cozer1008 Basement Tank

[cozer1008]

Hello everyone, I would like to share my tank which is in my basement.

Tank dimension: 36"x24"x18" rimless, starphire front glass
Lighting: Illumagic Blaze series M-90C
Skimmer: TMS SK-160
Calcium reactor: CR-120D
Chiller: modificated air conditioner with Ti heat exchange tube
Return pump: Eheim 1262
Internal water Flow: Eco-tech MP40
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FTS

[mudskipper1]

gorgeous tank!

[geo]

This thread has been moved to the current forum....

[cozer1008]

The set up:

(1) Stand (made of stainless steel)






(2)Display tank




(3)Sump

[cozer1008]

(4)Plumbing

[cozer1008]

(5)Complete system

[cozer1008]

Some pics taken this weekend:

[slickmin]

9+9```````+9

[cozer1008]

This is a video taken few days ago. With HD resolution. Hope everyone like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jovpf92H70Y

[pendraig]

Thanks for sharing and for the inspiration!

[SlateXIV]

beautiful tank!

[cozer1008]

Here are some update photos taken last weekend:

FTS


FTS

[cozer1008]

More photos:

[James404]

Beautiful tank and gret photography skills!

[cozer1008]

Here are top-view photos of some corals under Illumagic M-90S:

Some LPS

[cozer1008]

Monti - Forest fire


Monti - Superman


Acros


These corals were kept under an old version M-90C (without Royal blue and Neutral white LEDs) for at least one year. I switched the M-90C to ALC version M-90S about three months ago and found some improvement. My opinion is that the increase number of white LEDs, especially the addition of neutral white ones which are more yellowish than the cool white ones, are beneficial to either the color and the growth of the corals. This maybe the influence of the intenser red light spectrum. Moreover, the addition of Royal blue LEDs also brings out the purplish hues to the whole tank and makes it more natural in comparison with the old "All blue" version fixture. It is believed that Royal blue LEDs is essential to the corals even when there are already blue LEDs. As a result,I personally prefer this M-90S.

[cozer1008]

This my frag tank connected with my basement display tank which was set up a month ago. The dimension is 60cm x 40cm x 35cm. This frag tank shares the same sump with the main display. I use a M-60S on this shallow frag tank and it is really bright for the frags and I personally belived the S model will be beneficial to the growth of the frags.


Let's see some coral frags in this tank:

Red zoas with red skirt and white mouth.


Light yellow zoas with pink skirt.


Orange zoas with red skirt and white mouth.


Blue hornet (looks purplish under S model light)


Acans


Taiwaness Duncans (not as big as the Aussie Duncans, but still gorgeous)


Favia with green eyes and purple rings

[cozer1008]

Many people asked me how I could get these nice looking photos. What settings of the camera should be? Below is my personal experience on photography:

To get better quality photos, remember to:

(1) Shut down the pumps (wave or return pumps) before taking the photos. The water flow always causes negative effects on focusing, especially for those corals that wave with the water flow.

(2) Try to set the ISO to lower value. I personally prefer to set at 200 when I used my 60mm micro lens.

(3) F value: the extent of light entrance (the higher the value is the less the light can enter the camera)

If you want a photo to be with shallow depth of field (only the focused region is clear and the surrounding is blurred), set the F to lower value, such as 2.8. This will allowe more light to enter. In this case, one can decrease the shutter value to avoid negative effects due to the vibration.

When a small F value is set, shutter value should be adjusted by refering the light condition. The intenser the lighting source is, the lower value (1/100 sec) of the shutter should be set to avoid over-exposure.

If you want to have a deeper depth of filed, please set the F to higher value, such as 8 or even 10. The higher the F value, the less the light can enter and be captured. In this case, one should set the shutter to higher value (to increase the exposure time), such as 1/5 or even 1 sec to compensate the light loss due to the high F value.

(4) Shutter value: Light exposure time (the higher the value is, the more light is exposured)

When the shutter has to be set at high value (longer exposure time), there is a great possibility that artificial vibration can cause negative effects to the photos obtained. The photos might become blurred due to the vibration. In this case, a supporting leg will be necessary to fix the camera. An even better way to eliminate the vibration is to get a remote line to press the button.

Please remember, using P-mode of most digital camera may get you some "good" photos but definitely not "great" photos.

If you want to take some FTS of the whole tank, higher ISO value is recommended. Just try to fix one setting (F or shutter) while adjusting the other (shutter or F). You will find the difference between them.

I am willing to offer my personal experience on photography. Please feel free to point out the mistakes for correction if there is anything wrong with my understanding.

[allsps40]

Great reef tank, outstanding colors.

[Lynnmw1208]

Those lights are really nice! I haven't seen them before! Looks like you get great growth from them! I LOOOOOOOVE your zoanthids by the way! so many colors!

[cozer1008]

I would like to introduce my system:

I am running a TMS SK-160 skimmer and a TMS CR-120D calcium reactor in my sump. They are all manufactured in Taiwan.

The return pump is a EHEIM 1262. The cooling system is a modified air conditioner with titanium heat exchanger immersed in the sump. We are used to choose this kind of cooling system for larger tanks in Taiwan. They can operate more efficiently than the commercial cooler and the heat is expelled to outdoor instead of to the indoor room.

I have a MP40 to create waves in the display. In company with the water flow created by the return pump, the water circulation in the tank is good. Almost no dead spot in the whole tank.

As for the lighting, I have been using LED light fixtures on this tank since it was first set up about 2.5 years ago. The first one is a 36" Thortek and it does not fulfill my demand due to the lower power output and the resulted low brightness. I changed to Illumagic M-90C about 1.5 years ago and now I have a M-90S running on this tank. The later two fixtures give more sufficient light and I am now quite satisfied with the M-90S since the increase of white LEDs gives higher lumen and make the corals grow more quickly.

I do water change once per month. About a quarter of the display tank capacity is changed per month. I use artificial salts instead of natural sea water because I believe it is more clean and would not bring any nitrate or phosphate into my tank.

So, that is about all.

[cozer1008]

July update. Some photos newly taken in the weekend:

[jrb_dakine]

Incredibly beautiful tank........................
Great job. Looking forward toward your updates.

[cozer1008]

September Update:

FTS under actinic light


Some Acros:

SPS 1a (front view)


SPS 1b (front view)


SPS 1c (vertical view)


SPS 1d frag (vertical view)


SPS 2a (front view)


SPS 2b (front view)


SPS 2c (vertical view)


SPS 3a (vertical view)


SPS 3b (vertical view)

[cozer1008]

Some Montis:

Monti 1a (front view)


Monti 1b (vertical view)


Monti 1 frag (vertical view)


Monti 2a (vertical view)


Monti 2b (vertical view)


Challice:

Challice 1a (front view)


Challice 1b (vertical view)


Challice 2 (vertical view)