Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I prefer the original, but I know that you have to see the "alloy prints" with your own eyes to appreciate them, the effect doesn't come across on a 'puter screen... PS, I do appreciate a nice pair of legs tho'....thanks. Glad you like. My nephew runs a camera shop in Chicago and turned me on to them. I initially planned on filling my hallway with alloy prints from Vacations, but man its hard to choose which photos! I have ordered a couple of alloy prints that have turned out really good. The color and depth of the finished print is crazy good. They look like they have been poured on like a liquid and just pop hanging on a wall. They give an almost 3D look without a frame. Long story short. I would like you guys to tell me which processed version of these you like the best. I like the original best, but I'd choose the first processed one of the 3. I just recently had some black and whites printed on metallic paper... the result is amazing. Much better contrast and pick up of tones. Thank you Amy. Im not that big on or "baking" photos to this level, but Im going for something a little whimsical and where her friends will say cool pic, who is she? Like you, I think the Blue background andBlack dress is my favorite too. I like the deep red, but I am worried about the deep reds and solid blacks taking away from the image after its gets sized to 24"X30". I do however like the hair tones in the red the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted April 10, 2014 Moderators Share Posted April 10, 2014 I was running 4, 6 foot 160 watt VHO's and 2, 400 watt 10K Metal Halides. Replacing those every 6 months and R/O filters add up quick. I had an evaporation rate of 1.5 gallons a day, so I was constantly making clean water. Being only 75 gallons I use 2 4' actinic and one Metal Halide, I used tap water, it was well water and tested ok for mixing, I always mixed in a plastic drum I kept aerated until needed, I didn't have as much evaporation, probably because of the smaller tank. When getting started I wanted a wet-dry filter, my dad helped me build one much bigger than needed from Plexiglas with fiber glassed edges, it worked great. But one of my best additions was a protein skimmer, it was cool how they worked. I read everything I could find when getting started, my favorite the Marine Aquarium Reference, by Martin A. Moe, great book. imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Most certainly the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I agree, I was under the assumption Max had already had these "alloy prints" done, after reading it again I see I was mistaken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Max 2, I very much like the first unprocessed image. I know this is very presumptuous of me, and I don't want you to take offense, but I think the picture would have more dynamism if it were cropped a bit differently with an offset for the subject and a little less b/g. Such as attached here. Again, it's just an idea, don't be offended. Not at all Mdeneen! I am always looking at another take or idea on things no matter what Im doing. Its always cool to see someone take a photo of yours and do there own thing with it. I am going to have to get rid of that coffee cup though. I have lots of pics of her with much better backgrounds and such. The shot was a spur of the moment deal on Vacation and to be honest I would never had posted it if it had a clear shot of her face. The Boss doesn't like her picture taken much and would never want one of herself hanging on the wall. She is a modest little thing and I respect that, but processing the picture this way I know she would be ok with and I think it would be a great surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) I was running 4, 6 foot 160 watt VHO's and 2, 400 watt 10K Metal Halides. Replacing those every 6 months and R/O filters add up quick. I had an evaporation rate of 1.5 gallons a day, so I was constantly making clean water. Being only 75 gallons I use 2 4' actinic and one Metal Halide, I used tap water, it was well water and tested ok for mixing, I always mixed in a plastic drum I kept aerated until needed, I didn't have as much evaporation, probably because of the smaller tank. When getting started I wanted a wet-dry filter, my dad helped me build one much bigger than needed from Plexiglas with fiber glassed edges, it worked great. But one of my best additions was a protein skimmer, it was cool how they worked. I read everything I could find when getting started, my favorite the Marine Aquarium Reference, by Martin A. Moe, great book. imo Thanks for the kind words on the photo D. The tap water in my area, as good as it is, would never fly with the SPS corals I kept. Everything had to come out. No Phosphates or Silicates among all the other TDS's and bad stuff...chlorine, fluoride, etc. I have a heck of a 5 stage purifier unit that makes 99.9% lab grade water. Good equipment makes things so much easier. I also have a dosing system that dripped calcium chloride and Alkalinity additives every 15 minutes to keep PH and hardness in spec. I lived and breathed this stuff everyday and had to keep a healthy tank. All I ran was a protein skimmer since all my live rock took care of most of nitrates and nitrite levels. And then my tank got contaminated with these guys. I got lazy after so many years of quarantine frags before they went in my tank. Bad mistake. These things will wipe out a tank without and abundance of Wrasses . Lower right of quarter. This is one that came out of my tank. Trying to save my SPS in my growout tub while starving the worms in my tank. The chances are slim to none once you figure out you have them. It takes very little to kill the tissue on SPS (small polyp stony) corals. A few bites and they're done. Two or three degrees water temp swing will stress some of the more delicate to where they will decline and die over 3-6 months. A frustrating hobby, but extremely rewarding at the same time. I kept all my coral heads that I lost and are all over my house as decoration. I grew most of these out over the span of 15years. What started the size of your thumb, some of the faster growers were as wide as a dinner plate. 4 inch mouth on my main tank skimmer Edited April 10, 2014 by Max2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Here are a few of the actual tank. They were all taken from different times, so you will see a difference in growth size and arrangement. I did a lot of trading and selling too, which keep the spending down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Beautiful! I grew up with freshwater tanks (nowhere near as exciting), and have always been mesmerized by tanks like yours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted April 10, 2014 Moderators Share Posted April 10, 2014 (edited) Beautiful tank, I know how much work it is and I wasn't at the level of having anything overly delicate, tried to not be to exotic. It's depressing when something dies, and the prices hurt also. That skimmer is obviously working, I probably didn't need the wet dry filter, every time I had the water checked it was clean but I didn't have a protein skimmer as big as needed without the filter probably. About the only thing I didn't like about the whole thing was how salt wanted to build up on everything around the top , but it's just part of it. One of the reasons I got out of it was I was starting to have problems with heat, it was going to be either cut back on the lights which everything needed or buy a chiller and they were not cheap and just another step in deeper. Great looking tank ! Now I get my reef fix on vacation snorkeling, it will have to do. This is West bay Roatan Honduras Edit; I don't know why there blowing up so big ? Edited April 10, 2014 by dtel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Beautiful tank, I know how much work it is and I wasn't at the level of having anything overly delicate, tried to not be to exotic. It's depressing when something dies, and the prices hurt also. That skimmer is obviously working, I probably didn't need the wet dry filter, every time I had the water checked it was clean but I didn't have a protein skimmer as big as needed without the filter probably. About the only thing I didn't like about the whole thing was how salt wanted to build up on everything around the top , but it's just part of it. One of the reasons I got out of it was I was starting to have problems with heat, it was going to be either cut back on the lights which everything needed or buy a chiller and they were not cheap and just another step in deeper. Great looking tank ! Now I get my reef fix on vacation snorkeling, it will have to do. This is West bay Roatan Honduras Edit; I don't know why there blowing up so big ? Thanks dtel and excellent pics! Looks like about 20 feet or so of visibility. Big pics are good, my eyes aren't too good. I have around 4K pics from areas in the Caribbeen I have taken over the years including some snorkeling pics. I will be sneaking some in later on. Its unusual to see a Brain or moon coral (your center pic) recede from the bottom up. Its usually the top that gets stepped on or takes hits from swimmers and debris. Its very sad to see where our reefs are headed and its another excuse I use to not start another reef tank. The majority of my corals were captive grown, but they all have to start by someone cutting a piece or totally robbing it in the wild. Having said that, there are a lot of good people out there wild culturing corals and growing them out in designated area of Lagoons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Beautiful! I grew up with freshwater tanks (nowhere near as exciting), and have always been mesmerized by tanks like yours. Many thanks mungkiman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Beautiful! I grew up with freshwater tanks (nowhere near as exciting), and have always been mesmerized by tanks like yours. Many thanks mungkiman! No, no. Thank you! My childhood memories are full of Kuhli Loaches and Neon Tetras, but a good friend has an incredible saltwater tank. His adventures into corals has involved some interesting "hitchhikers" in the form of shrimp and crabs. There's a great local store that I visit regularly, with all kinds of sustainably harvested corals, and the occasional cuttlefish! Fascinating stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Max, Fascinating hobby you have there and many beautiful corals and other stuff? (I know nothing about underwater thingies).T Thankyou, thankyou mdeneen. I think I know just a small, tad bit about a lot of "remote" things, but its usually just enough for me to put my foot in my mouth! The good thing is, I learn from folks that correct me! As long as a dumb man surrounds himself with smart people, he can usually keep his head above water. At least that's my story After dtel posted his underwater pics of that brain coral, I have to post this, although I think I already have earlier in this thread. With all the issues with the reefs around the planet, my wife and I stumbled upon this moon coral at Savannah Bay off of Virgin Gorda. It was massive. It was probably 3.5-4 feet wide which give it a 7-8 foot circumference and with most slow growing corals like the brain corals, this guy grows approx. 1 inch in diameter a year. That means this guy has been growing since somewhere in the late 1600's . It was a perfect specimen with no rub rash or battle scars anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 There's coral in that photo??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 PS - Did you mean to suggest that this coral increases in size by 1 inch per decade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 My cactus, Henry, got his first bloom this year! Same color flower as last year 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Nice! My cacti don't have names. Perhaps that's why they rarely bloom?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Lol.. maybe. Never know until you try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 PS - Did you mean to suggest that this coral increases in size by 1 inch per decade? That didn't make much sense did it? Let me try again. Different corals grow at different rates from what I have read about the ocean and this was the case for everything I had in my tank. The branching or little tree looking captive tank corals could grow fast and some slow. And wouldn't you know it, the exotic colored corals grow very slow and the basic Yellow Acropora grows very fast and is like a weed in your tank. You basically can't give cuttings of those away. Im veering off here. Anyhow, I don't know the rates of anything that grows in the ocean, but they say the reef itself grows on average 1 inch per year. However corals can grow many inches or much less per year. I just searched and found where moon corals can grow .2-.3 centimes per year. From other pics I have seen in coral books, that Brain Coral should be well over 300 years old. But to put things really into perspective... This Moon or Brain Coral is 18 feet wide and Scientists have said it is in excess of 2000 years old and is known as one of the worlds oldest living "anything". Its in Tobago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldenough Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 My cactus, Henry, got his first bloom this year! Same color flower as last year Congrats to you and Henry..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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