is, its 200 on mine)

Plus a little editing, since RAW is never perfect straight out of the camera. Oh, and you absolutely need to use manual mode. That right there is half the reason newbies can't get the result, is because they're too busy thinking they're a photographer while snapping away on P, A or S (Tv or Av on Canon)

Maybe I'll make a video of the editing process one of these days. I haven't done a fish photoshoot in forever and my tank looks horrible right now, but maybe I can re-edit one of the old pictures I posted here. Eh, maybe...


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## catfishbi (Jun 10, 2008)

wow great Pictures also ty for sharing with us some of technique


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Yep.
> 
> Smaller aperture (f8 and above), high shutter speed (1/250 to 1/320), off camera flash and the often overlooked ingredient,...low ISO (whatever the base is, its 200 on mine)
> 
> ...


I wish I had an off camera flash. How much would one run for the D5100? I did forget the low ISO, but that makes a lot of sense. 

I only shoot manual mode anyway. I used to shoot a mix of all four of M, S, A, and P modes, but then one day while in the Virgin Islands on vacation I challenged myself to shoot only Manual all day and I've been getting better results ever since. Now I only shoot manual with the exception of bird photography in which case I tend to shoot on Shutter Priority. 

Thanks for the words of advice!

Btw -- am I doing something wrong in settings, or is there no Exposure Simulation in Nikon's live view? That's one feature I _really_ miss from my T2i.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> I wish I had an off camera flash. How much would one run for the D5100? I did forget the low ISO, but that makes a lot of sense.
> 
> I only shoot manual mode anyway. I used to shoot a mix of all four of M, S, A, and P modes, but then one day while in the Virgin Islands on vacation I challenged myself to shoot only Manual all day and I've been getting better results ever since. Now I only shoot manual with the exception of bird photography in which case I tend to shoot on Shutter Priority.
> 
> ...


I don't think there is! And how much for the flash depends. If you don't mind using manual flash like I do, you could get a cheap $65 Yongnuo 560 which will work perfectly fine (or $85 for the new 560-II version with digital display) but if you want TTL you'll need a SB-700 at least, which is around $330. Honestly I prefer using manual flash since its totally consistent but it depends if you have the patience.

I use Yongnuo 560-II's for my wedding work off camera during the reception. No sense in spending $600 for a Nikon flash if I'm going to set it on manual and stick it on a stand in the corner. I do use a Nikon SB-910 on camera though.

Anyways, my point is that the Yongnuo 560's are more than adequate for tank pics if you don't mind manually setting the flash, and you save a bundle that way...


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## teonguyen (Aug 25, 2011)

Great pics and thanks for sharing..What lens are you using to take pics of the fish? Look so sharp and details..


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

Cleared

Sorry Elmo


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## wacky (Jun 4, 2012)

Beautiful Tank ..... Beautiful Livestock!!!


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## ayobreezie (Aug 12, 2011)

Thanks for the inspiration. I've got some ideas for my 40B now. =)


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## tetra10 (Aug 5, 2012)

how much did all of the blyxa cost? and where did u get it?


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

ayobreezie said:


> Thanks for the inspiration. I've got some ideas for my 40B now. =)


No, thank you! Glad I could help out a little 



tetra10 said:


> how much did all of the blyxa cost? and where did u get it?


Hah, I have no idea how much it was, that was years ago...I definitely don't remember. The tank looks nothing like it did originally right now (went through many different aquascapes), its actually in really crappy condition right now but the blyxa hasn't been in there for years. I have to rework the tank and get it back up to speed hehe...


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## Marconis (Nov 8, 2010)

Your pictures are simply incredible.


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

Woah Elmo! I am so sorry! I posted my photos in the wrong thread! I didn't realize that. I usually have this one and the Nikon Pimp Club one open.

I really am very sorry. The post will be cleared.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Marconis said:


> Your pictures are simply incredible.


Thanks, that means a lot 



AquaStudent said:


> Woah Elmo! I am so sorry! I posted my photos in the wrong thread! I didn't realize that. I usually have this one and the Nikon Pimp Club one open.
> 
> I really am very sorry. The post will be cleared.


Haha no problem! If anything, you made me look like an experienced astrophotographer lol!


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

TickleMyElmo said:


> Haha no problem! If anything, you made me look like an experienced astrophotographer lol!


I opened your thread to look at the updates and was like...wait those are my pictures. What are they doing there? That doesn't make sense...

I absolutely love the pictures you post. They are absolutely phenomenal!

Have you considered posting a introductory guide for aquatic photography? I know a lot of it is trial and error but it'd be cool to see what techniques you use and little tips and hints.

One thing I've noticed is that I like to turn the light off in the room I'm photographing in to reduce the camera reflection. Use a low aperature for individual fish pics and a large one for FTS (I hope I didn't mix those up).

Things like that from someone who has incredible pictures would be very helpful.


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

Hey everybody!

All my fish and plants in this tank, and all my fish in my 60P Riparium died after I spent 9 days without power or heat in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy 

I was planning on moving the tank to my bedroom, so maybe this will be a kickstarter to do so, and restock it better than before...


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

sorry to hear 

sad to hear all the NJ folk report this sort of thing


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

sorry to hear about the losses Elmo. You'll be able to start fresh though and take it anywhere you want to!


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## TickleMyElmo (Aug 13, 2009)

No worries! The rebuild has already commenced for the 40B! :red_mouth I had been meaning to break down the tank and move it to my bedroom along with a few other changes, and this just created the push over the edge 

Putting everything together now, look for a new tank journal soon-ish. I just have to get some new plants and I'm horrible with buying plants because I don't know whats out there, whats low light, what the scientific names are, etc., but I'll figure it out like always 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=196770


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