SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[reelredfisah]

I may have missed it since I found this thread from another thread. Would like to know a little more details about your setup for taking the pictures you post. These are some great shots and just wonder if the regular folks can do the same or if you have a bunch of special equip.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I may have missed it since I found this thread from another thread. Would like to know a little more details about your setup for taking the pictures you post. These are some great shots and just wonder if the regular folks can do the same or if you have a bunch of special equip.

All of the super-detailed coral photos are from my Nikon D610 camera with a 200mm macro lens. It’s a pretty expensive setup. I talked about it last August in this post: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...efer-xl-425-build.358990/page-11#post-5006754

The rest of my photos (fish, full tank, equipment, etc) are shot with my iPhone X and I use a simple $30 clip-on orange filter to compensate for the blue lighting.

You don’t need any super-expensive equipment to get great photos, but a DSLR camera on a tripod and learning to shoot in manual mode makes a huge difference.

 

[reelredfisah]

OK thanks have a Cannon T2i I dont ever use might have to play around with it. But sure the lens is a big part of it.

 

[SuncrestReef]

On the rare occasions when I need to use my Neptune autofeeder, much of the food ends up floating into the overflow and just gets caught in the filter socks. I'd like to modify my feeder to add a feeding ring like this, but the vendor that makes it says they're out of stock and no ETA for building more.



After some thought, I came up with this idea using a small plastic food container:



I just clamped it between the feeder bracket and the tank glass:

 

[reelredfisah]

Awsome idea currently have mine setup for pump shutdown it waits a few minutes then runs the feeder to dump. Allows 5 minutes and starts up pump and then skimmer again.

Like this idea better as for seems like it bad on the equipmeant to start and stop twice a day.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Awsome idea currently have mine setup for pump shutdown it waits a few minutes then runs the feeder to dump. Allows 5 minutes and starts up pump and then skimmer again.

Like this idea better as for seems like it bad on the equipmeant to start and stop twice a day.

My normal feed mode turns off the flow in the display tank for 5 minutes, but leaves the return pump running at about 5% because I don’t want to siphon too much tank water into the sump which stirs up detritus, and the rush of air bubbles when turning the return pump back on.

I’m pretty pleased with this feed ring idea.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I also set up a web cam to remotely keep an eye on things while away for the weekend. I'm using a Zmodo Sight 180 C camera which has a 180 degree field of view. I'm able to see water levels in my sump, the skimmer, skimmate locker, refugium, and the tank. Pretty handy!

 

[Crabby48]

Like to diy for the afs. I was having the same problem of food going down the overflow so I will have to steal your idea.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Like to diy for the afs. I was having the same problem of food going down the overflow so I will have to steal your idea.

This was probably my cheapest ($0.89) and quickest (2 minutes) DIY project ever!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Close up of my cleaner shrimp...check out those hairy legs:

 

[BigMo]

Close up of my cleaner shrimp...check out those hairy legs:

You have become a professional photographer while doing reef keeping, awesome pictures, thanks for sharing.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I frequently post photos of my corals, but getting good fish photos is way more difficult! I finally managed to get a few in focus:













I love the pattern on my kole tang:

 

[mta_morrow]

Close up of my cleaner shrimp...check out those hairy legs:

Old enough shave now! My how they grow so fast [emoji57]

 

[Adrian Grden]

Your build thread is wonderful. I have learned so much from just reading along this. Thank you for this! Your build thread is amazing!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Your build thread is wonderful. I have learned so much from just reading along this. Thank you for this! Your build thread is amazing!

Thank you! I'm always glad to hear when this build thread helps other people, whether it's with ideas, guidance, or just inspiration. Thanks for tagging along for the ride.

 

[Mystikal]

Here's an up-close macro video showing the red bug infestation on one of my acropora frags. They are pretty active little buggers.

Did you eradicate them? Maybe get a wrasse to help with the pest?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Did you eradicate them? Maybe get a wrasse to help with the pest?

No, the red bugs are still active. The pipefish nip at them occasionally, but I have so many other pods in the tank that the pipefish have plenty to choose from and mostly ignore the red bugs. I might consider a wrasse at some point.

To be honest, I haven't seen any noticeable damage from the red bugs. I frequently take detailed macro photos of the infested corals and still see healthy flesh, good polyp extension, good coloration, and new growth. So I'm not panicking about them like I was when I first discovered the infestation.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I spotted one of my nudibranchs tonight for the first time since introducing them into my tank in February. It has really grown! It's at least 4x larger than when I got them, so obviously they've been eating well. I still have aiptasia, but I've noticed some of them magically disappearing overnight.

Glad to know they're still alive!

 

[Mystikal]

Looking good!

Question for you, have you ever placed you cheatomaxx light underwater by accident? I did that yesterday and hope it still works

Hoping to upgrading my 250 with this tank in the future

 

[SuncrestReef]

Looking good!

Question for you, have you ever placed you cheatomaxx light underwater by accident? I did that yesterday and hope it still works

Hoping to upgrading my 250 with this tank in the future

No, I’ve been extra careful when working near the chaeto light for that reason. I even considered tethering it to the cabinet ceiling so it couldn’t reach the water below but decided that could make things more difficult down the road for maintenance.

Good luck, I hope it wasn’t damaged.