Sonny's Rimless Shallow Reef.

[achillesheel]

im not dosing vodka but dosing about 10 drops daily of mb7 and probidio bio clean weekly and get the same film. will be dosing vodka after the new skimmer gets here. (2weeks i hope)

 

[crab0000]

How do you know if you're dosing enough MB7?

 

[macreefster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14781130#post14781130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snaza
Look at the 6 bulb ati sunpower at reefgeek. Looks great and so is the price

is there a sunpower and a power module by ATI? i just see power modules. i love the sleek look of power modules, but if theres a more economical sunpower i'm all ears!

 

[dustinP]

greg doesnt have the sunpower listed but if you email him, im sure he can help you out

 

[snaza]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14781467#post14781467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macreefster
is there a sunpower and a power module by ATI? i just see power modules. i love the sleek look of power modules, but if theres a more economical sunpower i'm all ears!

like dustin said. email greg. they look better than the powermodul i reckon

http://www.atiaquaristik.com/index.php?id=125,0,0,1,0,0

 

[kaserpick]

I just wish the sunpower fixtures went up to 8 bulbs.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14778839#post14778839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macreefster
sunny.....great new site. i for one really appreciate all your insight and have incorporated many of your practices...ie, vodka, mb7 and AA dosing, powerhead in sump and i just got done re-arranging my rockwork and corals giving them all more space for growth ( had to remove about a dozen corals, that wasnt easy!!!LOL). i now want to switch to t-5's when i can afford to. my question is..... while my tank is 24 inches wide, theres only about 18-20 inches of area with coral....would an ATI four bulb power module be enough, or should i go with the six bulb model? i wish aquatinics made a 36" five bulb constellation model. thanks for your help.

Thanks!

You currently have 2x250W MH and 4x39W T5 right? I would just replace some of the T5's with ATI Blue+ and maybe one Aquablue Special. Although, if you went with a strictly T5 setup it would saveon heat, chiller, and energy.

If you decide to go with T5 I would go with a 6 bulb fixture. I know its not cheap but it would cost less to go with the ATI Sunpower. This is what Reefgeek.com is selling a 6 bulb fixture for:

ATI 36" 6x39W SunPower T5 High-Output Fixture -- $479.00 w/ Bulbs -- $579.00
http://www.atiaquaristik.com/index.php?id=125,0,0,1,0,0

They are supposed to be just as good as the powermodules but not as fancy looking.

Here is a shot of one:

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14779268#post14779268 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by volcom69
I have aquatinics TX5 on my 70 gal tank and love it. I switched from MH to T5 in my transfer to my new tank, and im loving it. So no they dont make a constellation, but they do make the TX5 which is a good unit. Just to let you know.

Sonny now on my 70 gal its close to 90 gals with sump and all, im dosing just 1 drop of mb7 you think that is good or should i go with more. 1 drop = 50 gal, but didnt know if i should just start out slow.

I would bump it up to two drops a day. Really, the dosing depends on how clean your tank is to start with. If you currently are having some algae,No3,or Po4 issues I would bump up the dosing even more. If you have high nutrients I suggest you follow the two week "seeding" period that is on the back of the bottle.

You need to build up the bacterial colones with higher dosages at first. After two weeks of seeding the bacteria you can add two drops a day to help maintain the population.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14779687#post14779687 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kaserpick
Hey again Sonny! I have a question.

Now, I know you probably would never want to put an 8th bulb over your tank, but let's say you had to use an 8 bulb fixture. Given that you'd use the 3 Blue+'s, 3 Aquablue spezials, and 1 Aquascience 22k, what would you choose to use for your 8th bulb?

BTW, I took a look at the website, and you're tank looks awesome! :thumbsup:

Thanks!

If I were to add an 8th bulb I would go with a FIJI Purple. From what I have seen and heard the bulb really helps bring out certain colors in corals while providing a little more in terms of spectral diversity.

This summer when I swap out my bulbs I will be putting in a Fiji Purple.

 

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14781172#post14781172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snaza
I'm using zeobak but I guess it's the same principle. Can't get brightwell in Australia

That's the original bacteria, can't go wrong with KZ suppliments.



Sonny a friend of mine is about to order a 72" constelation (14 bulb) what do you think he should do for bulbs?

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14780884#post14780884 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snaza
Thanks for all the tips sonny. 2 questions for you. How much carbon do you run? Secondly I started dosing vodka and bak and found I'm getting a green film on my glass. It needs to be cleaned every second day. Should I stop the vodka and keep going with the bak?

Thanks

Hello.

I use 2 cups of carbon a month, run passively in a mesh bag in the sump.

Is the green algae showing up on the rock work or sand? Is it a light color green on the glass?

 

[macreefster]

thanks sonny. the t-5's i have now are in nova extreme fixtures and the reflectors arent very good. i just use them to view the tank before and after the halides are on. would it still be worth getting the ATI blue + and an aquablue special? i have two geismann true actinics and two current daylight bulbs in there now.... its pretty drab looking.

thanks so much for the link to the sunpowers. they are sweet looking if you ask me. since i just bought new halide bulbs a little over a month ago i think i'll wait until fall to switch totally to t-5's. heat isnt really an issue for me, i just love the coloration of the t-5's and when i have my vortechs cranked up i get glitter lines with just the four t-5's i have now.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14781294#post14781294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crab0000
How do you know if you're dosing enough MB7?

I would use your skimmer as a gauge to measure dosing parameters. If your skimmer is pulling out less waste then I would increase dosage. If you are finding stringy white film on pumps and rockwork then I would cut back on dosing.

I wouldn't worry about over dosing bacteria. I have dosed some pretty large amounts of bacteria in the past without consequence.

 

[GSMguy]

Only thing that happens with a bad overdose is a white film on the glass.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14784153#post14784153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macreefster
thanks sonny. the t-5's i have now are in nova extreme fixtures and the reflectors arent very good. i just use them to view the tank before and after the halides are on. would it still be worth getting the ATI blue + and an aquablue special? i have two geismann true actinics and two current daylight bulbs in there now.... its pretty drab looking.

thanks so much for the link to the sunpowers. they are sweet looking if you ask me. since i just bought new halide bulbs a little over a month ago i think i'll wait until fall to switch totally to t-5's. heat isnt really an issue for me, i just love the coloration of the t-5's and when i have my vortechs cranked up i get glitter lines with just the four t-5's i have now.

I would just stick to what you have now. There is no sense in replacing a good lighting setup. I ran Phoenix 14K in the past and LOVED them.

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14784150#post14784150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
That's the original bacteria, can't go wrong with KZ suppliments.



Sonny a friend of mine is about to order a 72" constelation (14 bulb) what do you think he should do for bulbs?

Well, that depends on your friends taste in color. Personally, I like a combo of 60/40 for my lighting,60% 40% white. Using the same ratio as my lighting he would have to go with 8 Blue+ and 6 Aquablue Special.

 

[GSMguy]

If you added a KZ Fiji purple to that combo what would it replace a special or blue+?

 

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14784453#post14784453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
If you added a KZ Fiji purple to that combo what would it replace a special or blue+?

I would replace an Aquablue Special. The Aquablue's really can overwhelm the blue bulbs if too many are present.

But I guess, either way could work.

 

[mcliffy2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14784502#post14784502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SunnyX
I would replace an Aquablue Special. The Aquablue's really can overwhelm the blue bulbs if too many are present.

But I guess, either way could work.

Ditto on this, I think of the Fiji Purple as a white bulb since its PAR is the same as most white bulbs, and its coloration is mostly white with a touch of pink/purple.

 

[kaserpick]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14784453#post14784453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
If you added a KZ Fiji purple to that combo what would it replace a special or blue+?

Thanks for asking that question! I was wondering myself.

Sonny, in your experience, in an 8x39w ATI PM, do you think this would be an ok lamp choice if I was shooting for a nice blue look?

Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Blue Plus
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic or some other actinic