Sorry about that Dennis, didn’t mean to sound rude, if it sounded that way. It’s one of my pet peeves in this hobby when someone comes on and complains abut something they have done that does not work, and the way they did, or went about using it was not even close to the directions. It’s even worse when a new product comes out and someone always has something negative to say based solely on who they are, and what they have done. I’ve seen numerous bashing of Chris Brightwell, and his old company Kent. Fact is, I can’t think of anyone who has had a main stay in this hobby any longer, and that alone speaks volumes to me, regardless of what one thinks about their products.
:2cents:
I just posted in another thread that was on the topic of the Neozeo system, and already it looks as though they may have the wrong idea on the system, and how one goes about getting it up and running, however I am basing that solely on the products they bought to get started, so to that thread started if your reading, no intent to single you out, and I am doing a lot of assuming…
Last Sunday Meeting with Chris Brightwell
I showed up to the meeting about an hour early, and just as I pulled up there were four people heading in to the auditorium. I went in and found out one of those four was Chris Brightwell. Our meeting started about 30 minutes late, so I had the opportunity to speak to Chris one on one for about an hour before anything even started. Turns out the meeting was about the Neozeo system, but more on the method, and not the products themselves. The following are some of the key points I took away from the meeting.
I think the number one question at least from what I have seen here, and the 5 or so friends I have running this system is, “What’s up with this black stuff, and how do I get rid of it?â€Â
Chris at least is calling this Bio Film. From the studies so far it loves plastic, and they have not been able to rid it 100% so far, so until there is more studies done, it looks like we are stuck at least for our pumps to have this on it. As for the rocks, sand, and glass this is going to be up to you to figure out for yourselves. I personally have not had any on anything but my glass, but I had it before I started this system, just a little different in look, so I am cleaning my glass now every 7 days or so. I told him of my experience and his recommendation to me was to stop the MB7, and only go with the bio fuel for a couple of weeks and see if that makes a difference. [I’ll post results of that in another week] Every tank is going to be different, so the amount of what portion of MB7 to Biofuel is also going to be different, but there is a point where you can get it figured out. A friend of mine that owns a LFS has not wiped his glass in over 5 weeks, and his tank is crystal clear. The last point I will make on the biofilm, is that it is very important to have the media [neozeo] in a canister, and regulate the water flow, so follow those directions to a tee. You water needs to have adequate contact time with the media to be as effective as it can be.
Getting the system up and running after the Neozeo â€"œMB7-Biofuel is working, and your nutrient levels have dropped to acceptable levels.
This one of the things I will say I did wrong, and I bet others are as well. Soon as I saw the line of chemicals come out, the first thing I did was run out and buy up everything I saw that was used with this system. While that may be a good idea so you shop less, I also started adding a little of this and a little of that. WRONG
Each product should be started, and run for a minimum of three to four weeks by itself, and you should study your results from that product by taking notes, and taking pictures to see the results of that particular product. Within that four week period you should also be able to up, or lower your dosing to see what works for you. Again, just like the first stage, every tank is going to be different. Some are heavy bio loads, some are not. Some have a ton of SPS, some do not, so its really going to vary depending on what’s in your tank. [Yeah I know, I was wanting the recipe for success myself]
I asked, in what order would you start your products, and if you were only going to dose two what would they be?
First he would start with Coralamino, and second would be the Vitamarin C, but it is very important to have Potassium thrown in there as well, which I thought was pretty interesting. Personally when I read the PDF I wasn’t even going to use the Vitamarin C.
When he explained the combination of the three together, it went way over my head, and the words he used I had never even heard of. It’s pretty obvious Chris is a very well educated guy, and he has a true passion as both a hobbyist, and scientist in the industry. I really took a lot from the meeting with me, and have a slightly different approach now on what direction I am going to go these next couple of months.
There is so much more that was talked about, so if you have any questions, and he spoke about it, I will try and answer the best I can.
One of my last questions before the meeting started was “What brand of salt do you use?†I make my own…
In the next year Brightwell plans to come out with Testing kits, and their own salt brand.
I’ll also mention that he was very clear in letting people know some other points about this system.
• He does not claim to have invented this type of system in any way shape or form.
• This is not something he would use on a nano type of system, and is more designed around the 30 gal and up tanks, however if you are willing to do the match and figure out the proper doses, it could be done.
• This system is not for the guy or gal that travels a lot.
• Take lots and lots of pictures because some of the products make a change so subtle, you won’t even notice if you see you tank every day.
~Mark
