boodlefish
Premium Member
+1 another happy owner of ATI well worth it. i bought before the sunpower came out but am very happy with my overkill 8xPM! 
you cant go wrong with these t5's!!!
you cant go wrong with these t5's!!!
Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.
- Thread starter JohnL
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rtparty
Raise The Reef!
The Aquatic Life and ATI aren't even close! That is like comparing a Kia to a Lambo! The Aquatic Life being the Kia. :hmm4:
The Aquatic Life has pretty bad reflectors and usually you have to upgrade the bulbs. With the ATI you will be able to choose the bulbs you want from the very beginning.
Spend the extra money and get the good stuff first. As you will see, Sonny has not spared on getting the good stuff first and his tank shows it!
What is the deal with the reflectors? Do you have a link or any info on the Aquatic Life reflectors? I have been looking for some time, and have been unable to find any real numbers. I do have a 4 bulb Aquatic Life setup. I will say the cooling fan does little to cool the lamps, it only really keeps the ballast cooler. I don't think the Aquatic Life is as good as say a powermodual, but it is certainly a much better looking fixture then the sunpower....JMO
I think most people buying the AL units wouldn't spend the money for a par meter, thus we really don't know how they stack up. But if anyone has some data on them...Not to get off subject nice tank sunny!
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
What is the deal with the reflectors? Do you have a link or any info on the Aquatic Life reflectors? I have been looking for some time, and have been unable to find any real numbers. I do have a 4 bulb Aquatic Life setup. I will say the cooling fan does little to cool the lamps, it only really keeps the ballast cooler. I don't think the Aquatic Life is as good as say a powermodual, but it is certainly a much better looking fixture then the sunpower....JMO
Not to get off subject nice tank sunny!
The Aquatic Life fixture I saw and dealt with had bent aluminum around each bulb. They were not true individual parabolic reflectors.
Obviously with no real numbers it is hard to compare but I would bet that the AL fixtures run right around a TEK, PAR wise. If that is the case then an ATI Powermodule will put out about 50% more PAR and the Sunpower will put out roughly 35% more.
I'm fairly certain that the ATI ballasts do NOT overdrive the bulbs.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
layer3switchguy
New member
Sonny,
Hope all is well. Quick question, are you using Zeo/Neo stones in your tank, or just MB7 and Reef Bio Fuel?
Cheers,
L3
Hope all is well. Quick question, are you using Zeo/Neo stones in your tank, or just MB7 and Reef Bio Fuel?
Cheers,
L3
Last edited:
boodlefish
Premium Member
I need to get some free time and shoot some shots. I had the day off today but ended up going with the wife to the mall. 8 hours later I am finally home. :hmm4:
I will try this weekend of perhaps towards the end of the work week.
I hate to nag but I think its about time for some EYE CANDY!!!
Reefobsession
New member
Hey sunny, your thread has been an inspiration to my new build. I am going to doing both vodka and MB7. Just thought I would share my build thread with you.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16447095#post16447095
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16447095#post16447095
Sunny,
Wow, ok so I just found this thread. Or that is to say I found the thread awhile back actually but I just finished reading all 148 pages! My goodness what a wealth of info on here. Your tank is stunning, and the help you've provided all on here is to truly be commended. I have come up with a few questions that I either didn't see addressed or clarified maybe. So here goes.
1. As far as the powerhead in the sump. Great idea, I did it myself, seems to keep detritus out of the sump but puts more into the DT. I noticed your sump doesn't really look like it has all these partitions and whatnot and your skimmer is external so I understand how the powerhead helps you with detritus. But I was wondering about others that have partitions, how does the powerhead get detritus to the skimmer or does it get routed back to the tank and eventually to the skimmer via the overflow? My sump is just a rubbermaid DIY and I have the skimmer on a small stand inside another little container to keep a constant water level for the skimmer. I was wondering, should I maybe just have the skimmer on the stand but not in the container to keep the water level? I have an ATI BM skimmer, and that way the powerhead could blow the detritus and get skimmed out quickly?
2. I like the results you've had with the MB7/vodka and read all the articles. I'm wondering if that would help me. I usually have about 5-10nitrate and my phos shows undetectable usually but I do have algae issues so guessing my phos is being used by the algae. So could MB7/vodka help me out. I don't have a refuge or anything like that, I'm very limited on sump space with my 92g corner tank. I've read that recently you've been using vinegar. Do you combine them? 1 day vodka, next day vinegar? How does that work, does your MB7 dosage stay the same weather you use vodka or vinegar? I run carbon and GFO but GFO is freaking expensive and hasn't eradicated the algae altogether.
3. Next question, I have read about a biopellet product, think it's called a sort of solid vodka that can be run in a reactor. I'm guessing you haven't run this stuff but was wondering if you have any opinions on it or know anyone that has tried it with any level of success or failure.
I'm sure I have other questions but don't want to bombard you with too many at once. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much, I'm glad I am through the 148 pages and can now keep up with the thread.
Wow, ok so I just found this thread. Or that is to say I found the thread awhile back actually but I just finished reading all 148 pages! My goodness what a wealth of info on here. Your tank is stunning, and the help you've provided all on here is to truly be commended. I have come up with a few questions that I either didn't see addressed or clarified maybe. So here goes.
1. As far as the powerhead in the sump. Great idea, I did it myself, seems to keep detritus out of the sump but puts more into the DT. I noticed your sump doesn't really look like it has all these partitions and whatnot and your skimmer is external so I understand how the powerhead helps you with detritus. But I was wondering about others that have partitions, how does the powerhead get detritus to the skimmer or does it get routed back to the tank and eventually to the skimmer via the overflow? My sump is just a rubbermaid DIY and I have the skimmer on a small stand inside another little container to keep a constant water level for the skimmer. I was wondering, should I maybe just have the skimmer on the stand but not in the container to keep the water level? I have an ATI BM skimmer, and that way the powerhead could blow the detritus and get skimmed out quickly?
2. I like the results you've had with the MB7/vodka and read all the articles. I'm wondering if that would help me. I usually have about 5-10nitrate and my phos shows undetectable usually but I do have algae issues so guessing my phos is being used by the algae. So could MB7/vodka help me out. I don't have a refuge or anything like that, I'm very limited on sump space with my 92g corner tank. I've read that recently you've been using vinegar. Do you combine them? 1 day vodka, next day vinegar? How does that work, does your MB7 dosage stay the same weather you use vodka or vinegar? I run carbon and GFO but GFO is freaking expensive and hasn't eradicated the algae altogether.
3. Next question, I have read about a biopellet product, think it's called a sort of solid vodka that can be run in a reactor. I'm guessing you haven't run this stuff but was wondering if you have any opinions on it or know anyone that has tried it with any level of success or failure.
I'm sure I have other questions but don't want to bombard you with too many at once. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much, I'm glad I am through the 148 pages and can now keep up with the thread.
kaserpick
Keeping it Simple
I'm not sure about the other items, but I believe Sonny is using a DIY improved 2-part (Randy's, I think) for his Ca, Mg, and Alkalinity.
I believe he's using a Deltec AP851; some would say it's a bit excessive for that tank, but I think that's a good thing. When looking for a skimmer, get quality and, like Sonny says, get the biggest skimmer you can accommodate. Don't be tempted to buy the cheap one's, because, like the lighting, there's definitely a big difference in cheap skimmers (that boast about all kinds of features) and skimmers that work like they should.
boodlefish
Premium Member
Kamisxy~ i don't know if you have seen Sonny's supper informative blog or not but here is a link that should answer your questions and then some, :reading: plus looking at his site always makes me drool :inlove:
http://www.rimlessreef.com/rimless-reef.html
http://www.rimlessreef.com/rimless-reef.html
hawaiian_boi
undercover reefer
what brand of mb7 are you using cause u say your dosing 8 drops a day . im using the microbacter7 from brightwell and i am dosing 50ml . i just started it 3 days ago so im going by the instructions on the bottle i have 250 gallons total volume . i dont like dosing that much liquid and want to see if another brand would let me dose less
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