GRIMM

I spent the day photographing some underwater critters for the first time. Very difficult lighting conditions, which needed some intense white balance adjustments. Also since the lighting was so dim, extensive focus stacking was used for the coral shots. The biggest stack was 14 shots if I remember correctly. Im only posting 4 pictures here, but I have many more of my flickr page in much higher resolution for everyone to check out the amazing details of these alien looking corals. Thanks for looking! And thanks to RED CORAL in Edmonton for letting me photograph their beauties! http://www.flickr.com/photos/justingrimmsphotos/ Found Nemo! by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Frag Macro by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Pink Fan by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Glowing Spire by Justin Grimm, on Flickr

Thanks everyone. The moss is going crazy, so the tank might be getting a revamp in the next year or so. And I'm not sure if I already posted it, but here is a video with close up shots of the past inhabitants from a few months ago. I'm posting from my phone so I hope the link works. I have my new dreams frogs now though, so I should probably make a new video sometime.

Still not an aquarium, but hopefully still interesting enough to post here. I did some tank maintenance and snapped some updated pics. Peninsula (Left) - May 1st 2013 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Peninsula (Front) - May 1st 2013 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Peninsula (Right) - May 1st 2013 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr

I would retain all photo rights of course. I am taking the pictures and its not like I would be doing it without the consent of the tank owner. I focus on macro work, so the tank itself will not be distinguishable in the photos. Mostly for hobby and gaining experience with underwater photography, but if someone wants a print down the road I wont argue with them if I feel a picture is of high enough quality. With enought time I can guarantee I will get shots that a tank owner would want to purchase and be proud to display on their walls though. I can also take full tank shots for anyone who wants me to. If someone is nice enough to let me in their home I will do favors for them also, hence my offer of a free large print. I also talked to a few reef shops and unfortunately they were not receptive to letting me in prior to customer hours. I'll be heading to Marine Aquaria tonight to see what I can do during regular hours anyways for practice, and I'll chat with the owner too. Big Al's is just too busy and cramped right now with the construction going on.

Thanks. I didnt even know canreef was a thing. Dez was the first person I found from edmonton with a nice tank so I already messaged him before your suggestion. Thanks

Im looking to find someone in Edmonton who has a healthy reef tank with fairly neutral lighting (no crazy deep blues) willing to invite me over to take photographs. I was mostly interested in someone who had some Clown fish or Mandarin Gobies, but it definitely isn't a requirement. Overall tank health, and a range of inhabitants is most important. I would do this at a saltwater shop, but I find it awkward trying to set up a tripod and worrying about being in people's way. If I end up getting some print worthy shots, I will offer a 12x18 high end print of your favourite picture for free. If anyone is interested, please EMAIL me and send me a link where I can see your tank. jgrimmier@gmail.com Here is my flickr page for some of my other work. Thanks. http://www.flickr.com/photos/justingrimmsphotos/

Almost been a year since I planted the tank Great view from my computer desk Peninsula August 8 2012-1 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Peninsula August 8 2012-4 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Peninsula August 8 2012-3 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr Peninsula August 8 2012-2 by Justin Grimm, on Flickr

My bad. The main stone actually looks like 2 stones because of the lightting from above. Or maybe it is 2 stones. I cant really tell right now lol. I fail

Im happy to learn that ADA products are available up here without having to ship them up ourselves. If you dont mind, could you pm me the cost of the substrate/tank combined. Thanks It looks good, but I might suggest trying a few more different layouts. Ive been working with about 15 pieces of driftwood this week, and everytime I think Ive got it right I find another option that looks slightly better. I would suggest taking that small stone in the back far right, and moving it in a frontal position so it will not be hidden once the plants grow in. Or, if you want it back there, a more pronounced slope will help elevate it into view. Also, the rock directly in front of the main stone cannot be distinguished as a separate object. It just blends in and is totally hidden. The most compositionally strong iwagumis tend to have stones that all flow together with similar slopes and angles, yet are all distinguishable from eachother and do not all look identical. Its all personal preference though and what looks best in your own eye. You should know this is all comming from someone that has zero aquascaping experience, but from someone who is obsest with it :P Grain of salt my friend ...What the heck is with the text size on this forum?...hopefully my 3rd time editing this post fixes it... Mod edit: I think I got your main text for you. Left the last paragraph for comparison. (Jvision)

Thanks! The tank is built for these guys.

Havent been here in a while. Figured since I posted a wanted ad I'd update the thread. Oh yeah, and if you have moss for sale let me know :P Timelapse video : These pics were taken a few months ago. I should take some new ones soon, even though it hasnt chaged much.

There is still a video to come but here is where the tank is at so far.

This will have to be a downloaded show then :P I watched the previews for it, and im dissapointed all the "corals" are casted. At least they come up with amazing tanks though.

Thanks for posting, ill definitely try and watch it. My dream job for sure!

Very sweet tank, and awesome video. What body and lens are you shooting with? Im looking to upgrade to a better dslr that can take video, unlike my little canon xti.

Thanks bud. Once I finish the planting I'll definitely put together a plant list. I dont even want to think about how long it'll be though haha. I probably have about 20-30 orchids, with at least 7 more to come. I'll be getting 5-10 species of bromeliads. I have at least 5 different types of vines, a few begonias for the floor, 3 types of anubias, 2 types of floating plants....And I could keep going on haha. My small 20 gallon tanks have about 15 different species of plant each, so I got a lot more room to play with in this 150 gallon. For mosses, as of right now I have...Java, weaping, spike, riccia, christmas, round leaf pellia (almost a moss), and a few type of unidentified tropical mosses from greenhouses and plants. It'll be GREEN when finished.

***Equipement Overview***

Looks pretty cool, nice stones also. IMO though, I think you should try to build up a main feature that attracts the eye. Rule of thirds doesnt just apply to photography, and the best looking tanks use it to full potential. Perhaps before getting to far into it, try out a few more hardscape designs to see what visual improvements can be acheived using the same materials. A couple of options would be... 2/3 of the stones on one side, and 1/3 on the other, while using a corner sloped substrate to raise the stone up near the back and creating a center path in between features. Similar to this: Or bunch the stones together to create a larger center feature, while sloping the substrate down in all directions. Loosely shown by this: http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2008/03/cheap-scapes-tips-for-budget.html Take it with a grain of salt though as this is comming from someone who has never set up an aquarium and only studied them long and hard :P I take aquarists skills/techniques and use them in my vivarium designs though, so it does relate quite a bit. Good luck!

Ok here is where I'm at. I'll let it air out tonight, and start the wet test run tomorrow night. If it passes, I'll start adding my moss mix everywhere and turn the misting system on overdrive. I cant decide what mood I'm in.,,,

Haha not done quite yet. Actually I got lots more to come. I'll keep posting updates here as I finish up though for everyone. Thanks!

You probably saw it on edmonton reptiles forum. Unfortunately no one appreciates stuff like this on there, so it doesnt get much attention. They love their tupperware! I spend most my time posting all my stuff on dendroboard.com. I think most aquarists would like this though, so thats why I posted here. The final product will look very similar to a high end planted aquarium, similar to Mr Amano's style, but with more colour due to vibrant tropical plants. Haha no problem buddy :P

Here is my vivarium currently under construction. I met a few people from this forum that suggested I post it here even though it isnt an aquarium, since it is quite complex and big. Im only posting a link to my most recent video, however I have the entire build video documented and explained on youtube. Thanks to anyone here who has supplied me with plants and bits of information, especially whoever suggested thedriftwoodstore.com to me. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0nuRRro698

As Duncan said I got a big build under construction at the moment. Here is the newest video. http://www.youtube.com/user/jgrimmier?feature=mhum (thanks for the plug Duncan ) Hey Morphine, check out Canadart.org for a look at a bunch of great vivs (GRIMM, who posted in this thread, has an amazing viv build video series going on right now too!) as well as all the answers to the questions you may have about PDFs. As for where to get them, most of my breeding stock I have gotten from out East, but now I breed a few species myself. I just dropped off some Dendrobates azureus at a LFS a few days ago. More on the way! If you have any specific questions after you search Canadart give me a PM. People seem to have problems flooding....I let my unit run all day and all night, only difference is I make sure my fill bucket is sitting in the sink.

Hey Duncan, RO water is prime. I have been using it for almost a year with my darts. No deposites on glass or plants. I bought two 5 gallon RO jugs from canadian tire, and I now use them as storage containers so I dont have to hook the unit up to the tap very frequently.

Thanks for all the help guys. The main stalks appear to be fine so hopefully they bounce back over time. I dont think it could have froze that fast during the 30 minute drive home. I had the heater on and all the bags were grouped together inside the aquarium I bought. Time will tell I guess. It seams most of the small leaves are the ones that have been affected the worst. Im assuming all the new growth is less resilient to change compared with the mature heathier leaves.