Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[reefsahoy]

sunnyx, i reduced the mb7 to 2 drops and increased the vodka just a tad and the diatoms type algae on the glass seems to be alot less. the water is the clearest it's ever been. So it does appear that if you OD MB7 you will get that diatom type looking algae on the glass. i just increased the feeding of fish too so it appears that i'm close to where the tank is balanced. thanks for the input!

 

[reefrad]

but that doesnt make sense... the diatoms feed off the vodka so why cut back on the bacteria that s supposed to compete with the diatoms??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15606121#post15606121 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefsahoy
sunnyx, i reduced the mb7 to 2 drops and increased the vodka just a tad and the diatoms type algae on the glass seems to be alot less. the water is the clearest it's ever been. So it does appear that if you OD MB7 you will get that diatom type looking algae on the glass. i just increased the feeding of fish too so it appears that i'm close to where the tank is balanced. thanks for the input!

 

[reefsahoy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15606311#post15606311 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrad
but that doesnt make sense... the diatoms feed off the vodka so why cut back on the bacteria that s supposed to compete with the diatoms??

Sense? I'm just giving feedback on my experience. I can tell you the tank is definitely alot cleaner and the diatom type algae is alot less on the glass! I don't think it's actually diatoms but something that resembles it but that's just MHO. give it a try on your setup. stop dosing for a couple days and see if it goes away. You're probably dosing too much like i did. You will have to find the right amount to dose thru trial and error because no 2 aquariums are the same.

 

[jennmac415]

the more I read about this stuff, the more confused I get!

 

[saltygeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15606311#post15606311 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrad
but that doesnt make sense... the diatoms feed off the vodka so why cut back on the bacteria that s supposed to compete with the diatoms??

When reading the NeoZeo thread they talk about a brown biofilm when overdosing MB7. IMO this biofilm looks very similar to diatoms and scaling back MB7 would help.

 

[reefrad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15609038#post15609038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltygeek
When reading the NeoZeo thread they talk about a brown biofilm when overdosing MB7. IMO this biofilm looks very similar to diatoms and scaling back MB7 would help.

i guess my question is hw do you know you are ODing on MB7 and not giving too much carbon source thereby getting an early cyano/diatom bloom?

 

[reefsahoy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15610297#post15610297 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrad
i guess my question is hw do you know you are ODing on MB7 and not giving too much carbon source thereby getting an early cyano/diatom bloom?

from my experience when dosing vodka the water will get really clear even without MB7 but eventually you'll get dingoflagettes. If you dose vodka and OD MB7 you get that diatom look on the glass. I'm not sure if i actually have the right dose now but the water is clear and no more diatoms on the glass so i would think i'm near to the correct dose.

 

[t5Nitro]

I'm dosing MB7 and vodka daily and I'm getting a brown, stringy algae on one part of the glass it seems daily. Which would I need to increase, the vodka or the MB7?

 

[tastingSalty]

I know that people who dose bacteria/carbon such as MB7 and vodka will experience cyanobacteria when VODKA is overdosed. I am wondering if a vodka overdose has the same affect on a diatom bloom, or if it is the opposite: a MB7/bacteria overdose.

As I look back to when I started my tank, a diatom outbreak occurred as my nitrates (and likely phosphates) started to rise following the initial cycle. (which is common for new tanks)...since I know for sure that vodka reduces nitrates/phosphates, could we make an assumption that an increase in vodka would reduce the nutrients that the diatoms are consuming?

BTW, I realize that this contradicts my previous recommendation, sorry

What do you guys think? This is just me brainstorming...

 

[Tigé21v]

Ok, here's a question I was not able to find in this thread.
I'm thinking about trying a 3 day darkout to knock the cyano down. Has anybody tried this while dosing either Micro and/or vodka? Was wondering if ramping up the Micro (like to the new tank dosing rate) during the darkout would help to remove the nutrients. Also was wondering if Bio digest would possibly have a positive effect also. Any experiences or opinions?

 

[saltygeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15611918#post15611918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tastingSalty
I know that people who dose bacteria/carbon such as MB7 and vodka will experience cyanobacteria when VODKA is overdosed. I am wondering if a vodka overdose has the same affect on a diatom bloom, or if it is the opposite: a MB7/bacteria overdose.

As I look back to when I started my tank, a diatom outbreak occurred as my nitrates (and likely phosphates) started to rise following the initial cycle. (which is common for new tanks)...since I know for sure that vodka reduces nitrates/phosphates, could we make an assumption that an increase in vodka would reduce the nutrients that the diatoms are consuming?

BTW, I realize that this contradicts my previous recommendation, sorry

What do you guys think? This is just me brainstorming...

I thought diatoms grew from excess silica? If this is the case than I wouldnt think the vodka would be able to grow diatoms. In my tank I see a brownish matting of short almost felty, what I think is biofilm if I dose too much MB7. I just cut back for a few days and it goes away.

 

[Henry Bowman]

Salty, I believe you are right. The brown "stuff" is a biofilm not diatoms. Cutting back on the bacteria and or carbon source seems to help me too.

 

[reefrad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618621#post15618621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Henry Bowman
Salty, I believe you are right. The brown "stuff" is a biofilm not diatoms. Cutting back on the bacteria and or carbon source seems to help me too.

do you guys have pictures of this biofilm? i am having trouble distinguishing between biofilm, cyano and diatoms...

 

[Henry Bowman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618709#post15618709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrad
do you guys have pictures of this biofilm? i am having trouble distinguishing between biofilm, cyano and diatoms...

Sorry, not right now. I backed off a bit in my dosing routine and dont have any right now.

You could back down on your dosing and if the brown goes away in a day or so, that was the issue.

 

[reefrad]

where was the biofilmmost apparent? glass? rock? sand?

also, if this is MB7 biofilm than it shouldnt get worse when the lights are on right?

diffuse brown that gets worse with lights suggests photosynthesis...

 

[rireuter]

a quick clarification please. i know the vodka causes bacteria to grow that consumes N and P, and that MB7 is "a bacteria in a bottle". so why dose both? thank you, and your tank is amazing Sunny!

 

[Joel A]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15622213#post15622213 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rireuter
a quick clarification please. i know the vodka causes bacteria to grow that consumes N and P, and that MB7 is "a bacteria in a bottle". so why dose both? thank you, and your tank is amazing Sunny!

the vodka works as a food source for nitrifying bacteria... they consume that and the population "booms" if you will..

The MB7 is the bacteria strains themselves... adding more strains of "healthy" bacteria to the water...

This is my understanding at least...

 

[saltygeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15619411#post15619411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefrad
where was the biofilmmost apparent? glass? rock? sand?

also, if this is MB7 biofilm than it shouldnt get worse when the lights are on right?

diffuse brown that gets worse with lights suggests photosynthesis...

Mine will usually be on rock work. I've never noticed any big differance between day or night. Although snails seem to eat it and mine come out more at night. I dont think I have any growing right now to get a picture but I'll check when the lights come on.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Do all of you turn off your skimmers for a few hours when you add the daily dose of MB7?

 

[SunnyX]

I have scaled back from 14 to 6 drops a day on the MB7 and the changes are noticeable. The glass stays cleaner for a longer period of time, and the sand has become whiter can. I can now confirm that over dosing on MB7 causes excess brown biofilm.

For everyone using MB7 I would recommend that you not go over the instructed amounts. Use the recommended dosage as a starting point and adjust from there until you have hit the "sweet spot" in conjunction with the vodka.

In may take a couple weeks but once you hit the right doses on MB7 and vodka your tank will be cleaner and better off.