FREE '24 SPS Growout Contest

[MichaelB]

Any of you guys know roughly much par you giving them?

 

[Darkxerox]

View attachment 53616


Not nearly as colored up as some others

Looks good to me! You're getting the green and red.

@MichaelB mine are getting probably 250 PAR at peak.

 

[derek_SR]

Any of you guys know roughly much par you giving them?

Mine is getting very little, like probably <100. But mine has been nearly dead since I got it, so just trying to not shock it too much and see if it starts to recover.

 

[Arvin R]

Any of you guys know roughly much par you giving them?

I've had mine at 450+ since I got it and it's doing great.

 

[MichaelB]

I've had mine at 450+ since I got it and it's doing great.

In my 29 tank mine was probably around 280 par. As for the 32 I can't begin to guess it maybe more or maybe less. Since the 32 is 3 inches taller than 29, but also there would be less shadowing since rocks aren't 2 inches below water line any more. Over all very interesting in comparing color differences of frag photos with par ranges they are kept in.

 

[Arvin R]

Any pieces left? I’ll enter the contest late if there is.

I've got a piece for you if you want one (don't think it will count toward the contest though unless everyone agrees to allow it).

 

[RandyC]

I've got a piece for you if you want one (don't think it will count toward the contest though unless everyone agrees to allow it).

Thanks @Arvin R! I'm okay about the contest; I asked way late. I'll PM for pickup details.

 

[wayne]

Any of you guys know roughly much par you giving them?

~180

maybe it wasn't enough

 

[Turkeysammich]

~180

maybe it wasn't enough

I just think you had a rough frag. When we first fragged the colony. It was pink. The frag that I got for the contest is brownish. It’s stressing big time.
I don’t think it got enough time to settle down between chops and handling.

 

[ReyDeFarts]

I had a chance to head up to High Tide yesterday. Got myself frags of the Adam Bomb. I'm looking forward to growing it alongside you all. My measurements don't count, but I'll be getting the ruler out later.

Sure does make a difference when they've been settling in a solid system! Thanks again @under_water_ninja for all youve done for the club and giving the colony and frags a home for the contest.

Insurance...

 

[ReyDeFarts]

Just a reminder to everyone, that your first monthly check-in photo will be due at the end of this month and each subsequent month until the end of the contest.

Using the Kraken glasses is a great way to get better color balanced images. This was shot with my phone on the default auto mode with the kraken glasses right in front of my lens. All camera settings are auto here. This has no additional editing done on color or exposure. I added a vignette and adjusted the sharpness. That's it. This is as straight out of the camera as possible.

This photo was taken within a couple inches from the glass pane. I used my phone on "Pro" mode with my color temp set to 10k. I also have a 12k filter on it.

There's obvious differences between the two. The first photo is all blues being filtered out with a bright orange filter. But it looks great imo. The latter was shot earlier with a small percentage of whites in the mix. Unfortunately, that does make the color balancing more difficult. There are multiple tones and values that the processor is trying to account for. Plus trying to do it one handed while holding the ruler made it difficult to get a steady and clear image.

I'm still learning about the nuances of reef photography. It challenges me and I enjoy it. I understand not everyone enjoys it. But please understand that the overall judging will be based on the color of your corals too. Basically, this was another long-winded post to say this; it will be difficult to judge you as a winner if your pictures are all blue.

 

[Umrigark]

Folks: regret for being late, it was quite a week, and then.. did not have a clean plastic ruler ( kids had marker ink on pretty much all of them) so did a “Jugaad” see photos; it is approx 1 inch frag, still waiting for it to color up.

If you are wondering what Jugaad is here is a fun article : https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/management-and-culture/jugaad-innovation/

 

[richiev]

Folks: regret for being late, it was quite a week, and then.. did not have a clean plastic ruler ( kids had marker ink on pretty much all of them) so did a “Jugaad” see photos; it is approx 1 inch frag, still waiting for it to color up.

If you are wondering what Jugaad is here is a fun article : https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/management-and-culture/jugaad-innovation/

This plus a knife or file to mark the length afterwards seems like a great way to measure.

 

[derek_SR]

View attachment 53722

This is an incredible pic. You're saying the only real difference here is that this one was shot with more pure blue lighting (with filter)? I've been trying to take my pics when the lights have the most white in them, sounds like maybe that is actually backwards when using an orange filter.

What I struggle with most of all is just getting items to focus - what's your routine for getting these close-up shots in focus? And how close to glass is your phone?

 

[MichaelB]

I use the same orange kraken glasses he refrenced in his post held over the phone camera lense, the bluer photo is with lense, oranger one is with the blend of whites and blue lights with same lense.

The ones showing the two frags are taken from like a day after I got the slimer and cali cali frags so they look much better now.

The other photo 2 days ago with more coral is adam bomb frags in addition to the slimer and cali, blue lights and glasses over lense Yet my photo doesn't come close to his.

I must say though, he has some serious skills I've never came close to getting a picture like his (front cover worthy). I'd welcome tips as well. In case it makes a difference in quality I have a galaxy 21fg? I could try latter with wifes iphone 13pro

 

[ReyDeFarts]

This is an incredible pic.

I appreciate that. I am trying to get better.

You're saying the only real difference here is that this one was shot with more pure blue lighting (with filter)?

I've been trying to take my pics when the lights have the most white in them, sounds like maybe that is actually backwards when using an orange filter.

Correct. The camera processor is able to get a better color balanced image if it's only dealing with one spectrum. We can get into the weeds, but I don't think this thread would be the best place for it. I'm working on a photo guide and will eventually have it in the photography section.

What I struggle with most of all is just getting items to focus - what's your routine for getting these close-up shots in focus? And how close to glass is your phone?

Water turbidity is a huge issue for me. That was another difference between the two images too. Freshly scraped glass versus not. A little more air in the water. Pumps turned off. Differences in glass quality. Post processing. Lens quality and camera capabilities. Yadda yadda...the list can go on and on from everything I've done. By all accounts, the second image I posted should have been MUCH better. But with slightly turbid water, it created a less focused image with more noise/pixelation too.

I make an attempt to get my lens as close to the tank glass as possible to reduce distortion. Some require you to get slightly away from the glass to get a clear image. That's been my experience so far. One tank, I can be right on the glass and I get little distortion. Another tank, I need to be a 1/4" away from it for it to be clear.

 

[ReyDeFarts]

CONTEST UPDATE!

There are only 20 confirmed contestants! This list is based on the photo confirmations submitted.

@MichaelB , @Klems , @Darkxerox , @derek_SR , @newfly , @richiev , @Ayman , @Slingfox , @Invictus , @MustangGoVroom , @Saruty04 , @markovkaa , @AndynotDrew , @Reservetank , @psidriven , @The_Lazy_Reefer , @JustinBolton , @Crazymex408 , @Finnaddict , & @Umrigark
@popper

To all contestants, your first monthly check-in photo will be REQUIRED between March 25-31!

I will be tracking your entries for the rest of the year using this Google sheet created by @Darkxerox.

If you could PLEASE tag me when you post an official monthly entry, so I can ensure I track it. I will make an attempt to send out reminders, but I am not promising anything.

Honestly, if you could keep track of this yourselves, that would help me out a lot! I would greatly appreciate your help along the way.

If you prefer to bow out at any point during the contest, just let me know and I will update the list.

Unfortunately, there was a few that did not receive a frag and many that never posted a photo after receiving a frag. Some folks may have not actually entered the contest but their names made it on the list as being a member that picked up the frag.

 

[Turkeysammich]

@ReyDeFarts you skipped me.

 

[derek_SR]

As noted earlier, my frag was one of the rough ones. Happy to report that it’s showing signs of life…slowly but surely.

If anyone has a frag in similar shape, clinging to life - try putting it in very low PAR (<100) and high flow. I plan to slowly move it into brighter light as it bounces back!

 

[ReyDeFarts]

@ReyDeFarts you skipped me.

Because you volunteered to be a judge.

You can post and follow along. Or would you rather be a contestant? Up to you.