Through the Looking Glass

[Rakie]

Your pictures really make me want to invest into something like a Porthole. But without a true DSLR i've only got the little point and shoot lens, which doesn't give much for a porthole to grip onto.

And again -- You seem to be an expert at spotting corals with yellow, which a lot of us find to be the most elusive color! Keep up the stellar photography.

[dbsandbox]

Your tank is what we all hope our tank will look like,so beautiful.The photos you take are fantastic,thank you for sharing them with all of us.

[Oldude]

Any chance of seeing a current FTS?

[dbsandbox]

Mark love your Blueberry wine I have a small frag myself and was wondering about its growth pattern i would like to grow it out to a large colony. What type of height and width is your colony , should i place it in a very high light or moderat light.Thank you for any insights you may be able to pass along.

[watchguy123]

Originally Posted by Rakie

Your pictures really make me want to invest into something like a Porthole. But without a true DSLR i've only got the little point and shoot lens, which doesn't give much for a porthole to grip onto.

And again -- You seem to be an expert at spotting corals with yellow, which a lot of us find to be the most elusive color! Keep up the stellar photography.

Some sort of porthole is so helpful with photography. I have both an avast and a building an obsession version and both are wonderful. I somehow managed to drop some superglue gel (bsi ic-gel) on the avast one so if you see some cloudy areas in a photo then you’ll know which I was using that time

Originally Posted by dbsandbox

Your tank is what we all hope our tank will look like,so beautiful.The photos you take are fantastic,thank you for sharing them with all of us.

Excited cause I just got a new camera and macro lens!

Originally Posted by Oldude

Any chance of seeing a current FTS?

I don’t think I’ll be ready for a fts for a good while unfortunately

Originally Posted by dbsandbox

Mark love your Blueberry wine I have a small frag myself and was wondering about its growth pattern i would like to grow it out to a large colony. What type of height and width is your colony , should i place it in a very high light or moderat light.Thank you for any insights you may be able to pass along.

The blueberry wine is awesome. It is such a great shade of blue but I’m afraid that I never really capture its beauty. Mine gets both good flow and light. I think it is about 3-4 inches tall and about 5-6 inches across. I’m not likely to get any pictures for the next couple weeks but I will try to get a full colony one for you as soon as I can.

And I took some pictures this last week so I have some to share now.


I got three different frags from a friend of mine a while back. It seems they may be the last surviving frags of this colony grouping. They all appear to be color morphs of each other to me. But I should say I’m terrible with species identification so for all I know they may not be related at all. Atleast I’m sure they are not tenuis, yet they have spectacular coloring.

I’m calling this one Z’s Frustration

Z’s Frustration (reefbrites only)



Z’s Frustration (250 watt radium metal halides, ati t5’s, reefbrites)




Not nearly as dramatic under metal halides but I have still more to show under the various lighting schemes


I have had Reef Raft Canada Ultimate Orange Passion for I think two years perhaps. I rarely see anyone share a picture of it. It has been growing and coloring fine but has recently been undergoing a change in color in my tank lately. It’s a slow grower as well.

Reef Raft Canada Ultimate Orange Passion (reefbrites only)




Reef Raft Canada Ultimate Orange Passion ( metal halide, t5’s and reefbrite)



It looks pretty amazing regardless of lighting. Polyps seem to be more pink at tips and more orange near the base. I think it is a stunner. I have it high but near the back of my tank so it’s awkward to get photos of it. It used to look much more beige under metal halides so I’m pretty excited about this improvement. I will share more pictures but I have a big travel day tomorrow

[watchguy123]

More pictures and comparisons of different lighting

Another frag unnamed

Under reefbrites



Under metal halides, t5’s and reefbrites



Reef Raft Canada Shazam (reefbrites only)



Reef Raft Canada Shazam (metal halide, t5’s and reefbrites)




It’s easy to appreciate the vividness of the reefbrites. However if you just look at the metal halide pictures, they are stunning as well. Very different and perhaps not as vibrant but nonetheless beautiful

[dbsandbox]

Thanks when mine is ready to come out qt. i will give it that kind of space.

[watchguy123]

Reef Raft CJ Pinky (reefbrites)



Reef Raft CJ Pinky (mh,t5’s and reefbrites)

[watchguy123]

Z’s Prize (reefbrites)



Z’s Prize (mh, t5’s and reefbrites)



The colors under reefbrites are crazy and perhaps some of the most vibrant colors that I’ve ever seen. Without doubt, the metal halides demonstrate much more subdued coloring but I suggest quite beautiful nonetheless. T5’s lie somewhere in between the two.

[watchguy123]

Blurry picture of my walt disney frag:reefbrites





Z's Blue Floyd (reefbrites)


Z's Prize (reefbrites)



Z's Pink Cotton Candy (reefbrites)

[reefmutt]

There ain’t nothin’ like going to Disney, eating cotton candy and winning prizes with my boy Floyd!!
Superb as usual!!

[pakirri]

Jesus,,,, I would pay money just to see this tank in person!!!!!

[watchguy123]

Reef Raft Canada Orange Passion and Reef Raft USA Pink Floyd in background (reefbrites)

[Ucantwin]

The polyp extension on the OP is insane. I'm curious if it's a night time shot?

[watchguy123]

Originally Posted by Ucantwin

The polyp extension on the OP is insane. I'm curious if it's a night time shot?

I have two different mini colonies and this one has crazy polyp extension all the time, even during this daytime shot.


My little frag of reef raft USA rainbow blossom starting to show some color

[westreef]

Absolutely stunning. Wow.
Can you update your water parameters? Are you dosing any additives?

[watchguy123]

Originally Posted by westreef

Absolutely stunning. Wow.
Can you update your water parameters? Are you dosing any additives?

Thanks. I’m pretty much of a traditionalist or old school for the most part. Nitrates around 5ppm but vary occasionally from 2-10 ppm. I travel frequently and the person who feeds my tank tends to overfeed while I’m gone so nitrates usually jump while I’m gone. Phosphates fluctuate from .03 to 0.1 ppm. Alkalinity is right around 7.5dKh. I change 40-50 gallons of water every two weeks on my 180 gallon tank. I am very enticed by the no water change concept but too timid to buy into it quite yet. I utilize a refugium with chaeto, a skimmer, lots of live rock, sand bed, and siporax and a calcium reactor. I supplement nitrates because the siporax addition seems to push them down. I don’t add any additives otherwise

Z’s Blue Floyd is really crazy under reefbrites. The growth tips truly glow blue

Z’s Blue Floyd



Reef Raft USA Pink Floyd with reefbrites for comparison

[OrionN]

You may have stated before but what is new camera and lenses?

Great pictures of great corals in a great tank. Short of any of those “great” and these pictures won’t be any where near the same.

[watchguy123]

Originally Posted by OrionN

You may have stated before but what is new camera and lenses?

Great pictures of great corals in a great tank. Short of any of those “great” and these pictures won’t be any where near the same.

Thank you. I just got the Sony a7riii mirrorless camera and Sony’s 50mm macro and 90 mm macro. Most of these pictures were with the 50 mm macro. The 90 mm macro might be a little too close up, I need to try some some more shots with it. The very short depth of field is challenging on both lenses though. The focus is super quick and very sharp but I need to develop some insight into what area of the coral that I want in crisp focus. The camera makes shooting remarkably easier than anything I’ve ever experienced previously. It is a phenomenal camera and has capabilities way beyond my abilities.

[watchguy123]

I’ve had this for probably two years. Not a very fast grower but really pretty. It is vaguely similar to reef raft Canada Shazam but just not as dramatic

Unnamed



TGC Ray’s Rainbow. I have also had this for quite a while. Grows like a weed when happy.

[reefmutt]

[/QUOTE]
Unnamed


[/QUOTE]

This is absolutely stunning.. Mark, I don’t know how you do it. Over and over again.

When the day comes that human teleportation is possible, I will suit up in mask and snorkel (and speedo) with clipper in hand and I will transport myself directly into your tank. I will be out in no time with a clipping of every single coral you have in your system!

[Rakie]

Mark, when I win the lottery I'm going frag shopping at your house

[watchguy123]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

This is absolutely stunning.. Mark, I don’t know how you do it. Over and over again.

When the day comes that human teleportation is possible, I will suit up in mask and snorkel (and speedo) with clipper in hand and I will transport myself directly into your tank. I will be out in no time with a clipping of every single coral you have in your system!

You are so kind.

Originally Posted by Rakie

Mark, when I win the lottery I'm going frag shopping at your house

Thank you, but you don't need to win the lottery.

I like things beside SPS as well. These are shot under t5's and reefbrites. These for the most part are on the bottom third of the rock work. I use to have a lot of big chalices but I lost most of them a few years ago. I am slowly adding more and more. I generally don't collect the rainbow colored chalices, I prefer the ones with bright contrasting eyes. I also like favor/favites as well.

[Oldude]

Incredible stuff

[Rakie]

Originally Posted by watchguy123

You are so kind.


Thank you, but you don't need to win the lottery.

haha, I do if I want a piece of everything

But your tank is stunning as usual. Amazing photography too.