With IAPLC deadline fast approaching, thought id better get a banker shot in. The tank wont be where id ideally like it to be as theres still a lot of growing in to do at the rear with the new echinodorus and the vallis, but still going to enter
Id planned on taking the banker shot last thursday before water change, and then doing a major trim in hope of it regrowing in time for another last minute shot at the end of the month which may have been better with more foreground shape again and perhaps more growth at the rear....but it takes ages to take photos when trying lighting variations!!!
I only had one extra single t8 light unit to use with a few different bulbs and its amazing the changes you get visually just with these, let alone swapping front to rear bias
Choosing a shot is tricky too when you take loads
Borrowed a tripod again and removed equipment....took the opportunity to clean the glassware while it was out and managed not to break it this time
Anyway to cut a long story short ive got a few shots i could use, not entirely happy as even though im no photographer theres a few schoolboy errors which could have been avoided like the water level being too high leaving a visible silver line at the surface where my top rim is around the tank....also id added some moss to the top of a branch and used wood tight instead of cotton so you can see that too
It took a long time faffing around so i didnt have time to do the major trim so that will have to wait for next weeks water change, which definitely wont give time to regrow, but its not a big deal, ill let the tank run and ill see it grown in eventually
I wont share the actual shots im considering, as most likely it will have to be one of those, but ill overload on pictures now as i took a few whilst photographing then carrying out the water change.
This is pretty much all my 'photoshoot' was.....i cleaned the glass, removed equipment and lowered the main lighting unit directly on top of the tank to brighten it as much as possible with another t8 + reflectors added to the front ...which you cant really see in this picture
:
as a side, its a bit of a change from this:
After that it was just a quick water change, but with time to take photos
. I made life a little easier for myself a while ago by drilling a hole in the conservatory wall and plumbing in a capped pipe to an outside drain so i can syphon direct from the tank without having to empty buckets a lot, or open doors and stretch hose everywhere! Thats why i have a net stuck over the syphon tubes, to prevent critters going down the drain, also two pipes is faster than one. I can just stick a gravel cleaner on one of the hoses when i want to clean the substrate. The water cans are prepped the night before and left in the garage with heaters added to warm the water, i then sit them on the stepladders and use a liquid transfer pump to get the water back into the tank. I tried a hose direct from the tap a few times but didnt like the lack of control. Takes a little longer this way, but i can always see whats going on:
Drop the water about this far, not quite 50%
, but 3x 25l drums is enough to lug about. Also the aponogeton is sending up a flower shoot?, next day this was out the water
rapid growth:
Next day, boy that koralia circulation pump is attractive
. The aponogeton flower shoot made the surface and the cardinals came to say hello, you can see some of the tenellus is flattened slightly after a substrate vacuum, and the keen eyed may spot one of the two crs hiding out in this tank
:
few more shots while im on:
spot the hatchetfish
Cheerio,
Ady.