My First Week Experience with the Reef Moonshiners Program

[Freddie83]

Hello Everyone,

I am excited to share my experience after completing the first week of the Reef Moonshiners program. With 16 years in the hobby, this has been one of the most significant improvements I've made to any of my aquariums and it's definitely worth discussing.

A brief overview of my aquarium:

My aquarium is a heavily stocked mixed reef Red Sea Reefer S-1000 G2 with a water volume of 265 gallons, running for about 7 months (transferred from my previous 180-gallon tank). I've faced various issues with this setup, such as fluctuating alkalinity and calcium levels, and persistent Po4 and No3 levels. Although my corals survived, I occasionally experienced random coral deaths and random SPS RTN and STN occurrences.

One thing I've noticed recently, is that when I asked people with impressive reef tanks about their maintenance routines, "Reef Moonshiners" was a common response. So, I decided to give it a try.

I began by ordering the ATI ICP test and inputting the results into the Reef Moonshiners Excel workbook. While obtaining all the required elements for daily dosing was expensive, I can see that they will last a long time, even for my 265-gallon aquarium.

After starting the program as guided by the workbook, I observed the following changes within 3 days:

1. Alkalinity consumption nearly doubled and now aligns closely with calcium.
2. Calcium consumption almost tripled.
3. Po4 levels decreased significantly.
4. N03 levels dropped from the 40s to below 20.

Within 7 days:

1. All SPS corals suffering from STN have fully recovered.
2. My reef mat's filter media consumption has reduced from 120" to 60" per day.
3. All red slime algae have completely vanished.
4. Corals are displaying never-before-seen colors.
5. Encrusting corals are growing at an unprecedented rate.
6. Many corals have experienced substantial polyp extension.

Though I was initially skeptical about new solutions and methods, the Reef Moonshiners program has exceeded my expectations. I wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try if you're considering it.

 

[14 foot reef]

This is an impressive quick result. Please keep us posted on a week to week basis and also help us understand the money output to achieve these results on a consistent basis. I've heard lots of positive on this process and not a lot of negative except cost. Please post weekly on your continued success with the Reef Moonshiners Recipe and process.

 

[Freddie83]

This is an impressive quick result. Please keep us posted on a week to week basis and also help us understand the money output to achieve these results on a consistent basis. I've heard lots of positive on this process and not a lot of negative except cost. Please post weekly on your continued success with the Reef Moonshiners Recipe and process.

I’ll definitely try!
I have some older pictures of my corals too, at some point I’ll create a side by side comparison.

 

[Xrayguy25]

I also noticed the Alk consumption right off the bat. Haven’t seen the incredible color pop yet, but I’m only two weeks in with very few corrections at this point.

 

[Idech]

Thanks for posting this. Can you share what the start up and maintenance costs are for this method ? Also what additional equipment is needed ?


Thanks

 

[happyhourhero]

I always wish there was an experienced sps keeper that would run two tanks. One with and one without moonshiners to see the difference. It’s just me but I always feel like people who are experienced enough to want to dose all of these elements and stay on top of testing like that already have the ability to run an amazing reef. Maybe it is a game changer like folks say I just wish there was a 2 year long experiment with a control to reference. Keep us updated!

 

[Wasabiroot]

I'm glad you're having success! Hopefully that keeps going

To me, this seems like essentially another version of the Triton method, in that it's monitoring trace elements via ICP and keeping them within a range. You said you previously had stability issues like fluctuating alkalinity and calcium, so I'm not surprised that dialing in your parameters to a microscopic level made improvements vs instability before.

For me, I don't trust ICP results enough on trace elements as some are dosed or present in such small quantities that they could be within the error range of the test itself.

I'm also not convinced that say, Barium depletion (it was mentioned in the manual as an example) is what was holding people back from success. It's more likely a disciplined and consistent approach to maintaining trace elements is what is contributing to these results. So I'm sure the program works great, but in my opinion it *should* - you're fine tuning dozens of dials.

 

[StatelineReefer]

I always wish there was an experienced sps keeper that would run two tanks. One with and one without moonshiners to see the difference. It’s just me but I always feel like people who are experienced enough to want to dose all of these elements and stay on top of testing like that already have the ability to run an amazing reef. Maybe it is a game changer like folks say I just wish there was a 2 year long experiment with a control to reference. Keep us updated!

@SBB Corals Want to take the pepsi challenge on one of your holding tanks?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I'm glad you're having success! Hopefully that keeps going

To me, this seems like essentially another version of the Triton method, in that it's monitoring trace elements via ICP and keeping them within a range. You said you previously had stability issues like fluctuating alkalinity and calcium, so I'm not surprised that dialing in your parameters to a microscopic level made improvements vs instability before.

For me, I don't trust ICP results enough on trace elements as some are dosed or present in such small quantities that they could be within the error range of the test itself.

I'm also not convinced that say, Barium depletion (it was mentioned in the manual as an example) is what was holding people back from success. It's more likely a disciplined and consistent approach to maintaining trace elements is what is contributing to these results. So I'm sure the program works great, but in my opinion it *should* - you're fine tuning dozens of dials.

I've been on it for 8+ months but I'm thinking your right! I've actually started slacking off the minor shine adjustments and going back to weekly water changes for the past 3 weeks and now the tanks are look better like before, initially I thought I had good results with the shine but like you said, I don't think icp is there yet to adjust all those dials all the time, Unfortunately because I think the shine or triton methods are a great idea but the problem is the test, as my most recent test and a few others lead me to believe. I feel like some could get in trouble with this method especially when the core parameters aren't fully understood or masterd.

I still need more time with it, as my opinion is evolving.

 

[SBB Corals]

@SBB Corals Want to take the pepsi challenge on one of your holding tanks?

we have tried the reef moonshiners method but then got lazy with it to be honest we have 4 systems and it was alot to manage on all the systems.

whatever we have currently is working so we have decided to not change anything since we like the results we are currently getting. With that said we know some reefers that swear by the RMSM

 

[Tacticool-Reefer]

@Freddie83, thank you for posting this!

OK, the MM is coming into its own for me! I’ve never seen SPS this brilliantly colored and with this much polyp extension. On top of that the polyp extension on some of the SPSs now shows different pigments of colors, which only came to my attention over the last week. This is going to be my third month on MM, and as I'm sure others have mentioned, three months is right when everything starts to make a change for the positive, if, they adhere to the conditions outlined in the method.

This method suffers from a few issues…

• It's expensive to get going the cost associated between the ongoing tests and the purchase of the elements makes it cost-prohibitive to a widespread audience. [if I’d wanted a cheap hobby, I would not have picked this one]
• Ongoing ICP-OES
• Ongoing ICP-MS (alt test, cost a bit more)
• Large correction dosing (consumed large amounts of the element will need to be repurchased, more $$$)
• Automation – 16 + dosing heads/unit (planned future expense)
• The widespread adoption is also met with almost cult-like damnation, sometimes far beyond skepticism. Healthy skepticism is a good thing, it keeps folks honest and it also helps to avoid pitfalls that would otherwise destroy the hobby. You simply must ask someone who's on the method to show you a picture of their system, then ask a cult-like skepticism who's not on the method or something similar to show you, their proof. We've all seen many keyboard warriors coming out throughout the years, some know what they're talking about but many of them seem to want to do nothing but tell “YOU ARE WRONG” without real tangible proof.

IMHO, the PROs far out way the CONs…

Healthy fast-growing inhabitants, I say inhabitants because I've seen a large boom not just in coral color and growth but also in other animals in my current system (be it, directly or indirectly) from MM. I can only assume that bacteria/organisms also take advantage of this method in some form. Stabilization of water parameters is probably the major contributing factor to this MM, which has aided in achieving the levels I’m currently seeing. I haven't done a water change since I started on MM and my parameters have never been better.

Nutrients (just to name a couple)

• Nitrate: 18.02 mg/l
• Phosphate: 0.03 mg/l

In closing, keep an open mind and don't believe everything you are told from one source, do your homework! Find someone in your area on MM and talk to them, ask if they can show you their system and share the expertise and knowledge that they've gained, some of that might be a few pitfalls they ran into but that's how we learn, and it might help you avoid these issues if you decide to try MM.

 

[maleshka21]

Tank is 2 years old. On moonshine since Jan 2022 and never looked back. I love it and not as expensive as doing WC.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Just to clarify: I didn't say it didn't work (it should) , but that in my mind, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. As long as it's not painted as some miracle mystery panacea rather than what it is (literally trace element dosing and tracking) then have at it people!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Just to clarify: I didn't say it didn't work (it should) , but that in my mind, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. As long as it's not painted as some miracle mystery panacea rather than what it is (literally trace element dosing and tracking) then have at it people!

Same!

 

[gideon2086]

why does this lower no3 and po4?

 

[burton14e7]

why does this lower no3 and po4?

Corals are consuming it more rapidly as they have all the nutrients they need to grow.

 

[burton14e7]

I switched to moonshiners after year 3 on my SPS dominant tank and ran it for two years before the aquarium seal failed and flooded my house. It was the best thing I ever did for my SPS and the most successful I'd ever been in my 25 years of reefing. If I start another aquarium I'll be starting it on the shine from day 1.

I did have everything automated except for the aminos and mud though. So with all the automation and no water changes it was also the lowest maintenance aquarium I've ever had on top of most successful. I spent more time on fish food than anything else which increased the enjoyment of reefing. Feed fish and watch corals grow. Easy peezy.

 

[maleshka21]

Just to clarify: I didn't say it didn't work (it should) , but that in my mind, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. As long as it's not painted as some miracle mystery panacea rather than what it is (literally trace element dosing and tracking) then have at it people!

Love the juice just saying
You right it’s nothing miracle and evebody finds their own way to run reef tank. I didn’t have a mentor or anyone near by who I knew that have a reef tank. RMS just I heard from a vendor who did a custom lids and the test is history

 

[Reefahholic]

I always wish there was an experienced sps keeper that would run two tanks. One with and one without moonshiners to see the difference. It’s just me but I always feel like people who are experienced enough to want to dose all of these elements and stay on top of testing like that already have the ability to run an amazing reef. Maybe it is a game changer like folks say I just wish there was a 2 year long experiment with a control to reference. Keep us updated!

The program is very simple. You send in a quality ICP test and correct the Chemistry. These’s really no secret sauce. Most corals will grow and color up in less than ideal conditions, but they do much better in an environment that closely matches where they come from. Plus we elevate the elements to ensure that we have a buffer zone between target ranges and depletion. This also gives us better color pop.

I’d say the number one thing that most reefers struggle with is nutrients. Even the pros struggle in that area. IMO, to have a thriving reef that looks good you have to be able to balance nutrients or nothing else works that well.

 

[Reefahholic]

Tank is 2 years old. On moonshine since Jan 2022 and never looked back. I love it and not as expensive as doing WC.

This tank looks familiar. Hehe.