Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[silentscream]

Sonny, what do you do to prevent carpet surfing with your rimless tank?

 

[stocker]

I guess I'm kind of confused. So, If I dose MB7 and Vodka, I won't need Cheato in my fuge? Reason why I'm asking is I'm having a terrible time with Red algea for about a month or so. Keep sucking it out, and it keeps coming back. Will clean up tank at night, and by morning, (when the lights come back on) it's back again. All the major params are normal. (calc, alk, etc...)
Have been dosing MB7 and vodka for about a week. Everything in the fuge is red also. Bought more cheato yesterday, and that is starting to turn red also.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15362645#post15362645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lyfey
Sonny, I did a full set of tests last night on my 75g mixed reef everything was good except my nitrates were around 15-20. What would you say would be the best way to reduce them, I am setting up water tonight for a few days from now for a 30 gal water change. I have alot of LR in my sump and in the display, I also just set up a new sandbed about 2" and seeded it with sand from my system that was alive for about 18 months. Where do you think the nitrates came from?

Temp ~ 79
SG ~ 1.0255
Nitrate ~ 15-20
Nitrite ~ undetectable
Phosphate ~ undetectable
Ca ~ 460
DKH ~ 10
Ammonia ~ undetectable
PH ~ 7.9 elos kit
all else are older API (9 months old kits) elos 1 month old
I have a nice strong CUC, 30 lbs of LR in sump and about 85 lbs in display.. Got a little algae problem (turf and briopsis) its minor. Green stuff on glass gets pretty bad. What do you think? btw I just did a 30 gallon water change last weekend.
thanks
-Chris

Hello

The first thing I would do is check under the rocks in the sump to see how much detritus is trapped underneath them. If you are not already doing so I suggest you place a powerhead in the sump blowing water onto the rocks.

A good option for reducing nutrients would be to start up a bacteria dosing regiment. I use Brightwell's Microbacter7(MB7). I would dose the MB7 for the first two weeks and then decide if you would like to take the next step and start dosing vodka as well.

With you DKH at 10 I would try and bring it down to around 9 if you decide to give the MB7/vodka a try. The bacteria should start to out compete the algae for nutrients within the first two weeks. With no available food source the algae with die off.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15362877#post15362877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by silentscream
Sonny, what do you do to prevent carpet surfing with your rimless tank?

I have never had to worry about fish jumping but I did lose a Bartlett Anthais a couple weeks ago. I guess its the price I pay for having a rimless tank.

So, I have nothing over the tank to prevent fish from jumping. If you are worried about jumping fish then you would be better off getting a standard tank and saving some money.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15363592#post15363592 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stocker
I guess I'm kind of confused. So, If I dose MB7 and Vodka, I won't need Cheato in my fuge? Reason why I'm asking is I'm having a terrible time with Red algea for about a month or so. Keep sucking it out, and it keeps coming back. Will clean up tank at night, and by morning, (when the lights come back on) it's back again. All the major params are normal. (calc, alk, etc...)
Have been dosing MB7 and vodka for about a week. Everything in the fuge is red also. Bought more cheato yesterday, and that is starting to turn red also.
Any help would be appreciated.

Hello

Are you dealing with red cyano or red fuzzy algae?

The reason why you wouldn't run cheato with MB7/Vodka is you would eventually starve out the Cheato. Plus, you dont want anything else competing with the bacteria for food.

I would recommend that you dump the cheato and clean out your sump. Placing a powerhead in the sump is a good idea as it will help keep the detritus in suspension.

How much MB7 and Vodka are you currently dosing and in what total system volume?

 

[wav0718]

Hey Sonny,

I really like the look of your tank and the colors you get with t5 lighting. I currently have a 48" long shallow reef with metal halide/t5 light combo.

I will be setting up a shallow reef in the near future and plan to run only t5. The tank dimensions are 96" long 30" wide 12" deep.

I am thinking about getting the aquactinics 72" long with 14x39w bulbs since the tank is only 12" deep. Is this a good option or should I go with 2 48" 8x54W ATI Powermodules?

I will have mainly sps corals in the center of the tank with chalices on the sides.

Thanks for your input

Wes

 

[stocker]

Sonny,
Guessing it's red cyano, it blows off the rocks fairly easy. Am dosing .05 ml (1/2 a syringe from a salifert test kit) vodka/ day, and 6 drops of MB7/day. total volume is approx 60-65 gals.
Thanks

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15365561#post15365561 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wav0718
Hey Sonny,

I really like the look of your tank and the colors you get with t5 lighting. I currently have a 48" long shallow reef with metal halide/t5 light combo.

I will be setting up a shallow reef in the near future and plan to run only t5. The tank dimensions are 96" long 30" wide 12" deep.

I am thinking about getting the aquactinics 72" long with 14x39w bulbs since the tank is only 12" deep. Is this a good option or should I go with 2 48" 8x54W ATI Powermodules?

I will have mainly sps corals in the center of the tank with chalices on the sides.

Thanks for your input

Wes

Hello

With the tank only being 12" high you can choose from a multitude of lighting. If it were my tank I would get the 5' ATI 10 bulb fixture and place the SPS corals accordingly. On a tank that size you could have a nice open sandbed with lower light loving corals, and SPS under the T5 fixture. It something that many reefers wouldn't do bu I plan on doing this in my next setup.

Why do we need to waste light on sand.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15366767#post15366767 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stocker
Sonny,
Guessing it's red cyano, it blows off the rocks fairly easy. Am dosing .05 ml (1/2 a syringe from a salifert test kit) vodka/ day, and 6 drops of MB7/day. total volume is approx 60-65 gals.
Thanks

It sounds like red cyano to me. I would stop the dosing of vodka and increase the dosage of MB7. The vodka will only add to the problem by feeding the red cyano. Follow the dosage on the MB7 bottle for a medium to high nutrient system.

It also would be a good idea to remove the fuge and clean up the sump.

 

[fernandokng]

Sunny, whats you're current dosage on MB7? Now that you're in a low nutrient system, do you only dose MB7 on a weekly basis, and Vodka daily?

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15367307#post15367307 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fernandokng
Sunny, whats you're current dosage on MB7? Now that you're in a low nutrient system, do you only dose MB7 on a weekly basis, and Vodka daily?

Hello

Currently I dose 14 drops of MB7 daily and 2ml of 80 Proof Vodka daily on about 150gl total system volume.

 

[fernandokng]

hi!

Why do you dose MB7 daily? The bottle says to only dose once a week once you get to UNLS.


Just wondering what the benefits are.


thx.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15367370#post15367370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SunnyX
Hello

Currently I dose 14 drops of MB7 daily and 2ml of 80 Proof Vodka daily on about 150gl total system volume.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15367651#post15367651 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fernandokng
hi!

Why do you dose MB7 daily? The bottle says to only dose once a week once you get to UNLS.


Just wondering what the benefits are.


thx.

I used to dose it once a week but found that my skimmer pulled out more waste and my water stayed clearer with daily dosages. Plus, bacteria can stress oxygen levels in your tank so adding too much all at once could cause some issues.

 

[Chrisrush]

Sunny,
I'm restarting my tank after moving 2 a different city 2x in 4 months. I took all my LR (which was eco rock from BRS) and dried it out. I'm about to start back with the cycling/cooking of the rock with a small amount of LR rubble. Can you suggest anything to dose to help kick start the bacteria and get the BR cycling?

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15368325#post15368325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Sunny,
I'm restarting my tank after moving 2 a different city 2x in 4 months. I took all my LR (which was eco rock from BRS) and dried it out. I'm about to start back with the cycling/cooking of the rock with a small amount of LR rubble. Can you suggest anything to dose to help kick start the bacteria and get the BR cycling?

Lots of MB7 will help get you going. Just go easy on the lighting or not run it at all for the first couple weeks. Be sure to run a large skimmer and provide adequate aeration and flow around the rocks.

 

[Chrisrush]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15368818#post15368818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SunnyX
Lots of MB7 will help get you going. Just go easy on the lighting or not run it at all for the first couple weeks. Be sure to run a large skimmer and provide adequate aeration and flow around the rocks.

Thanks Sunny. I've got 2 - 6055s and 2 - modded 6025s to run until I get the tank back up. I'll throw a skimmer on it as well. Looks like I'll be at 20 gallons, how much MB7 would you recommend? Any Prodibio as well or just Brightwell?

 

[Chrisrush]

Also, what brand of Strontion do you use?

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15368892#post15368892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Thanks Sunny. I've got 2 - 6055s and 2 - modded 6025s to run until I get the tank back up. I'll throw a skimmer on it as well. Looks like I'll be at 20 gallons, how much MB7 would you recommend? Any Prodibio as well or just Brightwell?

That sounds like great flow. I use the MB7 because its cheaper and I can does it daily. I would dose the heavy dosage listed on the bottle for your size tank. You are not going to have any creatures in the tank during the cycle right?

Oh, I use Seachem Reef Advantage powdered Strontium.

 

[Chrisrush]

Nothing in the cycle tank until I can get into the house and get it plumbed and ready to go.

I'm going to place an order with PA, besides MB7, Strontium and some AAs (warner marine) anything else you suggest in terms of chemicals. I've got carbon and GFO and I'll be running 2 part with Kalk.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15368955#post15368955 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chrisrush
Nothing in the cycle tank until I can get into the house and get it plumbed and ready to go.

I'm going to place an order with PA, besides MB7, Strontium and some AAs (warner marine) anything else you suggest in terms of chemicals. I've got carbon and GFO and I'll be running 2 part with Kalk.

Pick up some Kent Lugols Solution. Also, you may want to hold off for a few months on the AA's. Your system will need to be fully established before putting AA's in.

After about a month you may want to look into the addition of vodka.