# A few shots of my reef tank



## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Hi guys,

Thought I would show you a few shots of my reef tank now it is starting to establish, and my skills are getting better (I think!).

I am still using the 18-70mm kit lens I bought 4 years ago but have finally realised I need to sort it out and plan on purchasing a Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro lens in the near future.

A couple of fishy ones first:


Penny - Amphiprion Ocellaris by Pandy100, on Flickr


PJ - Halichoeres Chrysus by Pandy100, on Flickr


Raj - Ecsenius Stigmatura by Pandy100, on Flickr

And a few corals:


Bubble coral on the road to recovery. by Pandy100, on Flickr


Acans by Pandy100, on Flickr


21 Oct 2012 17:15 by Pandy100, on Flickr


21 Oct 2012 17:17 by Pandy100, on Flickr


Duncan head close up by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoa frag close up by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoa frag close up by Pandy100, on Flickr

Andy


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## Black Magic Detail (Aug 17, 2010)

thats stunning mate ,wow


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Cheers fella :thumb:

It is still very young, so quite empty in terms of corals but I'm getting there and am in no rush. Plus I need to start dosing my levels if I add any more corals as my water changes can't replenish the levels on their own.


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## stevo260 (Nov 7, 2012)

Very nice tank mate, have you by any chance been watching "Tanked" on tv they do some awesome stuff


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Thanks mate. I've watched Fish Tank Kings but didn't catch Tanked, not a fan of the fake corals personally.


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## mlgt (Apr 11, 2008)

Some great photography for sure. Lovely corals


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## t180black (Mar 26, 2011)

Looking at your photos is the next best thing!!! Absolutely amazing photos.:thumb:


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## MAUI (Feb 1, 2008)

Awesome, I miss my salt water tank. Kids took the place of my baby octopus.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

that's pretty cool... my friend (and fellow DW member) runs a forum called IKeepFish, if you aren't already on there then it's a nice place for fish lovers.

tell petey "wee Craigy" sent you


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## stevie_m (Apr 10, 2010)

Great pictures and some amazing colours, I can guess it looks amazing in person.


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Thanks all :thumb:

You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get good shots of the fish, the yellow Wrasse is a fast little bugger!

I have just installed a new light, and have a new powerhead on the way, so I can start adding more hard corals as soon as I can keep up with the demands on the chemistry side of it. There is far too much rock work exposed atm - I need to fill it out 

Here is a little video off the mrs's iPhone (although i'm not sure how to embed on here)


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## DarrenM (Aug 6, 2012)

Love the Duncan and the Acans.

I miss my tank...


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## tenyearsafter (May 25, 2011)

That is so cool. Nice shots.


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

DarrenM said:


> Love the Duncan and the Acans.
> 
> I miss my tank...


I love them too. Apart from my Zoas, those two are the ones I've seen growth on the most. I have a new head on the Duncan and quite a few new polyps on the Acans which is pretty good considering the poor lighting I had before.

I can imagine, I couldn't be without mine 



tenyearsafter said:


> That is so cool. Nice shots.


Cheers


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## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

epic colours


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

I had a lovely Sigma 105mm Macro lens delivered by Santa this morning and its a cracker 

Had a tinker and came up with a few snaps which I thought I'd share....


Raj by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoas by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoas by Pandy100, on Flickr


Leather polyps by Pandy100, on Flickr


Branching Frogspawn mouth by Pandy100, on Flickr


Acan feeding by Pandy100, on Flickr


Acan by Pandy100, on Flickr

Thanks
Andy


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## jimbo1 (Nov 24, 2007)

Looks very nice, I love wrasses. Top pictures btw.

what size is the tank???
some sump shots and specs would be nice - dont be shy!!!

miss my tank but don't miss the maintenace side of it.


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

I was never a fan of Wrasses before I had my Halichoeres, I always thought they looked lazy just flapping their front fins to get about - but I find them elegant and efficient now, he can blast around the tank when he wants to as well!

Its around 150lt total volume - 120 in the display and 30ish in the sump. Ill get something sorted over the next few days :thumb:


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## Saj (Dec 24, 2012)

Very nice pics there you got, stunning !


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## jimbo1 (Nov 24, 2007)

Top stuff and great photography, that sigma looks quality 

Nice size tank as well.

Have you got a cover or net at the top? wrasses are prone to jumping when spooked. I lost a few over the years. I had a pair of yellow wrasses one died in a matter of weeks, other lived for a few years till I found him on the floor one day :-(

If I start again, time and funds permitting I would like sps only, loads of wrasses and a couple of tangs.


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## IanA (Feb 26, 2012)

Love the first fishy photo. Looks like you found Nemo


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Saj said:


> Very nice pics there you got, stunning !





IanA said:


> Love the first fishy photo. Looks like you found Nemo


Cheers guys, im very proud of the first photo - I think it may be the best photo I have taken of my tank so far.



jimbo1 said:


> Top stuff and great photography, that sigma looks quality
> 
> Nice size tank as well.
> 
> ...


I am impressed with the lens for sure, just need plenty of practice.

I used to use a sheet of acrylic but it just bounced the light back all over the room so am now using some 1/4" pond netting which is much better  I just need to create a surround for it as atm the netting is just placed ontop with the corners cable tied to try and keep it there.

My Wrasse is a proper girl though, he dives in the sand the second anything alien enters the water - like my hand lol

A man after my own heart :thumb: Im working up to SPS but need to nail the chemistry first. Although we will be going bigger when we get our house, much bigger


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Here's a few more :thumb:


Penny by Pandy100, on Flickr


PJ hunting by Pandy100, on Flickr


PJ hunting by Pandy100, on Flickr

I loved the pose on this hermit:


Hermit by Pandy100, on Flickr

And some coral shots on blue ramp down:


Frogspawn by Pandy100, on Flickr


GSP by Pandy100, on Flickr


Torch by Pandy100, on Flickr


Torch by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Jimbo here's a shot of the equipment/mess, and of the sump.

I want to introduce some Cheato algae in the sump to help with my elevated NO3 levels - just trying to work out how I can squeeze it in the tiny space I have.

In/on the left cupboard I have my slow flow PO4 remover and Carbon pods, RO topup tank, test kits, spare food, RO unit filter kit, Refractometer, etc

And in the sump I have the skimmer, return pump, thermometer, temperature controller w. sensor, and the overflow return which leads into the filter sock.


Equipment by Pandy100, on Flickr


Sump by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Picked up my first few SPS frags this weekend - hopefully I can keep them alive but we shall see 


Purple - Blue Tipped Acro by Pandy100, on Flickr


Purple - Blue Tipped Acro Close by Pandy100, on Flickr


Green Stylo by Pandy100, on Flickr


Green Acro by Pandy100, on Flickr


Green Acro Close by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## Doc943 (Mar 27, 2011)

Getting better and better mate. I never had the patience for reefs but you've cracked it! Well done!


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Thanks very much :thumb:

I bought some more Zoas and LPS today  Baring in mind they hadn't been in the tank long some of the polyps hadn't opened up when the pictures were taken....


Zoas by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoas by Pandy100, on Flickr


Zoas by Pandy100, on Flickr


Green Acans by Pandy100, on Flickr


Maze by Pandy100, on Flickr

And finally the Scolly I have been wanting for some time now, it has a lovely green ring around it.


Scolly by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## Stewartfinley (Mar 3, 2012)

These are great shots fella!

Obviously these have been taken through the glass .... How did you minimise reflections?


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Cheers.

I get reflections with my 18-70 lens because I'm further away from the tank, but with the 105mm macro I'm pretty close to the glass most of the time and shooting as close to perpendicular to the glass helps I think.


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## Doc943 (Mar 27, 2011)

Love your set up and the pix mate. Fantastic.


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Thanks very much 

Finally managed to take a decent shot of PJ, my Halichoeres Chysus wrasse, now that his adult markings are starting to really show.

I did think he was female due to having the two dark spots on his dorsal fin, but the second one is starting to fade now so looks like he is a male after all 


PJ maturing by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## jamieblackford (Jan 17, 2012)

Great fish and great shots too, I currently have a freshwater aquarium which I love. I'd like to try a marine set up one day just the space to upgrade to a larger tank is holding me back. How big is your tank? Also what camera did you take these pictures on? Thanks.


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Thanks.

The whole system is around 145 litres, with the display being 120 of that, which is pretty small by all accounts. The more water volume you have the better really. My upgrade will hopefully be around 1000 litres with a bit of luck 

There are marine specific tanks from as little at 15 litres though, but they are really only designed for coral displays.

The camera is a Sony A300 with a Sigma 105mm Macro lens :thumb:


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

Couple more images taken recently.

I absolutely adore this coral :argie:


Scolly feeding by Pandy100, on Flickr

And my Chalk goby was in the mood for a few snaps this morning too...


Casper by Pandy100, on Flickr


Casper macro by Pandy100, on Flickr


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## jimbo1 (Nov 24, 2007)

Just seen your thread again, the green acros look very happy with the polyps out.
Scolys, acans are awesome - your'e tempting me to get back into it.:argie::argie:

That sump looks clean - good husbandry mate, keep it up:thumb:


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Fantastic!! I love saltwater aquariums - this is terrific Pany :thumb:

Cheers
Ben


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## Bartl (Apr 3, 2013)

That looks stunning


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

SBM said:


> Fantastic!! I love saltwater aquariums - this is terrific Pany :thumb:
> 
> Cheers
> Ben





Bartl said:


> That looks stunning


Thanks both 

Got a few more fish now and a little Pistol shrimp and things are growing. I had a few alkalinity swings recently which has started to strip one of my corals so have ordered an automatic dosing system to keep my levels stable.

I am also planning an upgrade for when we get the house but for now ill leave you with these photos....


Blue Neon goby by Pandy100, on Flickr


Yoshi by Pandy100, on Flickr


Randall the Pistol Shrimp by Pandy100, on Flickr


Acan and Zoa rock by Pandy100, on Flickr


Leather by Pandy100, on Flickr


Frogspawn by Pandy100, on Flickr


Rainbow Acans by Pandy100, on Flickr


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