Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[customdusty]

Sunny, thank you so much for the inspiration!

I've only been at reefing for just over a year and have just begun my first "upgrade" with what I've learned - much thanks to the RC and contributors like you.

After seeing your previous TOTM and your future TOTM, I couldn't help but make the commitment to success in this hobby. Although I've never dosed anything before and have had my own troubles to overcome, I couldn't be more confident going into my new system knowing the amazing resources that are here to help me along the way.

Miracles 48x24x21, born October 2009.

 

[SunnyX]

Sunny, thank you so much for the inspiration!

I've only been at reefing for just over a year and have just begun my first "upgrade" with what I've learned - much thanks to the RC and contributors like you.

After seeing your previous TOTM and your future TOTM, I couldn't help but make the commitment to success in this hobby. Although I've never dosed anything before and have had my own troubles to overcome, I couldn't be more confident going into my new system knowing the amazing resources that are here to help me along the way.

Miracles 48x24x21, born October 2009.

Great looking tank!!! So clean, so beautiful!!! :thumbsup:
Do you have a build thread?

 

[DML08]

sunny, when you had all the bulbs on what was the full line up? got any suggestions for a 6 bulb line up..

 

[JCR's Reef]

Sonny- I remember you removing the procolor bulb awhile ago and I had thought you replaced it with the fiji purple back then? Guess not huh. LOL.
You tank is looking better and better if thats even possible. Great growth and color!!

 

[saltygeek]

Can anyone shed any light on why NeoZeo and the zeolite media has been removed from the Brightwell website?

I don't think it was ever put on the website.

 

[customdusty]

Great looking tank!!! So clean, so beautiful!!! :thumbsup:
Do you have a build thread?

Thanks Sunny, coming from you that means a lot!

I do have a build thread, the link is set as my homepage.

 

[psteeleb]

looks awesome Sonny - thanks for the inspiration

 

[SunnyX]

I posted this in the Reef Chemistry thread and have gotten a few responses saying I shouldn't be dosing vodka at all. I will copy/paste it here for the "experts" opinion. :rollface:

Thanks Sonny.

? re: vodka dosing chart

The table says to dose amounts until a decrease is observed then continue that amount until undetectable. At that point, cut dose in half to create maintenance dose.

My N and P are already 0. I'm actually starting the dosing with undetectable amounts so there is nothing to really cut in half. ???

I should explain I'm dosing into a "new build" that's actually been established for about two years. I had a terrible battle with dino's and bubble algae and completely took out everything and shut the lights off for about six months. I'm slowly reestablishing the system and wanted to try the MB7/Vodka route to avoid previous problems but I'm kinda confused on my target maintenance dose. Thank you for any replies.

I would start with MB7 dosing for two weeks and then start up slowly with the vodka. Stick with a low end dosage of vodka until you start to stock up the tank.

Looks awesome !!! how do you like Fiji purple so far?

Love it! It makes everything "POP"!

Those are some nice pics Sonny! You like the Fiji purple?

Love it!

sunny, when you had all the bulbs on what was the full line up? got any suggestions for a 6 bulb line up..

Yes that was the full lineup:
FRONT
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
AquaScience Blue 22k

A combo of this would look good:

FRONT
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
ATI Blue Plus

Sonny- I remember you removing the procolor bulb awhile ago and I had thought you replaced it with the fiji purple back then? Guess not huh. LOL.
You tank is looking better and better if thats even possible. Great growth and color!!

Yeah, the Pr Color didnt work out well for me. It had very low output and was much too red. The Fiji Purple is just right.

looks awesome Sonny - thanks for the inspiration

 

[Dutch06]

I would start with MB7 dosing for two weeks and then start up slowly with the vodka. Stick with a low end dosage of vodka until you start to stock up the tank.

Thank you for the response. I'm practically getting crushed in the Reef Chemistry forum.

I'm dosing 5 drops of MB7 (already completed initial 14 days) and .4ml of vodka until my coral stock increases. That's my plan, I will adjust when problems occur or for stock demands.

This hobby wouldn't be so hard if there wasn't 100 ways to do something with 100 different opinions on which is best. :hmm5:

 

[kaserpick]

Sunny, the tank looks amazing as always!

I'm thinking about changing my bulb combination on my powermodule.

Right now, it's:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquablue Special
Blue +

I feel like it's not blue enough. I was thinking about this combo:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquascience 22k
Blue +

Or just 5 blue +'s with 1 Fiji purple. I love a good blue look...would either of these have enough PAR? Which would you go with? Thanks for the help!

 

[JustinReef]

Sonny, the tank is looking amazing!

 

[Lyfey]

Sunny, the tank looks amazing as always!

I'm thinking about changing my bulb combination on my powermodule.

Right now, it's:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquablue Special
Blue +

I feel like it's not blue enough. I was thinking about this combo:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquascience 22k
Blue +

Or just 5 blue +'s with 1 Fiji purple. I love a good blue look...would either of these have enough PAR? Which would you go with? Thanks for the help!

Kaser, the aquascience 22k is basically the same thing as the blue+ with less PAR.

 

[kaserpick]

Kaser, the aquascience 22k is basically the same thing as the blue+ with less PAR.

Hmmm...thanks. I guess I'll end up going with 5 Blue+ and 1 Fiji Purple...or maybe 2 Fiji Purples and 4 Blue+.

 

[hatemeyet]

sonny,
What do you thing about running 2 fiji's on a 6 bulb setup?Would it be over kill? Thanks..

 

[mojo~]

I would say two would be overkill. I have played with a lot of t5 bulbs and one makes a big impact.

 

[vegaskid11]

Hi Sonny,

Your reef is awesome. Truly inspiring. I began my vodka journey on Monday after two weeks of MB7. My starting dose is 2 ml as my volume is 500 gallons. I will up my dosage today and continue to follow Genetics chart as well as adding the maintenance dose of (50ml) of MB7 daily.

I just have a couple of questions for you. Thanks in advance.

1. Do you reccommend staying with the MB7 maintenance dose of 50ml per day or would it be advisable to wean it down a bit. Even at 50ml per day I am looking at 2L of MB7 every 40 days. That can get spendy. Are you following there recc. maintenance dose or have you come down a bit.

I have been testing no3 (salifert), po4 (hannah) every other day. My Nitrate is hovering between 25-50 color square (closer to 50) and my po4 is testing at .08 on the hannah meter. Nitrate is way high and I think this is why I cant keep acros alive. Montis and birdsnest are doing well with this high no3 number but I am pretty sure this is my problem with acros. Hence the bacteria journey.

2. With nutrients at that level, when could I expect to see them start dropping? Approximately how many weeks of vodka on average is it taking to start to see the numbers coming down? Would it be more beneficial to do large water changes to get them down and then hope the V-MB7 will maintain or should I just let the bacteria do the work for me. With a 500 gallon system, large water changes are't real simple or cheap. All of the other corals are doing well and I wonder if large multiple changes would effect them negatively.

Thank You

 

[solitude127]

Sonny, Would you ever run a refugium again? If/when you go on vacation, how do you ensure who takes care of you tank is dosing properly?

 

[map95003]

Sitting infront of Sunny's tank is a vacation.

 

[SunnyX]

Thank you for the response. I'm practically getting crushed in the Reef Chemistry forum.

I'm dosing 5 drops of MB7 (already completed initial 14 days) and .4ml of vodka until my coral stock increases. That's my plan, I will adjust when problems occur or for stock demands.

This hobby wouldn't be so hard if there wasn't 100 ways to do something with 100 different opinions on which is best. :hmm5:

That's the best part about this hobby. Every reef is unique, and the different methods used to achieve your goals make it all the more rewarding.

Sunny, the tank looks amazing as always!

I'm thinking about changing my bulb combination on my powermodule.

Right now, it's:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquablue Special
Blue +

I feel like it's not blue enough. I was thinking about this combo:
Front
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
Blue +
Aquascience 22k
Blue +

Or just 5 blue +'s with 1 Fiji purple. I love a good blue look...would either of these have enough PAR? Which would you go with? Thanks for the help!

Sonny, the tank is looking amazing!

I played around with some old Blue+ bulbs this weekend and 6 Blue+, 1 Fiji Purple actually looked great. It was a very nice 20K look. I dont know how it will affect the corals so I am staying with my current bulb configuration for now. I dont want to lose the yellows and reds I currently have.

I would say two would be overkill. I have played with a lot of t5 bulbs and one makes a big impact.

+1

 

[jennmac415]

Sonny, what position did you put the fiji in with the 6 blue pluses.. I have been thinking of trying that out too...