customcolor
New member
will this interfear with a cryptic fuge? i was thinking of seting one up soon when i moved everything downstairs around. but i was always wondering about zeo
well I decided to try zeo...
- Thread starter siropa
- Start date
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
A bit more than that my friend!! If your serious about getting started let me know and we can get some details hashed out. IMO, it's the best means of nutrient reduction and obviously encourages some awesome growth with intense coloration, but there's a price to pay.
What do you mean by a cryptic fuge?? I'm guessing this is an unlit fuge with just LR rubble just for pod growth ?????
Jeremy
customcolor
New member
enlighten me!!!!!! besides cash what else??????? will the lps suffer?
yep and sponges will develop to further clean the water. the water needs to be very clean going into the cryptic fuge(i would do it after a skimmer so the flow is slower, which is needed for the cryptic
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Zeo is merely not within most peoples budget. It's a bit costly to maintain but the results are incredible - as you can see. Zeo also requires the tank owner to dose supplements into the tank at least twice daily (at least in the first two stages of nutrient reduction). It may be a bit of money and a little more tinkering with dosing but you get time and money back with a decrease in the amount of equipment needed (GFO reactor and media, lit fuge with macro, canister filtration, etc) It's great for all corals because it allows you to strip all "unwanted" nutrients and introduce only the highest quality food and amino acids. The LPS and all other corals will definately benefit. LPS typically come from more nutrient rich waters but the supplements you add enrich the water enough to provide them with what they need to thrive.
I plan to have something similar to what you call a cryptic fuge. I'm planning a "refuge" with a shallow sand bed and lots of LR rubble for pods to grow and reproduce. Probably 80-100 gallons. I planned on incorporating a cycle once daily of significantly increased flow to stir things up and get some pods flushed into the water column and into the DT.
My apologies Bill for jacking your thread. Can't wait to hear/see what other changes you notice in the next few weeks. After about 14 weeks I started dosing sponge power and saw a significant increase in pods afterwards. Did the zeo guys recommend dosing any coral vitalizer or sponge power yet?
Jeremy
siropa
New member
no problem on the threadjack. close enough to the topic for me.
I think the additives and zeovit for me to get started came to somewhere between 300-400. but i've got a lot of water to treat too. I also made my own reactors which saves a lot of money. but I still don't have all the kinks worked out of mine. one of the steps is to 'stir' the rocks up at least once a day. that is typically done with a plunging mechanism on the reactor. I build one of mine to fit a bit too tight and it is hard to use.
I think the additives and zeovit for me to get started came to somewhere between 300-400. but i've got a lot of water to treat too. I also made my own reactors which saves a lot of money. but I still don't have all the kinks worked out of mine. one of the steps is to 'stir' the rocks up at least once a day. that is typically done with a plunging mechanism on the reactor. I build one of mine to fit a bit too tight and it is hard to use.
gbcichlids
New member
SO I'm guessing low nutrient means no fish in the reef to feed and p@@p. If so, I am out.
I can not have a FISH tank with NO FISH.
I can not have a FISH tank with NO FISH.
carman9941
Premium Member
You can actually have a bigger bio-load as the zeolit rocks remove ammonia so there is none to be reduced into nitrates,
There is a supplement called Sponge Power that I think fits right into the "Cryptic Refugium" set up as it helps to feed sponges and tunicates ,I have seen a increase in my sponge population since I started useing this product.
As for the cost, The start up can be a little on the pricey side but the supplements that you buy last a long time as the dosages are pretty small, If you have a intrest please look on the zeovit fourm you can see the dosage amounts and it is a VERY FREINDLY fourm, All questions can be asked, Steve
There is a supplement called Sponge Power that I think fits right into the "Cryptic Refugium" set up as it helps to feed sponges and tunicates ,I have seen a increase in my sponge population since I started useing this product.
As for the cost, The start up can be a little on the pricey side but the supplements that you buy last a long time as the dosages are pretty small, If you have a intrest please look on the zeovit fourm you can see the dosage amounts and it is a VERY FREINDLY fourm, All questions can be asked, Steve
gbcichlids
New member
Well in that case, keep the posts coming.
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
I agree entirely with all of that. Thanks for the info Steve.
Jeremy
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Media (zeolites) is listed under the basic four on the zeovitusa site.
Jeremy
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Sounds like lots of people are quite excited about zeo now and that's awesome!!
I do want to throw out a word of caution. This isn't a regimen that you can one day use and the next day not. It is extremely powerful and if misused is can be harmful. If anyone is seriously interested in starting zeo please do some extensive research first and be sure it will work with you and your system. There are many do's and dont's that can cause harm if not given the proper respect.
If interested in starting zeo, read the guide, check out the zeo forum, and talk with the zeo experts on the forum to be sure zeo is right for you. It is an awesome means of nutrient management, but dangerous if not given the proper caution and/or the proper dosing guidelines aren't followed. There are basic dosing guidelines on each supplement bottle, but those are the maximum doses allowable. When starting zeo, the experts will likely recommend quite different dosing routines than what you would anticipate and at far smaller doses than what the bottles say. Anyone who thinks they can just read the literature and dose based on what they think will work or "what their gut tells them", will undoubtedly fail with the process. Those who follow the advice of the experts and dose cautiously will see amazing results in both coloration and growth of all types of corals (in addition to the eradication of nuiscance algae of all species).
Jeremy
I do want to throw out a word of caution. This isn't a regimen that you can one day use and the next day not. It is extremely powerful and if misused is can be harmful. If anyone is seriously interested in starting zeo please do some extensive research first and be sure it will work with you and your system. There are many do's and dont's that can cause harm if not given the proper respect.
If interested in starting zeo, read the guide, check out the zeo forum, and talk with the zeo experts on the forum to be sure zeo is right for you. It is an awesome means of nutrient management, but dangerous if not given the proper caution and/or the proper dosing guidelines aren't followed. There are basic dosing guidelines on each supplement bottle, but those are the maximum doses allowable. When starting zeo, the experts will likely recommend quite different dosing routines than what you would anticipate and at far smaller doses than what the bottles say. Anyone who thinks they can just read the literature and dose based on what they think will work or "what their gut tells them", will undoubtedly fail with the process. Those who follow the advice of the experts and dose cautiously will see amazing results in both coloration and growth of all types of corals (in addition to the eradication of nuiscance algae of all species).
Jeremy
eskymick
Active member
I've been on the ZEO system since October. After an initial bout with moderate cyano, I can now say I am very happy with the results. I learned that one must be very conservative with initial dosing amounts.
I'm getting great growth and color and I can add whatever supplements I want without any ill effects. My water is crystal clear and any small patches of bubble algae that I once had are now totally gone.
I'll comment further as this thread continues.
I'm getting great growth and color and I can add whatever supplements I want without any ill effects. My water is crystal clear and any small patches of bubble algae that I once had are now totally gone.
I'll comment further as this thread continues.
customcolor
New member
jeremy can you show how you made your reactors for this tread?
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Extremely easy!!
First you need to determine how much zeolites you'll be using so you can make the appropriate size reactor. I made mine out of sched 40 four inch PVC. I made it 36in tall. This reactor is designed to hold 3 liters of zeolites, but if needed can hold up to 5 liters and still be just as efficient. I bought a 4 in acrylic disc (1/2in thickness or thicker is better) from McMaster-Carr (thanks again for the link eskymick). The disk doesn't fit perfectly into the PVC so I carefully sanded it with the dremel until it fit so that it would slide up and down easily yet there was little room for any zeolites to get wedged between the disc and wall of the reactor. I used nothing more than 1/2 in pvc as the rod that the disk is screwed to. The rod has many smaller perpendicular peices of PVC to create more stirring with each plunge (the more the zeolites are stirred the more effective they will be). At the top, I drilled a hole to fit a simple PVC spout (It's critical to be able to calculate the flow rate of the reactor. If the reactor is set too fast it will RTN all corals in very little time.)
The acrylic disc has as many 1/8in holes as I could safely drill in it without losing any strengh and I plan to use a bit of filter floss at the bottom to prevent any small zeolites from wedging inside the holes or falling through (each 1 liter bag of zeolites contains a specific amount of various types of zeolites and some are as small as 1/8 in).
I don't have the reactors plumbed in yet since I don't have my sump set up, but I planned to use the same concept that eskymick demonstrates in this thread. Sounds like that plumbing set up is working well for him and keeps the zeolites submerged at all times.
Flow needs to go up from the bottom out the top like other fluidized reactors. Really not much more to explain - building the reactors was pretty simple and only took me about 45min each. It kills me to now know how simple they are to make, becuase I initially forked out the $275 for a genuine zeo reactor.
Hope that helps. If you have more specific questions let me know.
Jeremy
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Eskymick.
Do you have any dramatic color transformations or growth shots to show off (I'm sure you do)??
Jeremy
customcolor
New member
this would be great for a setperat grow out system(coral only frag tank)
jlinzmaier
Premium Member
Why do you say that?? Tell me what your thinking.
I agree it would, but the concept behind the zeo regimen is to create an ultra low nutrient level in a standard reef tank. It would actually allow for more fish and a higher bioload since it's so efficient at nutrient removal. A frag only tank (no fish) would have a very minimal nutrient load thus not requiring such a powerful means of exporting nutrients.
A simple zeo reactor run continuously on a FOWLR would be more ideal than to run zeo on a frag only tank. In a FOWLR your could strip nutrients like crazy with the zeolites without concern of starving corals or causing tissue necrosis. You could house considerably more fish in a FOWLR tank if a zeolite reactor is used. You can also stock much heavier of a bioload in a reef tank but there is much more of a delicate balance.
Jeremy
customcolor
New member
just being able to controle what you put in and take everything else out would be nice for a frag system set up for coral planed to be at swaps then it would be cheeper..thats forshure and last forever too
