Zeovit Guide (Gondore)

[JCR's Reef]

Just something I dug up this weekened and thought I would post here for everyone if they havent came accrossed it yet since it was a topic that was brought up in the last meeting. I really cant believe how expensive this stuff is to dose everything in your tanks. I also dont know if you really need to dose everything. One interesting line that really caught my eye was they change out their T5 bulb's every 6-8 weeks to abtain substantial growth. I thought T5 bulbs were good for up to 2 yrs?

Link to the site=
http://www.korallen-zucht.de/files/zeoguide_103_english-1.pdf

 

[mojo~]

good reading seems like its alot of work and $$ to do it the way the suggest.

 

[Fireworm]

I have been following this stuff for about a year now. There is a new line of products out now. Brightwell aquatics makes them. A lot cheaper to run their product line compared to the KZ zeo line. Also, the I think the light thing might be a type o. Nobody changes the lights that much.

I am wanting to switch my tank over or start one of my nanos up using this. I have seen the zeovit in a tank. Just amazing. Brian said he had cleaned his tank 2 times in 6 months. I wipe my glass at least 2 times a day. Also, the color in the sps can not be compared to anyting else. It is amazing how much more color they get running the zeo method. The zeo forum is pretty nice to. Amazing tank pics on there. www.zeovit.c()m.

 

[azpharmd1]

I just ordered some UVL and ATI T5's and I believe they were rated at 4500 hours. If the bulbs are ran 8 hours a day, it works out to 18 months. The intensity diminishes and I think the spectrum changes with extended use. The Grim Reefer seems to be the expert on T5's on RC and is always really good about answering any related questions.

 

[Gondore]

I also found this article about a month ago and thought it was interesting. I have done quite a bit of reading on Zeovit, Neo-Zeo, and Prodibio and I must say I am still not convinced in these systems overall. Don't get me wrong...I believe they can make a difference in your tank, but I just believe they are just another tool to help you manage nutrients. I know there are lots of aspects of each of these systems, but nutrient management seems to be at the core of all of them. The thing is there are lots of ways to manage nutrients that are not going to cost me $20+ a month to dose. If you look back through the vast majority of the RC TOTM tanks I think you will find very few of them used systems like this and check out their colors. These are just my thoughts on the topic. More than likely I will try one of the systems in the future just to validate that my assumptions are correct but what I always try to remember that if it sounds too good to be true than it usually is.

 

[Fireworm]

If you look on RCs TOTM, you are right, they have beautiful color and they don't run zeo. If you look on the Zeo cite and look at their TOTQ, they put most of the RC tanks to shame in color, IMO.

I do agree, that these systems are a expenseive way to go. The inital cost is going to be high buying what they suggest you need. But you need them all to start out with. You can add them later to tweak your system out.

I would like to try to do one of these systems later as well, probably the Brightwell just for less cost. But I have seen a zeo tank full of SPS, and some LPS. The colors that were in there where amazing.

 

[JCR's Reef]

Honestly, Its something I will probably never try. I have enough on my hands and with the extra dosing and testing it would be a headache. If anything I would just like to find a really good coral food that wont break down quickly in your system so you can manage the nutrients in the tank. But that a little far fetched! Its hard to know for instance, Coral Frenzy, if your over feeding or underfeeding. So I dont dose the tank with it anymore. I just soak food in it for the fish to make them healthier and the fish are messy eaters anyways so the coral will get some of it.

 

[Fireworm]

I take my turkey baster and once a week blow off the rock and the sand a little, but mainly the rock. Then later on I will take the baster and blow out the sump and fuge. The first time I did that I was a little worried about my corals after I saw how cloudy the tank got. I imagine my skimmer got most of it, I hope so anyway. But my corals, all of them seemed to extend more and had better color after it was all said and done.

kicking up all that detritus is what they do in the zeo tanks to feed their coral.

After that I feed with Rods Food for the fish and coral. I use this maybe once a week, as I am sure that I over feed with this. But I really get good results with it.

 

[Fireworm]

here is a link from Zeovit.com that tells you how, roughly anyway, to get certain colors to pop out of your SPS.

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14054

 

[Gondore]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13843619#post13843619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fireworm
If you look on RCs TOTM, you are right, they have beautiful color and they don't run zeo. If you look on the Zeo cite and look at their TOTQ, they put most of the RC tanks to shame in color, IMO.

I do agree, that these systems are a expenseive way to go. The inital cost is going to be high buying what they suggest you need. But you need them all to start out with. You can add them later to tweak your system out.

I would like to try to do one of these systems later as well, probably the Brightwell just for less cost. But I have seen a zeo tank full of SPS, and some LPS. The colors that were in there where amazing.

I have looked at all the Zeo TOTQ tanks and there is no doubt they are very nice. However, take a look at this TOTM:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-05/totm/index.php

In my opinion this tank has better colors than any Zeo tank I have seen. Many Zeo tank pictures I have seen usually have sort of washed out colors, unlike this tank which has very deep reds and yellows. If I dose anything it will probably be Prodibio similar to what this guy is doing on his tank. I have also been following another tank which is using a similar dosing routine with very good results.

 

[Fireworm]

Without a doubt very nice tank. I have seen this one and read about it many times. Just don't rule out Zeo until you can see an established one in person. Camera shots can add to the color in any system. If I would not have seen the Zeo in person, I would have never believed it myself.

 

[Gondore]

I definitly won't rule it out. I always try to keep an open mind. That is why I was really wanting to hear Brian speak a bit more about Zeovit at the last FMAS meeting. Sometime in the near future I want to visit a couple tanks in Michigan, Brian's is one of those.