HentzReef: 60 Gallon ZEOvit Tank

[Hentz]

Introduction:

Hey guys! Hentz here with a complete and FRESH new reboot! As many of you know, I had incredibly bad issues with bubble algae. It was hard to see how bad it really was until I pulled the rock out. It was completely unstoppable. The bubble algae began removing encrusted Acroporas off of the rock. It began growing in clumps and individual bubbles that were nearly as big as a bouncy ball. They were hard and tough, full of spores waiting to be popped. After trying 3+ Fox Faces, 12+ Emerald Crabs, scraping and gently removing to just completely popping them and pulling out their flesh.. I came to the realization that I had lost the war. This is when I began sadly selling off my corals. Though I looked forward to this day where I am beginning a new reef, not one transferred from two other tanks. I present to you guys, my ZEOvit SPS Dominant Reef 2.0.

Not only will my tank updates be posted here, but so will my ZEOvit Video Series from my YouTube channel! This will be covering the guide to ZEOvit and how to maintain your tank using this method!

System Type: ZEOvit SPS Dominant


Display System:
Display Tank: 36"x19"x20" 60 Gallons
Display Lighting: ATI 6x39 SunPower T5HO
Stand: 38"x19"x37.5"
Hood: Custom Canopy with hydraulic front panel that raises. Lights sit flush on top of the canopy.
Sump: Emerald 26 - Trigger Systems 26"x13"x15"


Support System:
Display Flow: Maxspect Gyre-150. (May add more)
Return Pump: Rio 1100 (May upgrade)
Reactor: Vertex RX-Z 1.5 ZEOlite Reactor
Skimmer: Bubble Magus Curve 5 Protein Skimmer
ATO: Tunze 5017 Osmolator
Doser: Eshopps IV Doser w/ Slave Unit
Controller: Apex Jr. w/ Energy Bar 4/8


Chemical Support:
Alkalinity: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #1
Calcium: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #2
ZEOvit:

• ZEOstart3 0.23ml Morning/Night.
• ZEObak 2 drops twice a week.
• ZEOfood7 usage depends on corals.
• Sponge Power 2 drops every other night.
• Flatworm Stop 2ml every night.
• Will add other ZEOvit products as needed.

Planned Water Chemistry: ZEOvit Recommendation
Nitrates: 0 ppm
Phosphates: 0 ppm
Alkalinity: 7-7.5dKH
Calcium: 410 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Magnesium: 1250 ppm
Potassium: 400 ppm

System Plan:

The plan for this system is to run it as close as possible to ZEOvit's guide. This would mean keeping the system ULNS (Ultra Low Nutrient System) while maintaining bright and healthy Acropora. I also plan on doing my absolute best to keep unwanted algae and pests out of the system. I'll also be focusing on purchasing mini colony to colony size acropora. However I'm sure I will obtain a select few frags.

Thank you all for taking a look at my build thread. Looking forward to sharing the journey of my fresh reboot! :wavehand:

 

[biggles]

Looking great mate, i like the rock scape :thumbsup:

A fresh start is just what the doctor ordered i think mate, definitely following your trip into the SPS vortex.......:beer:

 

[cFloor]

Excellent restart! I really like the equipment, tank, and especially the aquascape. Excited to follow along!

 

[4age]

How many ml of zeolites will you be running on the system?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

[Hentz]

How many ml of zeolites will you be running on the system?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

I'll be running .6 liters of zeolite stones.

 

[Wrangy]

Definitely tagging along mate Looking forward to the restart!

 

[reefmutt]

Yep.. I'm buckled up!
Cool scape

 

[Hentz]

She's ready to get wet!
I finally have a day off where I'm not too exhausted after work or have things to do after work. Today is the day I dedicated to the tank.
I have my fish in a little 10 Gallon Tank. Unfortunately my heater wasn't in it and neither was flow. Only an ATO for the tank. My fish were breathing hard and wouldn't eat and something in my head snapped. After adding flow and a heater, within the hour they were happy and eating again.
But something snapped and told me, you need to get this tank going!
So today I got the sand washed out and added. Next to come is the water which I'm grabbing at the moment.
Living in a three story house is no fun, but luckily I'm one to enjoy a nice work out

 

[Piper27]

Ugh I hate having three stories too. Looking good though, I hope this one never gets any by now algae. How do you plan on keeping it out?

 

[Rakie]

Looks good man, love that right rock with the overhang.

 

[Hentz]

Ugh I hate having three stories too. Looking good though, I hope this one never gets any by now algae. How do you plan on keeping it out?

It's a love/hate relationship with a three story house lol.
Thank you sir!
I plan on cutting every plug / rock off that the corals I purchase come on, along with a dip and inspection before I add any to the tank.

 

[Piper27]

Yea love hate is right... Good luck with the bubble algae. I have always gotten it in the end, it's as sneaky as any other pest or pest algae. I can't wait to start over from scratch, I just recently had a huge bloom in my tank

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[.Pandy.]

Looking good fella - loving the scape.

I'm following the same path RE how you're treating new corals etc - not worth the risk

 

[Hentz]

I agree. Not worth the risk at all.

Well tank is finally fully cycling. I'm sure it was before.
But I ordered ZEObak after dosing the 2.5ml I had left (bacteria) as I was supposed to dose 10ml. Got delivered last Thursday then was labeled as undeliverable as addressed. So got it handled and got it yesterday. Dosed the rest and hopefully the full cycle should be on now!

Through in a few pounds of live rock to also help seed, last week. Starting to see a light film on the glass along with a very tiny hint of brown algae starting on the rocks.

Hopefully should be in business for my fish within a week or two!

Can't stop looking at my tank and fantasizing where to place corals. Just happy to be doing ZEOvit the complete right way this time!

 

[Wrangy]

Sounds good mate, looking forward to see the tank brimming with colour!

 

[Hentz]

Update!

Tank is really getting cycled in. Bacteria is blooming and thriving. In the phase of heavy brown and kinda slimy looking algae along with a mixture of brown and healthy green algae forming on the glass. Per ZEOvit, I'm probably within the middle of the cycle.

At this point, I can probably start adding some of my clean-up-crew along with a herbivore fish (via ZEOvit guide.) However, I'll wait on the fish and probably add some snails tomorrow and wait until next week for fish.

According to ZEOvit, if my kH, Salinity, Calcium, etc. are in check, I can start adding easy corals. Though I think I'm going to give it another week or two before I add any cheap and easy frags to test.

When I was deep cleaning the system and equipment, I lost the cap to my Curve 5 Skimmer's muffler. Without this, the skimmer constantly overflowed with bubbles and was extremely loud. I replaced it with a frag plug, leaving a little slit on the side which seemed to work okay. Went to an LFS to order another cap and the owner made the joke of using a Coca-Cola bottle cap... Needless to say, the joke took serious and well... He came up with a pretty neat idea. Drilled a small hole, put in a small acrylic tube, and wahla. Skimmer is functioning exactly how it should be now! You almost can't even tell!

 

[Wrangy]

Sounds like a plan mate I added a few hardy zoa's to test the water then after a few days threw in the first fish and let that go for a week Mainly because my hardiest fish was also my most expensive at the time lol

 

[Jim Z.]

Hey Hentz,

The tank is looking good and I like the McGuyver skimmer fix. I think that zeovit methods work best on a new startup and you should have a clean slate to work with after the cycle is complete.....................Jim

 

[.Pandy.]

Brilliant money saving tip there mate

Mine has been running around 6 weeks now, was forced to put corals in after 4 days but can happily say they are doing well - I've no fear yours will do well too, go for it.

 

[markalot]

Good luck with the new build!