My Tank, just pre-Zeo

[mbierzyc]

I was sick of all the rock in my 58gal, so I re-aquascaped a few weeks back. My next step is to begin the Zeovit system. I have all the gear and will start soon. I wanted to start this thread to show my progress, and for a place to share before and after photos.

FTS May 4, 2008

FTS July 3, 2008

(I need to give away most of the frags in that rack and get it out of my tank - no room).

A few of my corals from tonight, July 3

I'll update the thread with any changes that Zeo, or just the cleaner tank may bring.

 

[oceanparadise1]

i would glady take some frags off your hands if you would ship

 

[dabears1983]

I too would love to take some of your hands, I`m from chi-town.

 

[burton14e7]

Are both of these pre-zeo? This is one the more recent before and after pictures where I can tell it actually made a difference....not always to the method fault but also the quality of pictures So if thats with out Zeo....very niiiice.

 

[dobly_1999]

Show us your sump area. Are you still using Zeovit?

 

[TheFallofSidney]

He's about to start using ZEO.

 

[mbierzyc]

TheFallofSidney is right. I have the Zeo reactor and the basic supplements, but I wanted to make sure every other parameter was in check before jumping in.

I run a lot of flow (Tunze 6060, 2x 6045, and 2x6025 (one on a sea swirl), and my return is an Eheim 1260. It comes out to be ~130x turnover. Even with that, I siphoned out nearly 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket of crud from my tank during the re-aquascape. I took out the starboard and now I can see every piece that settles on the bottom glass so it is much easier to keep clean. I can finally see some colors coming back.

 

[mbierzyc]

No pictures of the sump, but I can get some on Saturday.

It's pretty basic down there, 20L tank divided into 3 parts, drain section, sump area with an ATI Bubblemaster 160, and the return with the Eheim 1260.

 

[glassbox-design]

:thumbsup: looks great. Good luck with the Zeo adventure, looking forward to updates.

 

[slojmn]

Things look good and will only get better with Zeo. Go slow and be patient. When I started Zeo I committed to a full year no matter what. I definately had a learning curve and ocassionally got frustrated with issues here and there. Three years later I am still running the Zeo and happy as ever. Here is my tank from a few months ago...running Zeo since day one

Full tank

Close up right side

 

[gkimble]

Where did you get the Zeo stuff at? I am starting a 72 gallon over and would like to start off on the right page. Sounds kinda complicated to me.

 

[mbierzyc]

I got my Zeo supplements from Premium Aquatics, and they were great to me on that order.

I got the reactor from a guy on the Zeovit Forum that makes custom ones.

 

[gkimble]

What additives do you use? There are alot of them. I am really new to this so try to bare with me. lol

 

[TheFallofSidney]

When running full ZEO, the base additives are ZEObak, ZEOfood7, ZEOstart2. I also dose Coral Vitalizer, Sponge Power, Coral Snow, and amino acids. Since I use Reefer's Best Salt, I don't have to worry about potassium.

 

[dailydriven911]

Nice tank I really like the 58g oceanic tanks. I was also contemplating using zeovit but decided to go with the elos purist line. My colors have always been pretty good but now after 3 weeks using the elos purist line and aa's I've noticed the colors change for the better on most every sps. Can't go wrong with zeovit though, some of the nicest colors I've seen use the zeovit method. I'll be following this thread closely!

 

[dobly_1999]

I ran Prodibio on my system and there was a great change in the tank. I am still working on it. I have order zeovit spur to see if my corals color will saturate more.

 

[mbierzyc]

Be careful with the Spur, if I recall correctly, that's the additive that people say you need to begin adding slowly as the results can be extreme.

I set up my reactor today and did my first round of dosing. I took some pictures of the sump but they turned out poorly. I also picked up a nice looking coral (granuloas maybe), and I'll get some shots later.

 

[mbierzyc]

I started on Sunday. and today's Tuesday. 3 days of dosing. I imagine it has a lot to do with the removal of some rock and all the crud behind/beneath it, therefore reduced phosphates, but my colors really seem to be starting to come out.

FTS today, July 8

I got this frag a few months back, I think it was "Atlantis' Ocean Blue Polyp" or something. It was a light brown before, but now the blue polyps and pink flesh are beginning to show:

 

[jaugermeister]

great thread will be watching this one as I too want to begin using Zeo soon.

 

[Husky_1]

Good Luck, I started 1 month ago, and just did my first exchange this past Monday.

I agree with what someone else said when they mentioned that when they decided to go in, it was a commitment for at least a year. From what I have read it can take up to 6 months before reaching the ULNS stage.

Personally I am happily waiting for all of the built up nutrients in my rocks to dissipate. I