Articles

April 18 - 19, 2008: The Board of Directors from the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiasts Association contacted me to come out and speak to their club... While I was there, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of fish stores and see a member's tank.

You will recognize some or most of these images, but I was thinking how it would be nice to put these in one webpage, especially describing the techniques used to get the images.

In the past couple of weeks, I have had three opportunities to photography newly released baby Peppermint Shrimp in my tank. I didn't even know what they were at first, but it was fascinating to study them up close. However, shooting them with my digital camera was challenging.

My friend Jessy takes great late night pictures, and I asked her to show me some of her secrets. We walked down to the beach and set up our cameras on tripods, and then commenced shooting.

If you use a computer that operated with Windows XP, Microsoft offers a simple PowerToy called Image Resizer. You can download it here, for free:

ImageResizerPowertoySetup.exe

Once downloaded, double click on the file to open the program. It will install quickly after a few clicks of the mouse.

Are you considering the purchase of a digital camera? Cellphones take pictures, tablets too, but a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) is almost inevitable with this hobby. We seem to require more than just saltwater experience: You need to know how to work with electrical components, plumbing, woodworking, and more. Photography is equally important for a number of reasons.

In an effort to come up with a better way of viewing corals and clams from above, especially in photography, I came up with a box that keeps the camera & lens dry and gives the photographer the ability to bring out the vivid colors without the issues of wave motion or light reflections.

If you would like to purchase one, please visit my Reef Shop.

For a long time now, I've followed discussion of extension tubes for macro photography. And a few years ago, I looked up what they cost and quickly dismissed them. However, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking "what if those are really what I need to get these stellar macro shots?" 

The good news is... They Can Be Beaten Down Into Submission. 

Nitrates are a part of nature in the ocean, and correspondingly in our tanks. As waste breaks down in your aquarium, it cycles from ammonia to nitrite to nitrates. The first two are highly toxic to marine life, and we make it a point to make sure our tanks test zero for these. However, nitrates aren’t as bad, and sometimes are even a little beneficial.

A question that has been popping up a lot recently has been in regards to pH levels.  Articles, books and even additives list recommended pH levels so it is only natural to be concerned if our tank isn't sitting at that particular number.  pH rises in oxygen rich environments, and where O2 is lacking or excessive CO2 builds up, pH will drop.  In addition, pH rises daily during the lighting period, and drops during the night.  Here's a graph from the past week's data stored in my Apex controller. Note how it rises and falls consistently day after day.

Decades ago, hobbyists would cycle their new tank with a sacrificial fish, like a blue damsel. While this method may still be used by some, it's not a good plan for two reasons: 1) as the ammonia rises in the water, the fish's gills are burned by the rising ammonia levels which is unkind, and 2) most people don't want the damsel in their aquarium later because it's deemed too aggressive to other livestock.