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Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - The End

Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Thanks guys :D

George Farmer said:
Black neons are great eh?!

But the photography is worthy of separate note. It's incredible. The amount of detail and realism is astonishing - perfect tones, contrast and colour balance. It has a very natural look which I find very appealing. It's easy for folk to say it's because you've all the gear, but to use it as well as you're doing is testament to the skills of your trade.

I'm really liking the black neons George, they're not the best shoalers, but their understated looks seem to sit nicely in this tank. I'll probably double the size of the shoal in the coming weeks.

Pleased you like the pics too - I was planning to do something different with the lighting this time around, but didnt have time to play yesterday. Maybe next time :rolleyes:

saintly said:
this whole photography thing is just great. like George says the bar keeps raising, and this can only be a good thing for the UK don't you think?....it is for me at least. The down side is, your going to make me skint at this rate I'm already looking at a camera and lens upgrade
one critique though....the moss at the left branch doesn't quit sit right. it reminds me of a garter

Cheers Mark. The photography side is certainly is addictive (and expensive too !) I reckon one or two more lights is more important than camera and lens - I think that would open up alot more options for lighting - you already have a camera and lens that are up to the task :D Next for me are more lights, and a (strong) trolley for the tank so I can move it well clear of the wall and backlight it :D

I agree about the triangle moss - I really need to tether it along the branch more at the top and bottom. I haven't done it as its the only one of the mosses that is growing nicely, and I don't want to risk disturbing the wood :rolleyes:

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Tonser said:
I'm really liking the black neons George, they're not the best shoalers, but their understated looks seem to sit nicely in this tank. I'll probably double the size of the shoal in the coming weeks.
You're spot on. This layout really suits an understated fish, in my view. Colourful/high-impact fish would be at odds with the naturalistic-style you've pulled-off so well already. More of the same would look stunning and I'd leave it with the one species, personally.

Keep up the great work. World-class. Really.
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

This is fabulous Tony. Now I am REALLY dissapointed with my setup! :lol:
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Thanks Mark, and thanks Paulo for the newsletter pointer - I hadnt seen that :D I think there may be a couple of pics of it going in the October issue too ;) :D

I havent updated the thread for a while, as its been a busy month, and also not alot has changed ! The plants are growing on nicely, especially the bolbitis which seems to have adjusted to the tank now. The shoal of black neons has grown to 30, and the otos now number 12, plus the 2 cherry shrimp in there are obviously creating offspring as theres at least 8 babies I've spotted :D

Other than that, I broke a lily pipe yesterday whilst cleaning, so theres a new Cal-Aqua going on it tomorrow. More pics will follow :D

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Tonser said:
keymaker said:
I demand you publish all the details: camera, lens, aperture, shutter, lighting specs, placement, etc

Nikon D3X, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 @ 70mm, f22, 1/125th, ISO200 (...)
Why did you use the lens at the 70mm end? Did you aim for a strong 2D experience?

My take - speculation really - is that it really helps the surreal impression of this particular super-clean scape that you accentuated the 2D feeling and avoided "bringing us into the tank" with the use of wide-lens. If you'd use the 24mm end for example, the side-walls of the tank would have gained more accent (taking some focus off from the theme) and the in-depth lines of the scape would further complicate the look. Not something I would want here...

How is that for a speculative analysis? :lol:

Please tell me your real motives and how did you end up with 70mm? :)

I just bought a canon 450D camera and I am planning to get a 17-55 f2.8 IS lens vs. the 24-70 (no IS) you used and I am trying to convince myself that my choice would be better for my general purposes. ;)
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

keymaker said:
I just bought a canon 450D camera and I am planning to get a 17-55 f2.8 IS lens vs. the 24-70 (no IS) you used and I am trying to convince myself that my choice would be better for my general purposes. ;)
youre right in that your choice would be better for general purpose becuase thats seen as a general zoom for the crop factor cameras. Dont forget that tony is using a full frame camera with his 24-70mm which on your 450d (with 1.6x crop factor) would equate to about 38-112mm (the 17-55 IS is about 27-88m ish)
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

stuworrall said:
(...)Dont forget that tony is using a full frame camera (...)
Oh, absolutely right, I did not think about the full frame factor here. Thanks!
Tony, the question for the 70mm usage still stands though.
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Hi Keymaker. Youre kind of right with the 2d 'look', though the real reason is that it reduces the convergence on the tank edges, which a wide lens would give you. I like straight graphic lines which the longer lens gives, though it does flatten the tank off alot. When I get some more time I'm going to shoot some more interesting angles with different lenses and see what I come up with :D

There was also a logistical reason for the 70mm during the setup shots, which meant I could leave the camera on the tripod about 3.5m away from the tank which gave me room to work on the tank and stand back from it to view it without the camera getting in the way.

I'm hoping to pick up a few new inhabitants for this tank next week, so I'll be updating the pics then ;) :D

Cheers

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Tony, would be interested to know what lighting equipment you use?
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Mark Webb said:
Tony, would be interested to know what lighting equipment you use?
Tonser said:
2 x Bowens heads - one with 60cm softbox above, and front right of tank for general fill, and one with snoot at left hand side firing across the front of the scape 8)
Did you mean this? :?
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Hi Tony!

I've commented on this scape through TGM but I've just read through your journal and I have to say it's the best journal on here and there's some cracking ones to choose from.

The scape, the planting, the photography...all amazing...your one gifted fella!

Well done Tony....inspiring stuff mate :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Mark

Serenity Peak - 60cm Iwagumi Journal
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7750#p85503
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Hi Mark

Thanks for your kind comments, I'm pleased you like it.

Unfortunately, due to a little neglect recently (due to our new babies arrival) the tank is not looking so good right now :( I've had alot of die off again with the bolbitis, and also with the pelia and hairgrass. Alongside that their are a variety of algaes trying to take hold too !

I've done a 50% w/c today, and will be doing several more this week to try to get things back on track. I might well do a full blackout after that too :D

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Well, its been a while :oops: Life has been getting in the way of aquatics in general, and journal updating in particular, but things are getting back on track now, so I thought I'd update this one :D

Having been away for 5 weeks at the start of the year, the tank was rather neglected in terms on maintenance, with just the automated water changes taking place. A such it had got rather overgrown, the E Tennelus in particular had gone rampant ! Unfortunately the BBA has also gone rampant, so that is the main issue to resolve. We've been discussing it on my discus tank thread, as I have it in there too :rolleyes: . The BBA discussion is here:

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4593&start=130

I did a quick trim on the stems, and pulled a load of E Tennelus runners out as soon as I got back from my trip, then this weekend I spent alot of time clearing things out. This was the tank before I started on Saturday morning...

FTS_BBAfest_MUS4454.jpg


and a close up of the disgusting gravel...

Grave_BBAfest_MUS4454.jpg


and the Flying Foxes which have been drafted in to devour the BBA...

SAEs_MUS4440.jpg


and by Sunday evening, this was the tank. I've removed all the crypt parva and e ennelus leaves with BBA on, aswell as some of the mosses with it. I vacummed all of the Aquasail whihc had drifted out onto the sand, and removed most of the graded gravels which seemed particularly prone to BBA. I also trimmed the stems back a bit, and added some more peacock moss on the main branch - this stuff grows really nicely in this tank :D

The BBA on the redmoor branches is really tough to remove - I plucked it and that worked abit. I shaved it with an old razor and that worked on the smoother branches, and I dosed it with Excel which should help, but there are alot of cherry shrimp in there so I dont want to overdose it too much.

FTS_cleaned_MUS4554.jpg


I'm going to perservere with the Excel on the BBA everyday. I might still try a blackout too. In terms of stopping the BBA coming back, I've upped the CO2 a little so the DC is on the yellow side of limey coloured, and I've added a couple of Koralias too to make sure the flow is good.

Updates more regularly from now on, I promise !

Tony
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Nice update mate, warts 'n all!

The tenellus looks effective around the wood. Have you considered adding some crypts around there too to mix up the texture a little? Just a thought mate - and crypts are less invasive...

One trick I've used to rid BBA is to drain the tank so the BBA is exposed to the air, then use a small paint brush and liquid carbon to paint directly on to the BBA. This way there's no way of overdosing and the BBA disappears over a few days.

All the best, and thanks for the update. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was wondering how this was getting on.
 
Re: Tonsers 200L Optiwhite

Tonser said:
just the automated water changes taking place.
what the... I'm sure you must have mentioned this before... have you got a linky link?

If you've got bolbitis in there I would watch the EC being applied directly. I melted a few leaves with it... but I guess thats probably true of any plant with undiluted EC/Excel/etc.

and I second the crypts in around the wood it'll look great with the ET

good luck

Chris
 
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