Unable to keep blue , pink and red sps,please help
- Thread starter chercm
- Start date
CUNAReefer
New member
Hi Chercm,
Hope all is well!
At your earliest convenience, could you please provide your ZEO dosing regimen as well as amount of flow through your zeo reactor. What do you feed your tank and how often?
Quick Edit: Could you also tell me how long you have been running ZEO for?
Warmest Regards,
James
Hope all is well!
At your earliest convenience, could you please provide your ZEO dosing regimen as well as amount of flow through your zeo reactor. What do you feed your tank and how often?
Quick Edit: Could you also tell me how long you have been running ZEO for?
Warmest Regards,
James
rogerwilco357
Active member
could be a combination of issues light and feeding with the zeo?
CUNAReefer
New member
Thats what I'm thinking. Some bleaching due to the intense LED lighting, and quick loss of color due to aggressive use of ZEO.
chercm
New member
i have been using 1l at 400l running thru the reactor
i plan to lower down the start3 to 0.2 ml once in the morning and once in the evening .
have been running for near to 6 months . i do not feed anything else except the pellets for the tang .
Monday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Sponge Power - 1 ml
K strong - 5ml
B-balance - 5ml
Bio Mate - 7 drops
Coral snow -10ml With 1 litre tank water
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Tuesday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Bak - 5 drops (near to reactor)
Coral vitaliser - 4 drops
Xtra std- 5ml
Zeozym - (to prepare) 2tsp + 1 litre tank Water
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Zeozym - (to pour mixture into tank)
Wednesday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Sponge Power - 1 ml
B-balance - 5ml
Amino acid - 2 drops
Coral snow -10ml With 1 litre tank water
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Thursday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Bak - 5 drops (near to reactor)
Coral vitaliser - 4 drops
Xtra std- 5ml
Zeozym - (to prepare) 2tsp + 1 litre tank Water
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Zeozym - (to pour mixture into tank)
Friday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Sponge Power - 1 ml
K strong - 5 ml
B-balance - 5ml
Amino acid - 2 drops
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Coral snow -10ml With 1 litre tank water
Saturday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Xtra std- 5ml
Jod - 8 drops
Zeozym - (to prepare) 2tsp + 1 litre tank Water
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
Zeozym - (to pour mixture into tank)
Sunday
☀
Start3 - 0.5 ml (near & to pump reactor)
CUNAReefer
New member
Hi Chercm,
I am at the 8 month mark with ZEOVit and had the exact same issue with not being able to keep the bright colors. I only fed my tank pellets as well. Even while dosing CV, Extra, AAHC, and ZEOSpur, I was not able to improve my coloration. After making some changes, I have now started to get my colors and growth back.
One BIG issue that we ZEO users face is the extreme lack of nutrients. We starve our corals causing the Zooxanthale to flee to show the colorful pigmentation below. With the lack of Zooxanthale, the corals have a stronger reliance on additional food sources. The first change that I recommend you make is to begin feeding your corals. I feed two products at the max dosage daily. You can find a feeding calculator on reefnutrition.com
RotiFeast
OysterFeast
After I started to feed, the color started to come back slightly.
After I began my feeding, I contacted G. Alexander, on the ZEO forum, for his thoughts on my color loss. After posting some pics, he suggested the color loss could be attributed to a low potassium level. He recommended that I begin a series of water changes and order a k+ test kit. I purchased a potassium test kit and confirmed that my levels were low (340 ppm). I then began dosing K+ balance strong and performed water changes. I changed 13% of my water daily for 4 days and my color and growth improved on some more corals. I raised my k+ levels to 400 ppm.
One additional change that helped with my coloration was to decrease the level of PAR my corals were receiving. The previous posters have done a great job of helping you with your LED lighting. I use T5s and have little experience with the LEDs. With that said, you get some AMAZING colors with the use of LEDs.
Could you provide your net water volume? If you have already provided this information, I am apologize. If your moving to much water through your ZEO reactor, you can also experience very pale colors. on 150g net, my flow rate is ~60gph.
Warmest Regards,
James
CUNAReefer
New member
Hi Chercm,
I pulled this from the ZEO Guide:
"It is important to have sufficient water flow through the filter material (200-400 liters per 1 liter of ZEOvit®). We strongly recommend not exceeding the maximum flow rate of 100 gph per 1 liter of ZEOvit®, which could undoubtedly have a negative impact. High water flow through the media in already stocked tanks, especially during the start up of this system, has shown to cause slow tissue loss in SPS corals. We recommend a lower flow rate through the media during the first few
weeks of introduction of this method to a tank already stocked with corals. The effectiveness of this system in reducing nutrients could result in changes that are to abrupt when higher flow rates are used. However, corals need time to “adapt” to these
new nutrient conditions."
You are currently at the high end of the flow recommendations. You may want to dial it back. Also, do you have a sump? You will want to include this water volume in your total net gallong/liters.
I pulled this from the ZEO Guide:
"It is important to have sufficient water flow through the filter material (200-400 liters per 1 liter of ZEOvit®). We strongly recommend not exceeding the maximum flow rate of 100 gph per 1 liter of ZEOvit®, which could undoubtedly have a negative impact. High water flow through the media in already stocked tanks, especially during the start up of this system, has shown to cause slow tissue loss in SPS corals. We recommend a lower flow rate through the media during the first few
weeks of introduction of this method to a tank already stocked with corals. The effectiveness of this system in reducing nutrients could result in changes that are to abrupt when higher flow rates are used. However, corals need time to “adapt” to these
new nutrient conditions."
You are currently at the high end of the flow recommendations. You may want to dial it back. Also, do you have a sump? You will want to include this water volume in your total net gallong/liters.
chercm
New member
I am running approximate 9 sec to fill 1 litres and I have a sump . Should I just run the natural mode at 50% for the time being ?
Last edited:
CUNAReefer
New member
If you dial back your flow to 12 seconds per liter, you will be at 300 lph. Along with your decrease in light, you may want to conduct a series of water changes. This will help replenish some of the nutrients you are stripping from your water.
So, to recap
order a k+ test kit to ensure your k+ levels are in check
FEED your tank. This has been the single biggest contributor towards improved coloration with my ZEO tank.
Dial back the flow of your ZEO Reactor
Decrease your light levels as previously described
Perform a series of water changes
and last, but not least... be patient. These changes will take time to show improvement. I would give it at least a month.
I'll take a look at your ZEO dosing momentarily. My dog is telling me its time to go for a walk.:dance:
Warmest Regards,
James
CUNAReefer
New member
Now I am looking at your ZEO Params.
Your dosing K+ already so your potassium is probably sufficient, but you should be testing since you are dosing it.
You may be overdosing your ZZ. I just looked at the directions on the container and it says to dose up to 2 tsp. per 250 gallons for issues with excess organics. I dose 1 tsp. per 150g net water volume. Not sure if this is contributing to your pale colors.
You probably could increase your CV. I dose 15 drops nightly with my oyster and roti feast. The ZEO Guide states you can dose between 1 & 3 drops per 25 gallons. I would increase slowly if you decide to dose more.
You may want to post your dosing regimen on the ZEO forum. G. Alexander is a great help.
Warmest Regards,
James
Your dosing K+ already so your potassium is probably sufficient, but you should be testing since you are dosing it.
You may be overdosing your ZZ. I just looked at the directions on the container and it says to dose up to 2 tsp. per 250 gallons for issues with excess organics. I dose 1 tsp. per 150g net water volume. Not sure if this is contributing to your pale colors.
You probably could increase your CV. I dose 15 drops nightly with my oyster and roti feast. The ZEO Guide states you can dose between 1 & 3 drops per 25 gallons. I would increase slowly if you decide to dose more.
You may want to post your dosing regimen on the ZEO forum. G. Alexander is a great help.
Warmest Regards,
James
CUNAReefer
New member
Hi Chercm,
Alexander will be able to help you with your ZEO dosing regimen. I think the folks here on RC are very knowledable about LED lighting and may be the best source for LED issues. As long as you reduce the intensity of your lights, feed your tank more, and give it time, you should see an improvement in color. Give your tank at least a couple of weeks at the minimum to assess improvements. You can always ramp your lighting back up as some of the other contributors have mentioned.
Warmest Regards,
James
chercm
New member
Bare bottom
