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Tom's Bucket O' Mud - The End
- Thread starter BigTom
- Start date
Mark Evans
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Looking good mate. I cant help but feel though, some of the images are a tad under exposed
Looking good mate. I cant help but feel though, some of the images are a tad under exposed
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Cheers.
I tend to prefer my images darker than most people do, but normally the detail is there if you're properly calibrated.
Mark Evans said:Looking good mate. I cant help but feel though, some of the images are a tad under exposed
Cheers.
I tend to prefer my images darker than most people do, but normally the detail is there if you're properly calibrated.
Mark Evans
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
It must be my crappy monitor then. I trust they look right mate
mine must look over exposed then
i must check this out.
BigTom said:
It must be my crappy monitor then.
I trust they look right mate mine must look over exposed then
i must check this out.
Mark Evans
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Tools of the trade!
If i cant get mine right, I'll borrow a lump hammer from work and smash my screen in
The inbred 'roofer' mentality in me, always wants to smash things up... I was never cut out to be a pro photographer.
On a serious note though, i rely on my iPhone to check exposure of images that i upload. If it looks right on that, i must be near enough. I'm sure Apple would of spent a bit of money, trying to get images looking right on their screens.
BigTom said:
Tools of the trade!
If i cant get mine right, I'll borrow a lump hammer from work and smash my screen in
The inbred 'roofer' mentality in me, always wants to smash things up... I was never cut out to be a pro photographer. On a serious note though, i rely on my iPhone to check exposure of images that i upload. If it looks right on that, i must be near enough. I'm sure Apple would of spent a bit of money, trying to get images looking right on their screens.
Mark Evans
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
and thats why, i'm a roofer, and your the pro photographer
BigTom said:
and thats why, i'm a roofer, and your the pro photographer
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Hah. Given what you've invested in photography so far I do think it's worth considering a non-TN screen and calibration tool. Having said that I happily used an uncalibrated TN for years, but investing in am IPS monitor really let me push the dark images I was producing at the time.
PS, I'm not a pro photographer, just a hobbiest!
Hah. Given what you've invested in photography so far I do think it's worth considering a non-TN screen and calibration tool. Having said that I happily used an uncalibrated TN for years, but investing in am IPS monitor really let me push the dark images I was producing at the time.
PS, I'm not a pro photographer, just a hobbiest!
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Well, I don't know what's got into the Paros today, they're normally very shy, but have been marauding around all over the place...
http://imageshack.com/a/img905/686/hZXLpN.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/6937/Osd5ut.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/8047/QynsQ7.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img540/2801/xkkQvU.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/9453/4kCdp1.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img633/8171/SaeMB7.jpg
That last one was shot with the flash behind, instead of in front, so there's no reflection from the blue photosites, but it really shows off the iridescence on their bodies.
Well, I don't know what's got into the Paros today, they're normally very shy, but have been marauding around all over the place...
http://imageshack.com/a/img905/686/hZXLpN.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/6937/Osd5ut.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/8047/QynsQ7.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img540/2801/xkkQvU.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img904/9453/4kCdp1.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img633/8171/SaeMB7.jpg
That last one was shot with the flash behind, instead of in front, so there's no reflection from the blue photosites, but it really shows off the iridescence on their bodies.
Last edited:
Bobtastic
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Fish pics page 12
Really nice Tom. Good looking fish!
Really nice Tom. Good looking fish!
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
Thanks, I'm beocming slightly obsessed with them! Don't get to see them too often as they're normally skulking under the emersed plant growth, but it's a real treat when they put on a display. The way they move is wonderful.
Thanks, I'm beocming slightly obsessed with them! Don't get to see them too often as they're normally skulking under the emersed plant growth, but it's a real treat when they put on a display. The way they move is wonderful.
ghostsword
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
I like the leafs on the bottom, where did you get them?
It looks very interesting fish..
I like the leafs on the bottom, where did you get them?
It looks very interesting fish..
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
The leaves are a mix of beech and oak, which were collected last winter and dried for a bit, I just chuck a handful in now and again.
Actually, I think the leaf in the last picture is a red oak, which a friend collected and gave me.
The leaves are a mix of beech and oak, which were collected last winter and dried for a bit, I just chuck a handful in now and again.
Actually, I think the leaf in the last picture is a red oak, which a friend collected and gave me.
ghostsword
Member
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
I will see if I can get some oak leaves in London, just need to find out what a oak tree looks like.. 🙂
I will see if I can get some oak leaves in London, just need to find out what a oak tree looks like.. 🙂
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
Great tank, great journal, very inspiring! I just love the idea of a more or less self-sufficent ecosystem in miniature. And I read through everything in a disjointed fashion, including the other links, and would like to hear a bit more about what you're doing with it now.
Do you feed the fish at all when you're home, or do they get enough to eat from the microfauna? I suppose you could always add an auto feeder for when you're gone, though that detracts a bit from the magic of such a tank. It sounds like the only thing you add is some leaves to feed the invertebrates? But what do you think would be the result if you enriched the tank by adding more nutrients in any form, be it fertilizer or food, would that result in richer microfauna and plant growth, or algae? Do you suspect the nitrogen in the soil and the system will at some point run out, possibly resulting in blue-green algae problems eventually?
What kind of soil did you use? Is it mineralized topsoil? And did it have any organic content in it still? (Which would decompose in time to provide CO2 to the roots of the submerged plants) I'd have thought organic soil would give you a better chance of achieving a carpet than you could with just mineral soil, but I could be wrong.
Also, I don't know if you'd added any buffers such as dolomite to the soil substrate, but what is your pH and does it tend to stay that way, in case you know?
Unfortunate about the Glosso, but you decided not to try Dwarf Sags or Marsilea, which is what I was similarly considering as they're supposed to be about the easiest carpeting plants?
And finally, you didn't in the end include a refugium to act as a breeding sanctuary for microfauna? In any case it seems with a tank this size and the light fauna it is working for you and isn't thus necessary.
Lot of questions though!... but helpful if you can provide any answers.
Great tank, great journal, very inspiring! I just love the idea of a more or less self-sufficent ecosystem in miniature. And I read through everything in a disjointed fashion, including the other links, and would like to hear a bit more about what you're doing with it now.
Do you feed the fish at all when you're home, or do they get enough to eat from the microfauna? I suppose you could always add an auto feeder for when you're gone, though that detracts a bit from the magic of such a tank. It sounds like the only thing you add is some leaves to feed the invertebrates? But what do you think would be the result if you enriched the tank by adding more nutrients in any form, be it fertilizer or food, would that result in richer microfauna and plant growth, or algae? Do you suspect the nitrogen in the soil and the system will at some point run out, possibly resulting in blue-green algae problems eventually?
What kind of soil did you use? Is it mineralized topsoil? And did it have any organic content in it still? (Which would decompose in time to provide CO2 to the roots of the submerged plants) I'd have thought organic soil would give you a better chance of achieving a carpet than you could with just mineral soil, but I could be wrong.
Also, I don't know if you'd added any buffers such as dolomite to the soil substrate, but what is your pH and does it tend to stay that way, in case you know?
Unfortunate about the Glosso, but you decided not to try Dwarf Sags or Marsilea, which is what I was similarly considering as they're supposed to be about the easiest carpeting plants?
And finally, you didn't in the end include a refugium to act as a breeding sanctuary for microfauna? In any case it seems with a tank this size and the light fauna it is working for you and isn't thus necessary.
Lot of questions though!... but helpful if you can provide any answers.
ghostsword
Member
Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
🙂 I know what it is, but I lived in Lisbon, never seen a carvalho there. 🙂
My inlaws know how oak looks like, so when we went to Kew gardens I got a bag full. Got home, boiled them and then placed the leaves on the oven for a bit.
Got dried leaves and black water extract now! 🙂
.
🙂 I know what it is, but I lived in Lisbon, never seen a carvalho there. 🙂
My inlaws know how oak looks like, so when we went to Kew gardens I got a bag full. Got home, boiled them and then placed the leaves on the oven for a bit.
Got dried leaves and black water extract now! 🙂
.
Re: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - Licorice gourami pics page 14
Hi again Mxx,
Sorry about being a bit slow responding, I've been away from home for a while (hence the need for a sustainable tank!), just got back last night.
Most of the time all I add is fresh leaves every month or two. Sometimes when I'm home I'll give the fish a bit of a treat to vary their diet a bit, I don't believe it's crucial to keeping them going though. I'm regularly away from home for 5-6 weeks at a time, during which the tank gets no input other than water top-offs.
I haven't tried adding extra ferts, although I may do when/if the soil becomes depleted. The soil is now 9 months old and was fairly lean to start with, and I imagine that the enormous amazon sword (which has roots throughout the entire substrate) must have consumed a lot of the available nutrients. However, I never prune the leaves when they die off, they just fall back into the tank and replenish the water column.
This was just garden compost (I can't remember the exact makeup, was a John Innes formula, I think JI number 5 from memory), cut about 50/50 with sand. There was a moderate algae bloom in the first few weeks, whilst the plants were establishing themselves and the ammonia was spiking, but since then no issues at all (I get a tiny amount of green spot algae on the glass where the sunlight diffuses through the window).
I've never measured the pH in this tank, my tap water is soft and close to neutral, so I imagine the tank is fairly acidic whith all the humic substances from the leaves breaking down. The fish are soft, acid water species and seem to be doing well.
I have some issue with the foreground still, there are various of the smaller crypts in there but they are all painfully slow growing in this setup. I have some E. magdelensis which seems to be doing well but is a little large.
Yeah, I decided to try it without the refugium to begin with, and it all seems to be working ok. I still think that one would be a good idea in principle though, I was just too impatient to come up with a good design that wouldn't impact my hardscape when I was setting up.
Hi again Mxx,
Sorry about being a bit slow responding, I've been away from home for a while (hence the need for a sustainable tank!), just got back last night.
Mxx said:
Most of the time all I add is fresh leaves every month or two. Sometimes when I'm home I'll give the fish a bit of a treat to vary their diet a bit, I don't believe it's crucial to keeping them going though. I'm regularly away from home for 5-6 weeks at a time, during which the tank gets no input other than water top-offs.
Mxx said:
I haven't tried adding extra ferts, although I may do when/if the soil becomes depleted. The soil is now 9 months old and was fairly lean to start with, and I imagine that the enormous amazon sword (which has roots throughout the entire substrate) must have consumed a lot of the available nutrients. However, I never prune the leaves when they die off, they just fall back into the tank and replenish the water column.
Mxx said:
This was just garden compost (I can't remember the exact makeup, was a John Innes formula, I think JI number 5 from memory), cut about 50/50 with sand. There was a moderate algae bloom in the first few weeks, whilst the plants were establishing themselves and the ammonia was spiking, but since then no issues at all (I get a tiny amount of green spot algae on the glass where the sunlight diffuses through the window).
Mxx said:
I've never measured the pH in this tank, my tap water is soft and close to neutral, so I imagine the tank is fairly acidic whith all the humic substances from the leaves breaking down. The fish are soft, acid water species and seem to be doing well.
Mxx said:
I have some issue with the foreground still, there are various of the smaller crypts in there but they are all painfully slow growing in this setup. I have some E. magdelensis which seems to be doing well but is a little large.
Mxx said:
Yeah, I decided to try it without the refugium to begin with, and it all seems to be working ok. I still think that one would be a good idea in principle though, I was just too impatient to come up with a good design that wouldn't impact my hardscape when I was setting up.
