Ive been reefing for 43 years, my current tank has been set up for 21 years with a complete clean out restart from chlorine bath and all new substrate and Real Life Rock - Carib-sea 5 years ago in February of 2018.
The last 5 years has certainly had more challenges than I've ever had before setting up a system. I follow that all back to not clearing understanding the benefit of real live rock from the ocean.
I tried the Triton Method right from the start, never should have done that, tank was so unstable. I should have waited a year before starting the Triton Method. I was cursed with GHA, Dinos, Cyano, you name it, this tank had it. I got out of the ugly stage by 4 back to back to back to back Flucanozol treatments. Once that was under control, I went to Auto Water Changes 5 % weekly, and added the Apex Neptune with trident and really seen the instability in my system. Test kits can do it, but with a lot of labor. My entire Apex, Trident and all 4 DOS's have all paid for them selves in coral growth and lack of repeated death in SPS. I will say that the reef is actually that, a reef, for the first time in 5 years, my growth and color is doing well, but its slow and steady. I have solidly been on the exact same regiment for 1 year, I moved to Tropic Marin A & K trace dosing along with Tropic Marin Bacto balance dosing one year ago. This has been my best change to date.
After reading this thread, I have decided to move to the MM and see where it takes me. My reef has been exactly the same for one total year. My ICP test is on its way to Germany to ATI for analysis. I've now read the Reef Moonshiners Method guide book twice cover to cover, I pre ordered all the corrective juices recommended for first time users of MM. I know once I get my test back there will be more to purchase.
This is not going to be cheap up front. My system is 850 Gallons. I am NOT going to change one thing on my system in the next year. I will not change lighting schedule. flow schedule, feeding, filtration method, nothing. If the tank takes a negative of positive turn, it will solely be from the Reef Moonshiners method, or from my mistakes as a reefer.
Changing zero other processes should give me a very true result from this Moonshiners method. I'm going all in !!! I believe my reef is in such a stable documented place in its existence, that moving to this method should scientifically show its advantages or disadvantages. I'll keep up with cost and reef tank inhabitants overall health and report on fact not fiction, back to this forum. I have every fail safe in place to avoid any outside negative contributors. (fingers crossed.)
I will do an ICP test every 4 weeks for 6 months, then every other month from that point until end of year one.
So here it goes, stay tuned, we may even end up moving this to its own thread if it becomes a popular test.
