Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[SunnyX]

Sonny, Im not sure exactly on the prices of all the salts here in NJ, but I know for sure that the Brightwells at 65$ is the most expensive I have seen here. I bought all my RC from DRSfosterssmith with an old coupon code (that I googled for) and bought 3, 160gal buckets all for under 100$ So all that salt took me a while to burn through.

Last night I did another 35 gal water change. I have done 1x 15gal, 1x 30 gal and finally my 35 gal water change last night in one week. All seperated by a day or two, running a 75gpd RODI.

I am trying to get my nitrates to zero, for some reason my nitrates were almost at 40. I am not running any MB7/vodka at the moment. With my second water change my nitrates were down to 10. I have not checked since my last 35gal water change last night.

I just want to emphasize on Sonny's statement about cleaning your powerheads. I got my first vortech MP40w on 25 August 2009 (my birthday) and I did not clean it until yesterday. Before I cleaned it, I was trying to make a decent wave and I noticed I could not, so I cleaned it and wow, I cant run a decent wave without it almost overflowing my system, Cleaning that vortech at least upped the power and output by 50% at least! I was overwhelmed and stoked on how much gunk was in that vortech that I couldnt see until I took it out and cleaned it, The flow is almost twice as powerful now that its cleaned up. and that was just about 2.5 months worth of use without cleaning. I usually clean all my pumps quarterly unless I see it fit to clean beforehand, I will now be cleaning my vortech monthly, Thanks Sonny!

A monthly dip is warm water and vinegar does wonders for the pumps! :thumbsup:

Hello Sonny,

As always your tank looks amazing! I have a question about microbacter and biocarbon. I know that you don't use biocarbon but maybe you can still help. I've been dosing now for a couple of months and I have noticeable algae besides some film algae on the glass. Does that normally indicate that I am dosing too much or not enough? I'm very happy with everything else but it seems like I am cleaning my glass every other day or so.

Thanks,
Roland

What kind of algae are you seeing? Brown? Green?

Just got my MB7 and BioFuel. I've run the Elos purist line and was happy with results, but the price and number of additives had me looking at the Brightwell product. Well, I've got them now. I'll also be running 4-5 liters of Filtra M in a reactor when running MB7 and BF.

WOW! :eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2:

Hey Sonny! What's the deal with Strontium? What does it do, are there dangers in adding it and how should we? Thanks!

Hello, Strontium is supposed to aid in corals growth. I have noticed increased growth of coral and an explosion of Corraline algae in my frag tank. I dont know of any dangers with dosing Strontium, but I advise that you read up on it some more before dosing it.

Sunny have you tried dosing Iron? Its supposed to help with greens in sps.

I have great greens in my tank so the iron is not needed. I would be afraid that the iron would increase the growth of green hair algae.

One more question...do you use a controller of any kind.


Thanks,
Roland

Nope.

I can not get rid of this "peach fuzz" growth. So, I thinking for stopping MB7 and Vodka dosing for 1-2 weeks to see if that helps. If I stop for that period of time, when and if I start up again, do I have to start MB7 at the High Nutrient dosage?

Start back up with the "maintenance" dose.

 

[SunnyX]

So let me get this straight, as long as you dose AA you can have P04 at zero with no problems to the corals?

Something like that. 0 nutrients is not ideal, you want to have some nutrients so that you corals can grow. When I first started up the dosing I tank was much too clean and my corals suffered. They lightened up and stopped growing. Once I started feeding more and occasionally dosing AA's my corals took off in growth and and colored back up.

There is a fine line between "too clean" and "just right".

Hey guys ... I got a question about dosing MB7. I have a barebottom tank and minimal rockwork. Should i be dosing more to make up for the surface area missing for bacteria to attach to? Right now i dose 14 drops on a 180gal. I have a few patches of Cyano that i want gone!

Your dosing sounds good. Any reason why you dont have sand?

Curious on the MB7... Would it be a good or bad idea to dose both MB7 and KZ's ZeoBac or just stick with one bacteria source?

Thanks!
L3

I say the more diversity the better. I dont know if you will have improved results, but I guess it cant hurt.

Of course Aquascience came out ahead in that test. They paid for it.
I have both bulbs running side by side and can't see a difference in color or growth. Greg at reefgeek sells both if you really need the Aquascience.

Yeah, looking at the Aquscience 22k next to my Blue+ they do look the same, except that the 22k does make some corals more florescent.

Can I ask what you do to get your blue colors so good? I have a blue Tort specifically that had started to get a lot of green on it. Its not a bad green like theres a nutrient problem. I run Polyp Labs Reef Resh system and have been for almost a year. My NO3 and PO4 are undetectable. If your not familiar with it its basically a, carbon source-bacteria starins-AA-coral food. It has good PE and decent growth, but its really only blue on the tips and the rest is flourecent green pigments. It used to be all blue with only hints of the FGP. What do you think is going on?

Lugols Solution has done wonders for my blue's. I have been dosing it for many years now with great results.

Sonny, I know you have posted in the past that you run GFO, but only for a short period of time with intervals in between. Do you always use new GFO when you run it? If not, what do you do with it (how do you store it) between uses?

I place it in my water change bucket when not using it in the main tank.

So I started dosing vodka + MB7 again. It's been two weeks, and you can see all the polyps start to retract and corals slowly start dying, and algae to start to grow on it.

I can't figure out why this happens every time. Nitrates are at 5. Calcium/Alk/Mag are the right levels. I'm running GFO. The thing that I don't get is that PH is at 8.3-8.4.

Could this be causing it? PH was normal before I started dosing.

What was the PH before? What are you dosages of MB7 and vodka?

 

[SunnyX]

hey sonny did you get that pm I sent you?

Will check it in a minute. I get MANY PM's and its hard responding to all of them in a timely manner.

+1 on the guide. How many times have you answered the same ?s. Im just waiting for the next sunnyX system. Do you still have the Sohal? Whats the chances of a bigger tank in the near future? If you did a bigger tank how big would you go?

:lol: A guide would be great. Anyone have any suggestions for topics?

I have not been able to catch the Sohal. He will be staying in the current tank until I can move him to a larger tank.

I am planning a larger tank, in my head. I am trying to make it something that no one has ever seen or done. I need to create something unique. I wouldn't build a tank larger than 200gls.

 

[semperfi102582]

Why are people dosing Iodine when bacteria dosing? I was told that flake food provides enough for your aquarium and with increased ability to feed due to the addition of bacteria it seems pointless.

 

[aquaph8]

Recomendations for a guide to mb7 and vodka dosing ( everyone please add to this and give sunny some feed back )
-here I'll get it started-

1. Pre recs and shopping list of needed item ie. test kits, minimal skimmer requirements etc. etc. etc.

2. Getting started with MB7

3. Moving forward with vodka

4. Learning to monitor tank inhabitants for any problems

5. And last but not least - frequently asked questions and troble shooting

I hope this helps atleast alittle and hopefully everyone will contribute to the sunnyx guide.

 

[BornReefer]

A guide would be awesome! and it would save you the time of having to answer repeat questions all the time. If you do make a guide include in it a way in which one could gauge it to accommodate their tank volume! Thanks!:rollface:

 

[SunnyX]

Recomendations for a guide to mb7 and vodka dosing ( everyone please add to this and give sunny some feed back )
-here I'll get it started-

1. Pre recs and shopping list of needed item ie. test kits, minimal skimmer requirements etc. etc. etc.

2. Getting started with MB7

3. Moving forward with vodka

4. Learning to monitor tank inhabitants for any problems

5. And last but not least - frequently asked questions and troble shooting

I hope this helps atleast alittle and hopefully everyone will contribute to the sunnyx guide.

Great outline! I am open and welcome to all ideas and contributions.

 

[platax88]

Recomendations for a guide to mb7 and vodka dosing ( everyone please add to this and give sunny some feed back )
-here I'll get it started-

1. Pre recs and shopping list of needed item ie. test kits, minimal skimmer requirements etc. etc. etc.

2. Getting started with MB7

3. Moving forward with vodka

4. Learning to monitor tank inhabitants for any problems

5. And last but not least - frequently asked questions and troble shooting

I hope this helps atleast alittle and hopefully everyone will contribute to the sunnyx guide.

Do we want to include a "Beyond MB7 & Vodka" section maybe touching up on some of the great approaches we have learned in this thread... such as: loguls, strontium, bulb choices ... This may be getting off topic though??

 

[platax88]

Your dosing sounds good. Any reason why you dont have sand?

Well my tank was originally setup BB and I am afraid to add sand now that things are established. My rockwork is three pillars so adding it would be no big deal. I am just worried about all the dust and such. Do you think this is a concern? Any tips on how to add the sand to an already established tank. Another reason why i dont have a sand bed is for the ability to blast with flow and not have the upkeep of cleaning it. This however, is no longer such a big deal because i have found that keeping a nice BB still requires husbandry.

 

[SunnyX]

Do we want to include a "Beyond MB7 & Vodka" section maybe touching up on some of the great approaches we have learned in this thread... such as: loguls, strontium, bulb choices ... This may be getting off topic though??

Yeah, those topics would be great as well. I could touch on many things included here int he thread.

 

[LISound]

just have RC create a new forum. Pro biotic systems?

When is the best time to dose. I'm just starting my 2nd week of MB7 and dose in the morning. my lights don't come on until 2pm. I dose at 9am. Skimmer goes back on around 1pm.
I will be dosing bio fuel next week too. do I dose all at the same time?


Does it matter when you dose?

My thought was to dose in the dark to give the cultures more time to grow, maybe I should be dosing at night just after lights out.

 

[luther1200]

Lugols Solution has done wonders for my blue's. I have been dosing it for many years now with great results.

Thank you. What is a good amount to dose?

 

[Robert Patterso]

Okay I've been dosing MB7 and vodka. Did the two week thing with the MB and started dosing the vodka last saturday. My vodka dose is @ 1ml right now. I am sure I read this somewhere but don't recall. My Monti. caps are bleaching as of this week. Should I up the dose on the MB7, lower the vodka dose or both? This started after I started the vodka. Using 80 proof. 140g tank, 75g sump, approx. 100+lbs of rock. Skimmer area approx. 16 gal. of water, refugium approx. 20g. return 10-12.
Thanks

 

[rs1831]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rs1831 View Post
Hello Sonny,

As always your tank looks amazing! I have a question about microbacter and biocarbon. I know that you don't use biocarbon but maybe you can still help. I've been dosing now for a couple of months and I have noticeable algae besides some film algae on the glass. Does that normally indicate that I am dosing too much or not enough? I'm very happy with everything else but it seems like I am cleaning my glass every other day or so.

Thanks,
Roland
What kind of algae are you seeing? Brown? Green?

Mostly green but every now and then I get some brown as well.

 

[redhanded77]

awesome awesome tank!!! inspiration for sure!!!

some quick questions on vodka and mb7, if you dont mind. i have a 200g net system, when nitrates are at target levels, how do you determine dosing amounts? im at 4ml with vodka (going on 4th week) and just finished dosing 40ml of mb7 for the first 2 weeks (started 2 weeks after vodka). do i keep vodka at 4ml and mb7 at 20ml maintenance levels, and check nitrates a week later? my nitrates have went from dark orange/red on api test, to a dark yellow. ive been on vodka for about 4 weeks total. BUT i have been doing lots of water changes. also, cyano is minimum, with some patches on rocks here and there, but it was alot worse before i added the mb7.

any advice is appreciated, thanks buddy!

 

[fernandokng]

Sunny, PH was 8.2, but I don't think that's a huge issue.

I'm dosing 1 capful of MB7 (2 weeks), and 1ml of vodka (1week) for a 70gallon tank.

I'm going to layoff the MB7 and dose once a week as per the instructions, but keep the vodka at 1ml.

Thoughts? I do see some red cyano on the sand.

 

[flying_dutchman]

We need a FTS,
It has been almost 10 pages. It would be great if you would do a write up on vodka, and mb7 etc.

 

[Lyfey]

Not sure if this was addressed elsewhere, but this isn't quite accurate. According to Grim Reefer's measurements the Blue+ have more PAR, but Leonardo has done some spectral work (and there was an actual test done elsewhere if you dig around the internet, its on some german site), showing that the AS 22K has a spike in a different spectrum that actually produces more growth. The statement more PAR usually implies more growth, but it isn't the case with these two bulbs, which is why I say the statement isn't entirely accurate. (I actually said the same before Leonardo pointed this out to me.)

Didnt mean to make the statement with 100% accuracy. I believe I quoted Grim on that statement (I follow his t5 thread also) I dont remember exactly though, sorry.

The statement which is more P.C. is that the bulb looks pretty much the same.

Its hard on this website to make any statements since things constantly evolve.

 

[Tower69]

Powerhead placement...

Powerhead placement...

Hi Sonny, you're even creating a fan base in the UK!! :fun2:

This is going back a while now, before the Vortechs arrived. My question is: can you please describe how many Tunze's you had in the tank and where they were placed/hidden in relation to your two rockscape islands? I've modded mine to get the best out of them as I can't afford Vortechs yet and would like to know how you set yours up.

Many thanks... Barry

p.s. the tank is an inspiration and I'll be ordering my rimless after Christmas after stumbling on your site. ::lolspin:

 

[Lyfey]

Sonny, I am thinking that certain brands of vodka are causing more harm than good to reefers, I personally had a negative expirience with dosing vodka/MB7 and it seems lately there are alot more complaints that successes. What exact brand of vodka are you using? I know the theory of all vodka is the same except % but something still isnt right. Whats your opinion?