wild SPS corals, Marshall Islands

[slapshot]

Quick question if I may, I see a lot of the different tabling acros that you have in your pictures appear to be quite deep. Can you give us some real world experience. How deep, how strong is the light, what are the temps, how much current is there, and is it steady or back and forth? Love the thread and thank you for your time and effort!!

[r-balljunkie]

Originally Posted by ziyaadb

ahha that would explain it. they say ur 1st 10 000 pics are just practice after that u get better

lols shame sorry boet, them fang blennies bite

yes, im getting much better with the camera. Starting to experiment with more settings. The XZ-2 is released, but it has a really steep MSRP of around $599 USD. A bit rich for me.

I did some research, and its recommended to only keep one fanged blenny to a tank.

He’s very boisterous, likes to hang out close to the top when I feed the tank I put my fingers in the water to wet and sink the flake food. I keep clear of him, once bitten, twice shy.

Originally Posted by TXChewy

Chuck,

Damn glad to see you are still around the hobby. I have not seen any posts on the Houston local forum, you do know it has a new web address. There are still a few of us "old timers" still on there. Felix stopped by and showed me your thread on RC, Im glad he did. Can I pack a tent and squat somewhere on the island?

I hope the family is ecstatic for island life as you are and we are for you.

Cheers
Brian

Yeah Brian…..had to bring my tank with me. Anyone from marsh is welcome to come out here, ill sponsor whomever to get on island. It’s a bit of a trek out here to the middle of the south pacific, fair warning. I’d be happy to take you out boating and diving.

Originally Posted by mkbtank

Thanks for the update!

I dive, but it never even occured to me that you would have to help fish decompress. Could you detail that a bit more? (Just curiosity sake)

You are the definition of "Living the dream" So cool.

Sure. You take a hypodermic needle and slightly puncture the swim bladder and release the air from the bladder. You can actually see bubbles leave the bladder.
This process doesn’t hurt the fish and they heal quickly. Once decompressed, the fish usually swim to the bottom of the bucket to chill out.

I’ve attached a few pictures of the process. You should do this down around 30’, which is very fun to do in the sway of the ocean, trying to hold a slimy fish in one hand and a hypodermic needle in the other. I had a fish escape last time. Hint of the day, keep a net really close.

Serious collectors that go down past160’ or so will decompress before 30’.









I decompressed these on the boat because I couldn’t get the needle out of the protective sheave and didn’t want to run the risk of losing my last needle.

Originally Posted by indyjaco

such a cool thread. I had to re read it.

I say keep posting pictures of the fish you catch. I like seeing the rare gems.

I agree. I’m out of room currently in my tank, so ill stop hauling my catch nets when I go diving….maybe : )

Originally Posted by Seanthefish

One of the best threads I have read on reef central! Amazing pictures, great story.... Thank you so much for sharing and spending the time to make it!


Any updated tank shots?

Ill post some new tank shots later on….there’s some new additions to the tank that usually take a few days to adjust and come out. I have some new tank shots soon.

Originally Posted by Drae

How does this thread not have 5 stars? People need to put the "hater-ade back in the cooler. Lol

ive never rated a thread before. How about 4 stars?

Thanks for the love.

Many thanks. Always flattered to know someone is actually reading my rantings.

Originally Posted by jasplreef

Like many others have stated, " best thread on RC". I just spent the better part of 3 hours reading threw all 19 pages and watching every video. It's great being able to see the reef threw the eyes of another reef geek.
Please keep the photos, videos and commentary coming. Ill be tagging along for the ride.

Cheers Jas.

Thanks Jas, much appreciated. I think I’ll switch the videos to youtube…..just found out from the IT guy, its OK if I bypass the filter at work, no one really cares : )

New videos soon.

Originally Posted by miserkris

Hello there Mike?!
This is kris from del val! I have been reading this amazing thread but I don't see pics /vids ...why is that ? Wonder if the OP can show some links !

Hi OP:

Pls PM me with a link to ur vids /pics elsewhere ! Thx!

There’s at least 500 photos and a dozen vids……might think about getting a mac : )

Its not rocket science, you can back into my photobucket account with little effort.

Originally Posted by seamonkey84

Wow, that's all I had to say about this thread. Even the native Australian collection thread over in the anemone and clown forum doesn't have the diversity and colors that you show! Them again that's exploring the shallows at low tide vs diving out to the Sps reef.

Glad to entertain the masses. I like lewey’s thread…..its interesting too. Good to share with you my experiences…

Originally Posted by slapshot

Quick question if I may, I see a lot of the different tabling acros that you have in your pictures appear to be quite deep. Can you give us some real world experience. How deep, how strong is the light, what are the temps, how much current is there, and is it steady or back and forth? Love the thread and thank you for your time and effort!!

Actually, most of the larger tabling acro’s (5’-20’ across or so) are in shallower waters, perhaps less than 25’ depth. Once you work your way down the slope ocean side, the corals aren’t grouped as tight. The lagoon is different. You’ll find formations down to 80’ often. The deeper you go the corals sizes aren’t as large, and the lobophyllias and LPS start to take over.

Varieties of corals differ from lagoon to ocean side….same applies for fish.

You’ll never find a Rhomboidalis wrasse in the lagoon…..you’ll never find a Johnsoni wrasse on the ocean reef. Some species, you’ll see on both sides.

Sohal tangs are the dominant tang species out here, all sides.


I can’t ascertain lighting…its pretty constant but I cant sum anything up with par measurements cuz I don’t own a meter. You can get away without too much camera manipulation 15’ and under, so assuming you are closer to 8-10K spectrum. Once you go past this, you need to make camera adjustments or everything gets washed out in blue.

The temperature is a constant 82-84. You’ll get surges of warm water into the upper 80’s when the low tide rolls back out and the water has been sitting in the shallows for a few hours. This is when you know its time to get out of the tide pools when your snorkeling. The water gets super warm and is brown as the tide rolls in.

The currents are hit and miss….I'm not in the water ocean side at nights, so not too sure. Generally a smallish surge lasting 5-8 seconds one direction, then it rolls back out. If you hit the tide right, it can be downright nasty and you kinda just hold on when the current is going against you, and make up the ground when it’s going with you. It’s been some time since I’ve been in some mean surges. I usually flip my collection nets over and use them to anchor myself to the reef to hold on. This is a rare occurrence, and its usually manageable in all areas. Of course, lagoon side is calm underneath the waters, no real back and forth.


Update:

Happy New Years to all. Me and the family have had a blessed 2012. Good health, a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. Truly grateful for everything I have in life.

I’ve been super lazy about dragging out my camera on dives lately. I got a new toy for the camera in the form of a wide-angle lens. Super deal on eBay, picked it up for 60 bux, new. Decided to give it a test run and you are my guinea pigs. Still working out settings on the camera shooting in manual mode. Some white balanced, some tweaked in other ways, hence the differing looks in some of the pictures. There’s a couple of side by side shots to compare.

I sold off my DSLR camera gear, made a nice lick off of it…kept the camera and one strobe and pocketed some cash which I might put towards a underwater scooter, which seems to be all the rage with the cool kids on island. There’s a lot of areas you cannot get to on tank air without propulsion aid. The Sea-doo RS-1 is tops on the list if I can get a good deal.

Finally got around to fashioning some shiny new nets. Day and night compared to my old DIY rig made up of copper tubing and 4 dollar galvanized minnow net framing. The galvanized frame was starting to wear and break where it connected to the handle and the netting has been repaired a dozen times or so from frays and tears from snagging on corals and rock.










The new nets are all 316L with bigger hoops and longer handles…$150 bux later.

My neighbor’s kids came in from New York City on a mission to dive every waking moment on island. They have been keeping me busy the last few days.


I finally got a break today after spending the last three days on a boat either deep sea fishing or diving.

The mahi mahi have been running for the last month or so. Everyone is bringing in good numbers….good eating.


I’ve spent a cumulative of 18 hours on the ocean this weekend….weather-beaten and wore out.

It was kind of nice to sit with my little man and battle with Bakugons and be goofy for the whole day.

Over the last two days, we did some incredible dives waaay out far on the ocean side. Tons of nosey sharks everywhere. I encountered several down around 120’ while chasing fish. Dive buddy or not, kind of unnerving when you see a 10 footer disappear into the deep blue, knowing they’re still watching you. I dump all the air out of my BC and just take a seat for a while to make sure the coast is clear. Well…. I’m here typing, so everything worked out. I collected about 4 rhomboids for a friend whom is on vacation. I had to put them in my tank, so I have about 8 of them in my tank now, a bit overload. I plan on doing a purge on fish soon. I’ve got my eye on some beautiful juvenile sailfin pygmy looking tangs I keep seeing in the lagoon. Wanting to swap out the growing scopas tang I currently have with a sailfin that’s about 1/3 the size. Getting the scopas out will require a tank breakdown, suckers smart.

I got a few more bartletts anthias, as well as some purple anthias last dive. The new nets really help out. You literally see hundreds in swarms, but it’s hard as heck to free net them. I try to corral them in a certain area and work the terrain to my benefit.

Here’s some shots with the my new 0.56 wide angle lens…….enjoy.









C

[r-balljunkie]

[r-balljunkie]

[r-balljunkie]

[r-balljunkie]

[Joshporksandwic]

Everytime I see your pics it takes my breath away. You're super blessed. It sucks here in the states all the reefs have been destroyed. Hopefully the rebuilding will be successful and my grandkids can enjoy something similar.

[slapshot]

Thank you very much. It is always a big help to know the true conditions that we are trying to replicate. Great pictures, the lens is sweet!

[SERVO]

Your thread just gets better and better and I didn't think that was possible. You new wide angle lens is producing some pretty inspirational pictures. Maybe you can get some side income from them. Stay safe!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[ziyaadb]

Thanks for the update really appreciate it and Wish i could leave the rat race here in the city and live a simple life on an island as well

[Bello]

Just one word.......... THANKS!!!

[TheReefKeeper]

Awesome thread!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[mkbtank]

Those pics are absolultely breathtaking. Even knowing what to expect my jaw was wide open! As others have said, Thanks!!!

[slapshot]

If you get a chance, any details about conditions the corals are growing in will be greatly appreciated!!

[Thairun]

I never miss this great thread. Please keep it flowing, learn a lot.
Thanks buddy...

[kmacartney]

Wow! So do they need teachers there?

[seamonkey84]

Why isnt this a sticky yet?!? This is as good if not better than Lewy's "how rare is this" thread in the clownfish and nem forum

[kgk]

Great thread Chuck. Thanks.

[r-balljunkie]

Originally Posted by Joshporksandwic

Everytime I see your pics it takes my breath away. You're super blessed. It sucks here in the states all the reefs have been destroyed. Hopefully the rebuilding will be successful and my grandkids can enjoy something similar.

Yes, its unfortunate the state of some reefs. I think the main cause is mans footprint, all in the name of development. Agricultural runoff, silting, global warming etc.
It’s amazing what nature does when you leave it alone.

I have a newfound perspective for the reef having the experience of being out here… Like I always say, I'm just a reef geek that’s truly blessed.

Originally Posted by slapshot

Thank you very much. It is always a big help to know the true conditions that we are trying to replicate. Great pictures, the lens is sweet!

your most welcome. Still trying to figure it out, I hope the pics get better.

Originally Posted by ziyaadb

Thanks for the update really appreciate it and Wish i could leave the rat race here in the city and live a simple life on an island as well

Z, we do a lot of complaining here, whether its lack of high speed Internet, groceries not always being fresh or available. Sometimes we lose track of a the other intangibles we have, and how good we have it. Yes indeed the simple life.

Originally Posted by Bello

Just one word.......... THANKS!!!

Two words. You’re welcome!!!

Originally Posted by TheReefKeeper

Awesome thread!!! Thanks for sharing!!

NP, glad you dropped by.

Originally Posted by mkbtank

Those pics are absolultely breathtaking. Even knowing what to expect my jaw was wide open! As others have said, Thanks!!!

Catch your breath, tighten up your jaw…..still more to come.

Originally Posted by slapshot

If you get a chance, any details about conditions the corals are growing in will be greatly appreciated!!

mostly water. Lots of water.

Originally Posted by Thairun

I never miss this great thread. Please keep it flowing, learn a lot.
Thanks buddy...

Yin dee krap (hope I didn’t mess that up)

Originally Posted by kmacartney

Wow! So do they need teachers there?

Of course, grades pre-k to high school. It’s really rough for teachers out here. Small classrooms and kids who listen.

Originally Posted by seamonkey84

Why isnt this a sticky yet?!? This is as good if not better than Lewy's "how rare is this" thread in the clownfish and nem forum

meh,

Two different folks doing two different things. Whens Lewy going to update his thread? I enjoy reading it.

Originally Posted by kgk

Great thread Chuck. Thanks.

Ur welcome, MARSHREEF shout out!!

Originally Posted by SERVO

Your thread just gets better and better and I didn't think that was possible. You new wide angle lens is producing some pretty inspirational pictures. Maybe you can get some side income from them. Stay safe!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

Nah, I don’t think I’m that handy with the camera. Loads of better photographers in the world. I just want some memories to look at if I ever make it back to the world and find myself stuck in cubicle hell. I can look at all the pics I took underwater and reminisce about the time in my life when the ocean was in my back yard and the summer never ended.

That was the first outing with the WA lens, hopefully ill tighten up the shots.

Quick update.


Yet another toy to ad to my toybox. I bought an underwater scooter for seadoo, the RS-2.
I sold the impossible to work DSLR I bought off eBay and made a decent profite. Along with some extra reef stuff I had laying around, was able buy it for net zero. Took it out on a run last weekend to a wreck lagoon side. It would be really impossible to go out on tank air and fins alone, as you would burn up all your air getting to the site. It was a cool wreck down around 90’. You can see the tabling acro in the “bluer” pictures. I didn’t want to drag my strobe out with the scooter, so no flash at these depths.

I really wanted to find some zoas however I didn’t want to tie up the group on my crazy search. I got really luck, when I was nosing around in the sand around the wreck and noticed a bit of rubble in the sand all by its lonesome self. Whalla, zoas were attached.!! Turns out I have this color morph but pretty nevertheless.

Will be taking the scooter out again tomorrow morning, kinda fun to just hang on and glide thru the water. No collecting tomorrow, just scootering.

One another note, I'm off to Boracay Island in the Philippines in March. Quick two-week mini vacation before the big one in the summer. No wife, no kids. Four of my old school friends (we used to bag groceries at Safeway when we were 15!!) are coming. Nothing like catching up with old friends. I'm really looking forward to some bar crawls and late nights hanging with the boys.

Here’s some pics from the scooter run. We did a deco stop at around 20’ at a coral head. It’s amazing how much lifes around each of these coral heads. Even the mundane can be fascinating.

Enjoy the pics.

[r-balljunkie]

[007Bond]

Real cool pics as usual! exceptionally clear.
Whats the water temp at 90'? Thanks---Rick

[christianfow]

Kinda off topic but how's the spearfishing?! Must be great on the reef or off shore

[reefmutt]

awesome. i just spent the morning going through this thread and ignoring my wife and kids.

i can't tell you how much fun i have had living vicariously through you..

i've improved my diving skills dramatically, learned how to catch and decompress fish, my underwater photography skills have gone through the roof with the latest shots (i cant believe how much better i have gotten at shooting the ocean in the last two years!) and i got to do it all while living on the beach!

its been between -20 and -40 here in montreal for the past week and this little fantasy vacation was exactly what i needed..

thanks for sharing! and keep it coming, please!

[r-balljunkie]

Last 3 pics...........

[CIGARSC351W]

This thread is amazing! Thank you!