Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[SunnyX]

Sonny!! Your back!! Dont worry, I know how it is!!

Quick question, I am going to upgrade my lighting and I am down to a few different options. Right now I am running a standard 75g but I plan on upgrading to a 150 5' long tank sometime. Should I buy my new lighting to accomodate my current tank or should I buy a lighting system thats 5 foot long w/ extra bulbs to accomodate my new tank, but it will still work on my current tank and it just might look a little goofy.


ATI Powermodule 8x80w or 8x54w or 6 bulb for my 75?
" Sunpower 6x80w or 6x54w

Aquatinics Constellation

Tek Light elite (same bulb configs as the PM) this would be the cheapest option with a 6x54w light going for 402$

Or something else reccomended? I live in an apartment and quite frankly I dont know how to hang the light from the ceiling nor do I know if the ceiling studs are located for proper installation. Thats the only thing about the ATI's they dont have mounting brackets for the tank. I also want to acclimate my corals properly and by raising the fixture up and down to acclimate I know would be the best way, rather than messing with screen/eggcrate, timing arrangements, bulb configs ect. What do you think Sonny? Thanks a million!

-Chris

Out of the choices listed above I would probably go with the 4' ATI 8x54W. I have heard that the Consellation has been on back order for quite some time now so you likely wont be able to find one.

I have seen mcliffy2's in person and I didnt even notice that he was running a 4' fixture on such a large tank.

Oh and btw, I recieved my MP40w ES Conversion box yesterday night!! Its pretty cool, I only have 1 MP40w ES now so I really dont know the differences yet. There where no manuals that came with it so I really dont know how to use it yet. I think I am one of the first people to get the ES, I ordered it monday afternoon and got it yesterday at around 7pm!!

Nice! I want to get one so I can upgrade my MP20 to an MP40W. Let us know how you like it and about the new wave options. :bounce3:

 

[SunnyX]

Sunny, this was a great threat! Long to read ...and probably to answer! You need an admin assistant!
If you have time, I noted you asked to someone that has a problem a while ago if he add good cooling of his lamp. Again, if you have time, could you explain how bad cooling of a lamp (MH), let say by a bad fan, could produce problem in a tank?
I got some issue with colors and with a fan...

Thanks for all these advises

Guillaume

Hello.

are you having issues with the cooling of the bulb and its output? All lighting fixtures and bulbs need to be running at the correct tempeture in order to get the most out of them. What are you running for lighting over your aquarium?

 

[SunnyX]

Hello Sonny,
I know that you get a lot of this but thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with the reefkeeping community. You have shown much patience by constantly answering the same questions...i just read this whole thread. Your tank is awesome and inspiring. This thread is the reason I joined RC.

Here is some background info on me and my tank: I have maintained fw tanks for most of my life. When my girlfriend and I moved into our 700 sqft condo last May, before we had furniture I was filling up my 55 gal. This didnt fly with her so she went out and got me a 26 bowfront. I decided to try nano-reefing as it has become so popular and "easy" due to technological advances.
Equipment:
26gal bowfront (24''Wx18''Hx15''deep at the widest point of the bow)
Octopus BH-1000 hob skimmer (rated for up to 90gal)
2x Current Nova Extreme 24'' 2x24w t5 (stock bulbs)
hydor koralia nano and hydor 1
sicce voyager 1 (607 gph) (total flow from powerheads= ~50x tank volume per hour)

Livestock:
~20-30 lbs high grade caribbean and fiji LR
~20 lbs Live sand substrate (about 1-1.5 in deep)
1 green mandarin
1 yellow headed prawn goby
1 pistol shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
~8 assorted small hermits
~7 turbo snails
3 nassarius snails
tons of brittle stars, copepods, amphipods, bristleworms, non photo-synthetic clams

assorted zoanthids
orange and purple montipora digitata (branching)
orange plating montipora
2 acropora frags, unidentified
1 birdsnest frag
1 pink pocillopora
duncan
candy cane
spiny cup pectina
pink and high green frogspawn
rose coral
orange and teal acan
xenia and leather (will be gone in a week or two)
tridacna maxima
coco worm

I have recently decided to go sps/acan/zoas. Lets just say i finally found a source of head stash corals here in SC, and am now obsessed/addicted to sps! my tank has been up and running for around 9 months now. My mandarin is fat and happy and i have not really had any losses. i have just gotten most of my sps but have polyp extension and all that good stuff except in one acro. My tank usually runs with low nitrates, and phosphate= <.25 with kh=~9. I do weekly water changes and add calc 1.5 times a week and strontium and iod and reef fuel whenever it "feels right." I also dose zooplankton and phyto. water changes are either weekly or bi-weekly. i had to leave my system for a month around the holidays with only a friend topping off the tank twice and had no losses. My liverock is seriously "alive" and has tons of cucumbers and other critters in it. My tank has a bunch of coralline as well.
I started dosing 1 capful MB7 two days ago. i figured some good bacteria couldnt hurt. Now for the questions: Do you think a tank such as mine will benefit from your method of mb7 and vodka? i would like to take things very slow so i was going to only do 1 capful a day for the first week then cut back. what do you think about this? what type of regimen should i do with this and the vodka on such a small system? Is there going to be a huge amount of die-off in my tank? with my current t5 fixtures i plan on getting new bulbs (within a month) and was planning on:
front
blue+
fiji purp
blue +
aquablue special
What do you think about this? will it be sufficient for growing sps? will copepods die off and cause my mandarin to starve? and lastly, are the microbubbles from my hob skimmer a problem?
Thanks again for your time spent answering our questions, as well as sharing with us your rimless reef!
peace
hunter

Hello and thank you.

You could give the MB7&vodka meathod a shot, but please do it slowly. I have posted a small guide on the reactions and do's/dont's of the meathod a few posts above this one.

As for the bulb combo it looks good. Im not sure what you plan on using for a fixture but cooling and the reflectors with have a major impact on how much light gets to the corals. Your copods shouldnt die off because you will be feeding more with this dosing system. I have personally seen many more copods likely due to increased feeding of the finh and LPS.

You may want to figure out a way to fix the micro bubbles but I dont think they will harm anything. They may cause some salt creep on the outside of tank, and in extreme cases they have anger SPS, but I think you should be fine.

Sonny

 

[jbanks]

I kicked cyano in my main tank but I still have some in my frag tank. Slowly but surely I am winning the battle.

Awesome news!

 

[AJ_Tsin]

Great tank and video! :thumbsup:

Your dosing looks fine. Since your DSB is fairly new I would not worry about it causeing any issues. I would continue dosing as your are and keep an eye on nutrient levels as you do not want them getting too low.

-Sonny

Thanks for the reply and compliments on my video. Everything is going fine here and the Nitrates are down to <1.5ish since I posted that question.

I have read through this thread entirely and its very inspiring. Ironically I began dosing vodka on my own then bought MB7 to try out on a whim. I googled vodka and MB7 dosing when I got home and found this thread. After about two weeks of reading I am right on track with your regiment.

I have another couple questions...

I am considering changing to a T5 fixture for this tank I have never had t5 do you think a 36 inch 4 bulb fixture is enough for a shallow 47 gallon? or should I go with a 6 bulb fixture?

I have significant browning on the shadowed portions of my sps eg undersides etc. I must admit they all went completely brown when I moved them from tank to tank a while ago and they are finally all coming back with some vibrant colors all even better than they were before this tank but on the undersides or places where the halide light does not hit directly they are staying brown. Do you think a t5 light will combat this a bit because of the more ambient lighting?

Thanks in advance you have an awesome setup good work. It's inspiring.

 

[grabthereef]

Thanks Sonny,
i have made some pretty good progress since posting that (sorry, reading it now a lot seems irrelevant/in the wrong thread). i chose to go with a blue+, aquablue spec, blue+, aquabs light combo and LOVE IT. I started dosing vodka and MB7, however i dosed 1ml for about a week until i noticed it should have been .1 ;p no harm done, just melting cyano, i since adjusted the dose to .5 and N and P have began to fall. I have also added 5 new sps, all of which are doing well. thanks for your support! the probiotic method and list you put on your website has been an awesome help

-hunter

ps. DIEING to see the new pics!!!!

 

[mcliffy2]

Oh wow, I didnt even notice that your fixture was only 4'! When I seen it in person your tank looked fully lit, so I would say that a 4' fixture on a 5' is perfect. Maybe I was just distracted by all the amazing corals.

I plan on using a 5' T5 fixture on my next 6' tank.

Good news and bad news on your favorite coral...my strange RTN hit the blue tort couple days ago. I recognized it right away and was able to salvage much of it. Sucks because it was a large colony of a slow grower (I did manage to get a 4" "mini-colony" with a few branches that I'm crossing my fingers will make it), but on the bright side, I have a bunch of frags, and one for you now Must be some pathogen in the water, it only starts on damaged tissue (like where I've broken a frag off by hand)...so I set up a UV I've had laying around, and am hoping that might do the trick...crossing my fingers.

 

[SunnyX]

Good news and bad news on your favorite coral...my strange RTN hit the blue tort couple days ago. I recognized it right away and was able to salvage much of it. Sucks because it was a large colony of a slow grower (I did manage to get a 4" "mini-colony" with a few branches that I'm crossing my fingers will make it), but on the bright side, I have a bunch of frags, and one for you now Must be some pathogen in the water, it only starts on damaged tissue (like where I've broken a frag off by hand)...so I set up a UV I've had laying around, and am hoping that might do the trick...crossing my fingers.

Sorry to here about the RTN, especially to such a nice peice. Hopefully the UV will help kick the issue and increase the tort's chances of survival. Have you tried dosing some Lugols? I have dipped some corals in the past with Lugols and it did the trick. You could also try dipping it for 10 min is TMPCC. Although, if the coral is really stressed you may not want to dip it at all, as it may increase the stress on the coral. Its a tough spot to be in.

I've rarely run into RTN issues. Im not sure if it because I have soo much good bacteria in the tank(outcompeting the bad), or just luck.

I should be out your way in April. Ill be sure to bring a cooler of frags with me.

 

[mcliffy2]

Sorry to here about the RTN, especially to such a nice peice. Hopefully the UV will help kick the issue and increase the tort's chances of survival. Have you tried dosing some Lugols? I have dipped some corals in the past with Lugols and it did the trick. You could also try dipping it for 10 min is TMPCC. Although, if the coral is really stressed you may not want to dip it at all, as it may increase the stress on the coral. Its a tough spot to be in.

I've rarely run into RTN issues. Im not sure if it because I have soo much good bacteria in the tank(outcompeting the bad), or just luck.

I should be out your way in April. Ill be sure to bring a cooler of frags with me.

I'm just letting them sit for now...I'm thinking its some kind of pathogen as once it takes hold (through damaged coral tissue) it spreads between corals that are in contact with each other. Not standard RTN either, as it takes out montis as well. I tend to think if Lugols helps it would just be a bandaid, not a cure, since I tend to think its something in the water...does that make sense? I think (knock on wood) the 5 frags that have made it (including the 4" mini-colony) have stabilized, so I'm hoping the UV, along with a couple water changes over the weekend, will be the answer...let me know when you are here in April...if late April, and weather cooperates, I might even have the boat out of storage

 

[Guillaume]

Hello.

are you having issues with the cooling of the bulb and its output? All lighting fixtures and bulbs need to be running at the correct tempeture in order to get the most out of them. What are you running for lighting over your aquarium?

Hi Sunny, The fan in my MH fixture was misaligned and was blowing less air. It stayed like that for a few weeks and I readjusted it a few days ago.
In fact, I'm having a sudden coral decoloration (Monti, Pinaple) and less expansion (euphelias, mushs) since two months. I think it is the MH bulb change (in January) that did it but reading your discussion on cooling fan, I was questionning this avenue too.
I'm running on 14K 150w Coralife, which I'm still not sure. I was prefering my previous Giesemann which was no longer available where I ordred the bulb. I run also on the same fixture two PC 65w Coralife actinic. Would you suggest to put another type for these MH bulb and PC(using the same fixture)?
Tx!
G

 

[SunnyX]

Thanks for the reply and compliments on my video. Everything is going fine here and the Nitrates are down to <1.5ish since I posted that question.

I have read through this thread entirely and its very inspiring. Ironically I began dosing vodka on my own then bought MB7 to try out on a whim. I googled vodka and MB7 dosing when I got home and found this thread. After about two weeks of reading I am right on track with your regiment.

I have another couple questions...

I am considering changing to a T5 fixture for this tank I have never had t5 do you think a 36 inch 4 bulb fixture is enough for a shallow 47 gallon? or should I go with a 6 bulb fixture?

I have significant browning on the shadowed portions of my sps eg undersides etc. I must admit they all went completely brown when I moved them from tank to tank a while ago and they are finally all coming back with some vibrant colors all even better than they were before this tank but on the undersides or places where the halide light does not hit directly they are staying brown. Do you think a t5 light will combat this a bit because of the more ambient lighting?

Thanks in advance you have an awesome setup good work. It's inspiring.

For the a 30x30 I would go with at least a 6 bulb fixture. An ATI Sunpower should do the trick. T5 output should be much more uniform so your growth patterns will be fuller, and the entire coral will be basked in light, eliminating most browning.

 

[AJ_Tsin]

For the a 30x30 I would go with at least a 6 bulb fixture. An ATI Sunpower should do the trick. T5 output should be much more uniform so your growth patterns will be fuller, and the entire coral will be basked in light, eliminating most browning.

What about a 24inch 6 or 8 bulb?

I also am considering what the unit will look like over the tank.

Right now it looks very clean and symmetrical which fits nicely with the square tank. I don't want to hang a huge light that is just unproportioned to the tank.

 

[SunnyX]

Thanks Sonny,
i have made some pretty good progress since posting that (sorry, reading it now a lot seems irrelevant/in the wrong thread). i chose to go with a blue+, aquablue spec, blue+, aquabs light combo and LOVE IT. I started dosing vodka and MB7, however i dosed 1ml for about a week until i noticed it should have been .1 ;p no harm done, just melting cyano, i since adjusted the dose to .5 and N and P have began to fall. I have also added 5 new sps, all of which are doing well. thanks for your support! the probiotic method and list you put on your website has been an awesome help

-hunter

ps. DIEING to see the new pics!!!!

I am glad everthing has worked out well for you. Do you have a link to your tank or a build thread?

 

[SunnyX]

I'm just letting them sit for now...I'm thinking its some kind of pathogen as once it takes hold (through damaged coral tissue) it spreads between corals that are in contact with each other. Not standard RTN either, as it takes out montis as well. I tend to think if Lugols helps it would just be a bandaid, not a cure, since I tend to think its something in the water...does that make sense? I think (knock on wood) the 5 frags that have made it (including the 4" mini-colony) have stabilized, so I'm hoping the UV, along with a couple water changes over the weekend, will be the answer...let me know when you are here in April...if late April, and weather cooperates, I might even have the boat out of storage

Good luck this weekend. Hopefully the combo of UV and waterchanges will destroy the pathogens.

Hi Sunny, The fan in my MH fixture was misaligned and was blowing less air. It stayed like that for a few weeks and I readjusted it a few days ago.
In fact, I'm having a sudden coral decoloration (Monti, Pinaple) and less expansion (euphelias, mushs) since two months. I think it is the MH bulb change (in January) that did it but reading your discussion on cooling fan, I was questionning this avenue too.
I'm running on 14K 150w Coralife, which I'm still not sure. I was prefering my previous Giesemann which was no longer available where I ordred the bulb. I run also on the same fixture two PC 65w Coralife actinic. Would you suggest to put another type for these MH bulb and PC(using the same fixture)?
Tx!
G

Are the bulbs your are using single or double ended?

Is this a fixture or a retrofit kit?

What are the dimensions of the tank?

What are the parameters of the system? Temp, CA, ALK, PH, PO4, etc..

Im just trying to figure out some solutions but I need a little more info. A picture would also help. :reading:

 

[SunnyX]

What about a 24inch 6 or 8 bulb?

I also am considering what the unit will look like over the tank.

Right now it looks very clean and symmetrical which fits nicely with the square tank. I don't want to hang a huge light that is just unproportioned to the tank.

The tank is looking great! :thumbsup: A 24" 6 bulb ATI Sunpower should get you the results you are looking for. With your tank only being 12" high you could raise the T5 fixture to get a little more spread for maximum coverage.

Personally, I dont think you should change anything with the tank as it looks great.

 

[stunreefer]

Wasn't there a threat of posting pics not long ago?

 

[SunnyX]

Wasn't there a threat of posting pics not long ago?

I wanted to get some pictures posted up tonight but I am going out and hitting the town instead! :beer:

Check back this weekend. :spin1::frog:

 

[AJ_Tsin]

Just added you on xBox live by the way...

 

[SunnyX]

Just added you on xBox live by the way...

Cool. I will be sure to add you. I hope you like call of duty and fifa!

 

[HomeSlizzice]

Cool. I will be sure to add you. I hope you like call of duty and fifa!

You have Xbox Live??? Whats you gamer tag?

P.S. your tank looks amazing, like always!