Project 365 - My Reef Journal - One Photograph Per Day

[Chrisfish]

As I said before, love your thread, it's not just your pictures although they are the best but your intro into each one makes them even better and I too would buy your coffee table book or calendar.

 

[urbaneks]

You can do it! I know I'll keep looking! I might not always post something, but I will like every picture!!!

drstratton - I really appreciate the encouragement and the continued views, likes and comments. No need to comment every time I post but I appreciate it when you do.

Totally with you there I always check in maybe a few days with life happening but always come back and check for more. I can't wait to see the end of month roll you're doing. Keep up the beautiful pictures and inspiring us that have been following along with you in this journey.

steve&mari - I hear you on the life happening part. I find myself in a panic every now and then wondering if I posted yet today. I guess that's how habits are formed. End of the month is coming quick, I need to get that end of month recap thought up and completed.

Very nice Tort!

revhtree - Thanks! Its one of my all time favorites for sure.

That's a brilliant photo of a gorgeous coral - and your review of M. digitata has me considering them for a place in my tank!
~Bruce

Maritimer - Definitely add some digitatas. I've found that the lower I place my forest fire, the more green it gets on the tips. As it grows higher, the green fades to white.

As I said before, love your thread, it's not just your pictures although they are the best but your intro into each one makes them even better and I too would buy your coffee table book or calendar.

Chrisfish - Thanks so much for the very, very kind words. I appreciate you taking the time to read the ramble. I may just publish that coffee table book, I'm going to hold the two of you that said you'd buy one to it. Add one on my table and I'd have 3 sold.

 

[revhtree]

Nice piece! I love digitata myself.

 

[urbaneks]

Project 365 - January 19th, 2016
Here is the 19th entry into Project 365

I don't typically go to the LFS looking for LPS but when I see something that has an interesting growth form that will fill an empty slot in the aquarium, I'll jump on it. That was the case when I picked this coral up at one of the LFS. I'm not sure the name of the coral, if anyone can help with the identification, I would certainly appreciate it. The LFS had it labeled as a Pineapple Brain Coral. So for the sake of today's post, that is what I will go with. I liked the composition and color of this photo so I'd thought I'd post this for today.

Thanks for looking
19 down 346 to go!

Project 365 - 1/19/16 - Brain Coral​

 

[tristanfish]

Project 365 - January 18th, 2016
Here is the 18th entry into Project 365

Like the monti caps, I think the digitas are an underrated coral. I really like the digitatas for many reasons. A couple that come to mind are that they are easy to care for in relation to acropora and they can be mounted low in the aquarium which leaves the prime real estate up high for light hungry corals. I also really like the growth forms on the digitatas. I currently have ORA Peach Digitata, ORA German Blue Digita and of course the Forest Fire pictured below. While the Forest Fire is my favorite for the coloration, the German Blue's growth form can't be beat. They grow into small bonzai shaped trees. One other benefit of the digitatas is the grow fast which makes them great for trading at the LFS or with local reefers.

Thanks for looking
18 down 347 to go!

Project 365 - 1/18/16 - Forest Fire Digitata​

One of my favorites. Love your thread. Very brave of you

 

[urbaneks]

Nice piece! I love digitata myself.

revhree - Thanks for the view and comment.

One of my favorites. Love your thread. Very brave of you

tristanfish - Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Baby Ray]

I am defiantly following this one.
I love the picture of the clown goby in the blue sps.
Everyday I look forward to seeing your next picture

 

[Labagatelle]

Very nice picture !

I also love the Digitata

 

[fragit]

Love this, your tank is gorgeous, what I hope my tank to be when I get it up and running. Definitely going to follow along. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Chrisfish]

drstratton - I really appreciate the encouragement and the continued views, likes and comments. No need to comment every time I post but I appreciate it when you do.



steve&mari - I hear you on the life happening part. I find myself in a panic every now and then wondering if I posted yet today. I guess that's how habits are formed. End of the month is coming quick, I need to get that end of month recap thought up and completed.



revhtree - Thanks! Its one of my all time favorites for sure.



Maritimer - Definitely add some digitatas. I've found that the lower I place my forest fire, the more green it gets on the tips. As it grows higher, the green fades to white.



Chrisfish - Thanks so much for the very, very kind words. I appreciate you taking the time to read the ramble. I may just publish that coffee table book, I'm going to hold the two of you that said you'd buy one to it. Add one on my table and I'd have 3 sold.

I have to tell you that I have always loved taking pictures, and now that we live on a lake and I now have started my adventure into saltwater and will begin building a second home in the outer banks of NC on the sound and my iPhone just doesn't cut it, lol, following your beautiful thread has prompted me to do what I have been wanting to do for a long time and that is ..... Yep, order a camera. Thank you again for such beautiful pictures and I hope at some point mine will look half as beautiful as yours. Oh and I will still order one of those books.

 

[urbaneks]

I am defiantly following this one.
I love the picture of the clown goby in the blue sps.
Everyday I look forward to seeing your next picture

Baby Ray - Thanks for following along and providing the kind words. I too love that photo. The little Clown Gobies are some of my favorite fish. Seems like most people love the big tangs and wrasses. I really like all of the little secretive fish.

Very nice picture ! I also love the Digitata

Labagatelle - Thanks for the return visit. Seems I may have underestimated how much people like digitata. I've had several people really liking that coral.

Love this, your tank is gorgeous, what I hope my tank to be when I get it up and running. Definitely going to follow along. Thanks for sharing.

fragit - Thanks for the compliment on the tank. It really means a lot.

I have to tell you that I have always loved taking pictures, and now that we live on a lake and I now have started my adventure into saltwater and will begin building a second home in the outer banks of NC on the sound and my iPhone just doesn't cut it, lol, following your beautiful thread has prompted me to do what I have been wanting to do for a long time and that is ..... Yep, order a camera. Thank you again for such beautiful pictures and I hope at some point mine will look half as beautiful as yours. Oh and I will still order one of those books.

Chrisfish - Sounds like you will not have a shortage of things to photograph. The outer banks is on my short list of places to visit. Best of luck with the camera purchase. If you have to cut costs, I would recommend cutting the cost on the body not on the lenses.

 

[ws6kid]

Yea, this is awesome. Beautiful corals and fish. Keep up the great work

 

[urbaneks]

Project 365 - January 20th, 2016
Here is the 20th entry into Project 365

Well, I've made it 20 days! When I put it that way sounds like I'm lost on a deserted island and I'm only 20 days in. In reality the 20 days has gone by really fast and the hardest thing about this project continues to be posting just one photo a day. I'm really hoping I can keep this going as I think the real power in it is at the end when I can reflect back across the year. I continue to be grateful to those have have subscribed, commented and liked my posts.

For today's post, I wanted to try my hand at another focus stack as I described on the lobo photo from the first week. The image below is the result of 5 images of the same coral with the focus being moved from one region of the coral to the next. Overall I'm pretty happy with the result but if I were to do it over again, I would add 3 more focuses around the outer edge of the coral. If you look closely, you can see the 3 regions of the coral that don't have the sharp focus that the rest of the coral has. Live and learn and apply to the next attempt.

Thanks for looking
20 down 345 to go!

Project 365 - 1/20/16 - Scolly Focus Stack​

 

[samba_dad]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing these amazing photos! Your tank is incredible!

 

[steve&mari]

Another beautiful shot and a beautiful scoly one of our favorite corals we have a few of them lol.

 

[urbaneks]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing these amazing photos! Your tank is incredible!

samba_dad - Thanks, you are welcome and thanks. Appreciate you taking the time to stop in and view/comment.

Another beautiful shot and a beautiful scoly one of our favorite corals we have a few of them lol.

steve&mari - Thanks so much. This is my first scoly. One of my local reefing friends was getting rid of all his LPS so I took this coral as well as several other challices/acans off his hands.

 

[urbaneks]

Project 365 - January 21th, 2016
Here is the 21th entry into Project 365

One of the corals that I've always struggled to keep is Acans. I see this great Acan colonies that people have and I just don't get it. Most people seem to be able to keep them with little to no work. In the past, when I add them they stay deflated, show very little polyp extension and just kind of exist, they never really grow. More recently, I've been keeping my nutrients a bit higher than in the past so I decided to give them a try again. I added three pieces to the tank, the one picture below is bar far my nicest. I just love the coloration in this coral. I'm hoping this time around will be more successful. If anyone has what they consider the secret formula on acans, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks for looking
21 down 344 to go!

Project 365 - 1/21/16 - Rainbow Acan​

 

[Maritimer]

I'm a noob who has no secrets, LOL - but I do love a lovely Acan!

I've got a few small ones - some are, as you say, barely hanging in, while one in particular is becoming a gorgeous little mini-colony of green and violet.

Good luck with this new beauty!

~Bruce

 

[flounder]

Which bulbs do you run? I have an ati 60" 8 bulb and like your mix.
Great pics. Glad its not 365 days of the same fts.

 

[urbaneks]

I'm a noob who has no secrets, LOL - but I do love a lovely Acan! I've got a few small ones - some are, as you say, barely hanging in, while one in particular is becoming a gorgeous little mini-colony of green and violet.
Good luck with this new beauty!
~Bruce

Maritimer - Thanks for chiming in on the Acans. I'm hopeful that they will take off.

Which bulbs do you run? I have an ati 60" 8 bulb and like your mix. Great pics. Glad its not 365 days of the same fts.

flounder - Thanks for the post. I run the following bulb configuration

KZ Superblue
ATI Actinic
KZ New Generation
AZ Figi Purple

LED LED LED LED

KZ Superblue
KZ New Generation
ATI Actinic
KZ Superblue

Not sure if you have the LED Hybird Powermodule but that's what I run. Some of my photos are taken under LED only so not sure you should chose your bulb configuration based on my configuration.