My other hobby, even more beautiful than Orchids

[Jeffery]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Unbelievable, the halide system alone would cost roughly $700! One of those fixtures with 2 double-ended HQI MH's with 4 actinics or something, can't really make out what they are.

It's a nice set up.

Quite similar to the way a natural reef is constructed.

Naturally, the back barrier reefs are full of low to the sand, coral rock islands with a few corals scattered about, with a few coral colonies that are nicely established.

Some of these islands are very small. Others are very large.

In a lush coral community, there is a diversity of fish, but the population is sparse group wise (what I mean is that there are only maybe a handful of different species around a coral island but the numbers in a group/school are fairly good sized, probably about a dozen or more individuals per schooling species).

I was in the Caribbean islands and went snorkeling to observe a natural reef. The tank that's going for $700, looks very close to what I saw out there.

Yes!! very nice, I always thought my tank looked kind of fake, man made..hahaha, I never got to dive on a real reef, but I came very close when I was in the Philippines, I was at Boracay island and from shore I could see where the reef started and every time I started to swim out to it, my now wife, but girlfriend at the time kept calling me back, it was right there, but I tried about 5 times to get to it when she wasen't looking, but always managed to show up when I was close, next time!! I hear nothing...hahaha

[isurus79]

Those are some killer tanks you guys have! I've currently got 2 tanks going, one looks great and one is a work in progress.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

400 W MH x 2 in a 40 gal acrylic tank, a

Holy cow that is bright! You must have needed sunglasses to look at your tank!!!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Those are some killer tanks you guys have! I've currently got 2 tanks going, one looks great and one is a work in progress.





Holy cow that is bright! You must have needed sunglasses to look at your tank!!!

Nah!!!

Got used to it.

It was a bit overkill though, I think it would've been better to stick to the 250W MH's instead.

Although, I probably could've just raised the light above the tank a foot or two higher.

Those Acropora cytherea really like strong light, and it was the only way to get enough light intensity to get to them for them to grow rapidly like they should (Acropora anthocercis is the same way - the two Tabletop Acros are so hard to tell apart anyways).

Made it hella easy to grow Bubble Corals (Plerogyra sinuosa) in the sump without additional lighting down there though! I had two, and they got really fleshy like they oughta be! It was my dad's favorite LPS, he loved feeding it.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Jeffery

Yes!! very nice, I always thought my tank looked kind of fake, man made..hahaha, I never got to dive on a real reef, but I came very close when I was in the Philippines, I was at Boracay island and from shore I could see where the reef started and every time I started to swim out to it, my now wife, but girlfriend at the time kept calling me back, it was right there, but I tried about 5 times to get to it when she wasen't looking, but always managed to show up when I was close, next time!! I hear nothing...hahaha

Bummer!

I hope you get to see a real reef in person. It's beautiful!

I have to say it was pretty surreal seeing all the fish at night on the reef from the main deck of the Black Pearl when I was shooting Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.

All the fish came out to "play" amongst a coral island. Complete with Atlantic Blue Tangs, Damselfish, Wrasses, Barracudas hunting prey, and a Manta Ray gliding by. It was like I was in a dream.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the glass bottom boats. I finally got to see how Sea Fans and Sea Whips grow.

Of course, there's the snorkeling trip where I got to see a tang and some small fish and a large healthy Elkhorn Coral about 5' to 6' tall (this is rare btw, most of the Elkhorn are terribly small and horribly bleached - at least they were in the Grand Bahamas ).

Be careful though, maybe your wife had a good reason to call you back. I would never go out to a reef alone, the sea/ocean is very unpredictable. I didn't snorkel alone. I went with a bunch of friends from the shoot.

[Jeffery]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Bummer!

I hope you get to see a real reef in person. It's beautiful!

I have to say it was pretty surreal seeing all the fish at night on the reef from the main deck of the Black Pearl when I was shooting Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End.

All the fish came out to "play" amongst a coral island. Complete with Atlantic Blue Tangs, Damselfish, Wrasses, Barracudas hunting prey, and a Manta Ray gliding by. It was like I was in a dream.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the glass bottom boats. I finally got to see how Sea Fans and Sea Whips grow.

Of course, there's the snorkeling trip where I got to see a tang and some small fish and a large healthy Elkhorn Coral about 5' to 6' tall (this is rare btw, most of the Elkhorn are terribly small and horribly bleached - at least they were in the Grand Bahamas ).

Be careful though, maybe your wife had a good reason to call you back. I would never go out to a reef alone, the sea/ocean is very unpredictable. I didn't snorkel alone. I went with a bunch of friends from the shoot.

mmmm!! perhaps your right, I admit I was a bit nervous and scared trying to get out there, I knew nothing at all about those waters, but the urge to see it was to strong, it would have been a dream come true for me, I had that happen once already before, I always wanted to be in a place where I could see wild Parrots, Macaws and tropical fish that I use to keep in my tanks when I did fresh water and I lived that when I went to Hondorus, to think I was so close to that reef, I may never have another chance....maybe

Are you a camera person or something? I am sure something? hahaha!! I never seen that one, I kind of liked the 1st one, but after that it became an overkill to me, I hate it when they make so many, to me the more parts of a movie they make the more lame they become, but thats just me.

Now I seen somewhere that California dosen't have spectacular reefs, but I heard you can see some beautiful corals off of Catalina Island, is that true? I know for sure you can find the Catalina goby there which is a reef fish I think.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Jeffery

Are you a camera person or something? I am sure something? hahaha!! I never seen that one, I kind of liked the 1st one, but after that it became an overkill to me, I hate it when they make so many, to me the more parts of a movie they make the more lame they become, but thats just me.

Nope. Was one of the pirates from Singapore. The scenes you'll see me most prominently are:

1. When Elizabeth Swan rows up to the shores of Singapore in a little dingy, and three Asian pirates come out of the sewer to greet her. I'm the one with a spike on the helmet.

2. In the bathhouse as Elizabeth Swan is told to remove all her weapons, I'm the one she tosses her gun holsters in the face at.

In reality I'm all throughout the film, you gotta not blink that's all!

As much as it was my movie, Pirates 3 was a bit of a disappointment, but yet in my opinion much better done than the 2nd. It doesn't beat the 1st though.

The plot for P3 was too convoluted. Many people couldn't keep up with it. I kept up with it fine, but I understand how many people wouldn't have been able to.

It's also one of those situations where everything just got "bigger". The action was "bigger". There was more of it. There were more pirates. There was more explosions. There was more treachery and betrayal. Everything was bigger, "better", badder!!!

Alas, it was also overkill.

Then I thought they wasted so many good storylines and characters. Everything seemed very rushed and hectic.

Despite all this, it was still a fun popcorn movie worth watching (more so than the ever so forgetable P2).

Originally Posted by Jeffery

Now I seen somewhere that California dosen't have spectacular reefs, but I heard you can see some beautiful corals off of Catalina Island, is that true? I know for sure you can find the Catalina goby there which is a reef fish I think.

California doesn't have the same kind of reefs that many people commonly think about when they hear the word "reef".

CA has cold water "reefs" that mainly consist of small non-reef building stony corals, soft corals, and anemones.

I've never been to Catalina, but I do know a little about the Catalina goby.

Catalina gobies are usually sold as tropical fish, but they're temperate water fish. I've never seen pictures of them in the wild, but I imagine, again, it's not a reef that people commonly think about when they hear the word "reef". I think it's a cold water reef that consists of small to tiny non-reef building stony corals that resemble Tubastrea aurea, soft corals, and anemones.

The Strawberry Anemone (Corynactis californica) is a resident of a cold water reef community, apparently it's a soft coral and not an anemone.

http://emeralddiving.com/images/Stra...%20Anemone.jpg

Corynactis californica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Hedge]

This reminds me of my visits to city aquaria - I can't imagine it in my own home, must be a lot of work. The Haus des Meeres (House of the Seas) in Vienna was superb, they are part of a clown fish breeding program. Did you know that a group of clown fish have an alpha female and male that breed and the rest are male but that if something happens to the mother, the father becomes female and male number two steps up to the plate? Weird or what? And people say cacti are strange.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Hedge

This reminds me of my visits to city aquaria - I can't imagine it in my own home, must be a lot of work. The Haus des Meeres (House of the Seas) in Vienna was superb, they are part of a clown fish breeding program. Did you know that a group of clown fish have an alpha female and male that breed and the rest are male but that if something happens to the mother, the father becomes female and male number two steps up to the plate? Weird or what? And people say cacti are strange.

Yes, I heard there will be a Finding Nemo where the dad turns into the mom!! I wonder if that will ever see the light of day.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Hedge

This reminds me of my visits to city aquaria - I can't imagine it in my own home, must be a lot of work. The Haus des Meeres (House of the Seas) in Vienna was superb, they are part of a clown fish breeding program. Did you know that a group of clown fish have an alpha female and male that breed and the rest are male but that if something happens to the mother, the father becomes female and male number two steps up to the plate? Weird or what? And people say cacti are strange.

I'm vaguely aware of this.

Clownfish are also sexually dimorphic (each sex looks different from the other). In Clownfish, the females are much larger than the males.

I'm more acutely aware of Pygmy Saltwater Angels and Wrasses performing sex changes should the alpha-male die. With these, it's the alpha-female that changes into the alpha male, should he die.

In wrasses the males are vibrantly patterned and colored, while the females are paler or much more drab versions of the male. Sometimes, the females are completely different looking from the male and can be mistaken for a different species of wrasse entirely, (this is dependent on the species).

However, with Pygmy Angels, the sexual dimorphism is either too subtle for many people to catch or is not existent.

What's even stranger is that in wrasses and angels, all juveniles start their lives as females. Eventually the more dominant ones become males.

[Jeffery]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Those are some killer tanks you guys have! I've currently got 2 tanks going, one looks great and one is a work in progress.





Holy cow that is bright! You must have needed sunglasses to look at your tank!!!

The pic you had posted that you took in Palau, the colors on that rock and fish are just amazing, those look like some kind Anthias I think... cool pics of the sea horses.