Zeovit - System

[shih87]

I love zeo tanks and the color. When I started the tank I wanted to go zeo. But as the tank matured I noticed that I already have good parameters. 0 nitrates, phosphates etc. So I did not go zeo. But I do have excellent maintenance schedule. I followed most of your advice. Import and export. Every four days I do 5% water change. I run bare bottom so everything is syphoned out. Even my refugium has no sand. Even that is syphoned out. So I am removing as much nutrients if not all every four days. Its such a simple concept.

But now I have small frags so I can get my hand in there. Eventually it will be full with large colonies and very hard for me to reach places. Then I think I will need zeovit or some other bacteria to break the nutrients. I see people with new tanks going zeo and wonder if its really needed. I already have ULNS.

But man some of your tanks will large corals I don't know how u guys clean around it. Then I am going zeo or biopellets. Till then I am happy syphoning out the detrius.

When I started the tank ayear ago I was so scared in maintaining good water quality. But with help from all you guys I learned the basic concept of removing nutrients before they became a problem. I don't think new tanks need zeo. But established tanks need a better way to transport nutrients in which zeo can help.

I still have a couple of years till I get there. Then I will join the zeo club. I do love the colors though.

Why I wrote it all down in along post. If a newbie reads it he can understand when to implement zeovit and take full advantage of it.

Your concern of coral grow too big is real, but I am not sure Zeovit is "the" solution. Maybe it is, since you are BB tank. As you can see my tank below... Since mid 2013, I start having difficulty to clean bottom by syphoning out dirt.

As for now, I have some cyano or brown algae problem on sand bed and it is very hard to deal with. Instead, I just return my biggest fish (a blue tang) to LFS, and hope Zeovit new product, Cyano Cleaner, may help to solve my problem.

 

[Allmost]

Your concern of coral grow too big is real, but I am not sure Zeovit is "the" solution. Maybe it is, since you are BB tank. As you can see my tank below... Since mid 2013, I start having difficulty to clean bottom by syphoning out dirt.

As for now, I have some cyano or brown algae problem on sand bed and it is very hard to deal with. Instead, I just return my biggest fish (a blue tang) to LFS, and hope Zeovit new product, Cyano Cleaner, may help to solve my problem.

looking good ! very well done.

 

[andremigsilva]

Looking AWESOME i would say!!
Congrats!

 

[jcolley]

Considering zeo now on my 220 reef. I use a LM3 for auto water changes at 10%/week using IO. My parameters are usually around 8.9/420/1400 dosing Alk/Ca/Mg on a separate LM3. If I let the levels decay down to zeo recommendations and the dose rates accordingly to maintain those levels, is there any reason not to continue to use the IO salt, regardless of what it actually mixes to?

Would the exchange of .154 Gal/hr of a higher Alk salt really have an impact as long as the system as a whole remains stable at those parameters?

 

[cpllongjk]

First of all, by no means am I a reefing expert or zeovit expert.

For all those interested in zeovit. Let me share my experiences.

Zeovit is great once you fine tune your dosing amounts. If you start up a tank using zeovit it can be amazing at first because who doesn't want to put corals in by day 14. However, this was intended for people well schooled in the hobby IMO.

Reef Tanks zeovit or otherwise require one thing, stability. Zeovit, IMO, will give no better results in the hands of the good reefers. What I mean is that any reefer with a good maintenance schedule will benefit from zeovit or non using zeovit. Zeovit does have once nice feature for those of us in the hobby that are lazy, I am one of those people btw. Zeovit forces you to check on your tank daily and increase or decrease dosings until you "fine tune" your dosing amount. Even still once you have your dosings dialed in you may have to change them.

To sum up, stability and a solid maintenance schedule is vital to success no matter which method you choose.

Jared

 

[ridetheducati]

First of all, by no means am I a reefing expert or zeovit expert.

For all those interested in zeovit. Let me share my experiences.

Zeovit is great once you fine tune your dosing amounts. If you start up a tank using zeovit it can be amazing at first because who doesn't want to put corals in by day 14. However, this was intended for people well schooled in the hobby IMO.

Reef Tanks zeovit or otherwise require one thing, stability. Zeovit, IMO, will give no better results in the hands of the good reefers. What I mean is that any reefer with a good maintenance schedule will benefit from zeovit or non using zeovit. Zeovit does have once nice feature for those of us in the hobby that are lazy, I am one of those people btw. Zeovit forces you to check on your tank daily and increase or decrease dosings until you "fine tune" your dosing amount. Even still once you have your dosings dialed in you may have to change them.

To sum up, stability and a solid maintenance schedule is vital to success no matter which method you choose.

Jared

+1k

 

[mhucasey]

I wanted to say a big "Thank You" to CUNAReefer, I had been struggling a bit with a zeovit changeover on my tank and kept having SPS STN here and there. My phosphate levels were had bottomed out at 0.3-0.5 I came across this thread and more or less tried the method CUNA details here.

On a tank with ~130Net volume, I lowered my stone volume from 1.3L to 400ML. I lowered my flow through the reactor from 110GPH to 48GPH. I kept the same start dosing that I was using before, which was a total of 1.5ml every day split up over 12 doses.

The STN stopped after a day or so. I started feeding oyster feast and/or cyclopeeze every night. I have tweaked the amount of stones and flow a bit but in small steps. I am at 0.7L of stones and 56GPH now, and since I have been at 0.00 phosphates for a week even with all the feeding I may reduce the amount of stones a bit more.

The corals are growing and basing out and polyp extension is amazing. Once again thanks!

 

[ridetheducati]

A few years ago, I ran a 180g SPS system with one liter of stones, .5 ml of Start, and reactor running at 100 gph.

Never had an issue with tissue necrosis, but I would occasionally get a light brown dusting on sand bed. Nitrates zero and PO4, .01ppm.

 

[nikunjpatel]

I started out using zeo for my new build. I thought I was disiplined enough to use it but frankly Im not. The system does work but you really gotta find your own dosing for it. I think the forum is a big help but I wish they KZ would update its dosing guide. I ended up buying a ton of zeofood before getting on the forums and ended up not using it. I think people really need to think about it in the long run, like years because it can get tedious and things like flow through the reactor and messing around with zeospur is serious stuff. I think there's too much room for error and I'm okay with not having that pastel look I really wanted in order to keep my tank healthy and simple. just my opinion though.

This is just an aside but I was thinking that either Thomas Pohl is a genius or just damn lucky cause I'm mind boggled by the number of additives and just the results alot of people are getting with zeo.

 

[ridetheducati]

I started out using zeo for my new build. I thought I was disiplined enough to use it but frankly Im not. The system does work but you really gotta find your own dosing for it. I think the forum is a big help but I wish they KZ would update its dosing guide. I ended up buying a ton of zeofood before getting on the forums and ended up not using it. I think people really need to think about it in the long run, like years because it can get tedious and things like flow through the reactor and messing around with zeospur is serious stuff. I think there's too much room for error and I'm okay with not having that pastel look I really wanted in order to keep my tank healthy and simple. just my opinion though.

This is just an aside but I was thinking that either Thomas Pohl is a genius or just damn lucky cause I'm mind boggled by the number of additives and just the results alot of people are getting with zeo.

All you need is just the basic four, Start, Stones, Bak, and SP. Anything beyond that is not needed. Zeofood could be used if desired, you need to understand how the product will affect the system. If you want to play around with tweaking colors and growth, add additional elements. Zeo is a framework to which you can customize to your needs.

 

[ridetheducati]

It is interesting that many new zeo users think that their system will look spectacular on day one. Not fully understanding the biology and framework, to include overdose symptoms. At a high level zeo is not much different than basic reef husbandry. Only bad things happen fast. Zeo probably should not be used by neophytes because the expectation is basic reefing knowledge and troubleshooting skills are well understood.

 

[mhucasey]

I would second the thought that the guide needs to be updated a bit. The amount I need for my system is nowhere near the amount that they recommend. When switching over an existing tank the impact can be pretty severe. I think a measured approach starting with a small amount of stones would be much easier on a tank and allow you to dial in exactly how much is needed to make the system work.

That being said, once you get it right, it works very well. As for the usual complaint that the system requires too much work, I don't get that at all. My tank cleaning has dropped to cleaning the glass every couple of days, and what is needed for the system is minimal. I use a dosing pump to add diluted Zeostart3 so I don't interact with that part of the system except for once a month or so when i need to change out the container. When i get up in the morning I pump the reactor on my way out and again before bed. I could do that once a day if desired. Pumping the reactor takes about 15seconds. I add a couple of drops of Bacteria and sponge power in the morning if needed. My maximum time commitment per day is about 1-2 minutes.

 

[nikunjpatel]

It is interesting that many new zeo users think that their system will look spectacular on day one. Not fully understanding the biology and framework, to include overdose symptoms. At a high level zeo is not much different than basic reef husbandry. Only bad things happen fast. Zeo probably should not be used by neophytes because the expectation is basic reefing knowledge and troubleshooting skills are well understood.

I think people do understand the biology of the system, I mean as much as one can with whats known about whats in the bottle. Aren't we all neophytes when starting a new system, whether it be biopellets, zeovit or some kind of carbon dosing? Your point is well taken, I think most get nervous and don't let their systems mature enough before seeing the benefits of zeovit.

 

[KritikaL]

Get an avast vibe put it on a timer twice a day plus doser dosing start and u really are not doing much daily bar feeding and a few drops.

Water changes are preference and changing zeolites and carbon is a 5-10 ,I'm job every 4-6 weeks not much maintenance at all. Rinsing and flushing gfo and making sure bio pearls didn't clump along with not as good corals IMO and the products are a small price to pay for excellence. Each to their own.

I just want the best looking tank I can get and zeo seems go be the easiest way for me to get it!

 

[ridetheducati]

That is just my point. Everyone carbon doses whether they know it or not. The key is to understand the affects.

The methods for keeping a successful system has not changed significantly in 20 years, but the marketing aspect sure has.

 

[ridetheducati]

Get an avast vibe put it on a timer twice a day plus doser dosing start and u really are not doing much daily bar feeding and a few drops.

Water changes are preference and changing zeolites and carbon is a 5-10 ,I'm job every 4-6 weeks not much maintenance at all. Rinsing and flushing gfo and making sure bio pearls didn't clump along with not as good corals IMO and the products are a small price to pay for excellence. Each to their own.

I just want the best looking tank I can get and zeo seems go be the easiest way for me to get it!

What other methods have you tried?

 

[cpllongjk]

Get an avast vibe put it on a timer twice a day plus doser dosing start and u really are not doing much daily bar feeding and a few drops.

Water changes are preference and changing zeolites and carbon is a 5-10 ,I'm job every 4-6 weeks not much maintenance at all. Rinsing and flushing gfo and making sure bio pearls didn't clump along with not as good corals IMO and the products are a small price to pay for excellence. Each to their own.

I just want the best looking tank I can get and zeo seems go be the easiest way for me to get it!

The VIBE looks good and all but the cost doesn't make sense. I mean seriously, nearly 400 dollars for a shaker? Get real Avast. Once they come down 100-200 I'll pick one up but right now I'll do it manually.

 

[KritikaL]

well it was 100 gbp more than a normal reactor, the automation means i don't have to do anything 100 gbp is worth the money to not have to plunge it in my opinion

Its a luxury! i like luxuries

 

[cpllongjk]

well it was 100 gbp more than a normal reactor, the automation means i don't have to do anything 100 gbp is worth the money to not have to plunge it in my opinion

Its a luxury! i like luxuries

True... I'd get one too if I didn't have to fill my tank with corals first. A swabbie or Vertex Vectra is 2nd on the list of "wants" after my tank grows out and starts making some money.

 

[CUNAReefer]

I wanted to say a big "Thank You" to CUNAReefer, I had been struggling a bit with a zeovit changeover on my tank and kept having SPS STN here and there. My phosphate levels were had bottomed out at 0.3-0.5 I came across this thread and more or less tried the method CUNA details here.

On a tank with ~130Net volume, I lowered my stone volume from 1.3L to 400ML. I lowered my flow through the reactor from 110GPH to 48GPH. I kept the same start dosing that I was using before, which was a total of 1.5ml every day split up over 12 doses.

The STN stopped after a day or so. I started feeding oyster feast and/or cyclopeeze every night. I have tweaked the amount of stones and flow a bit but in small steps. I am at 0.7L of stones and 56GPH now, and since I have been at 0.00 phosphates for a week even with all the feeding I may reduce the amount of stones a bit more.

The corals are growing and basing out and polyp extension is amazing. Once again thanks!

Hi mhucasey,

Just seen this!:wave: Your very welcome! I'm glad that I was able to help. With a lesser amount of stones, slower flow, and Oyster Feast, you'll notice a deeper healthier coloration. If you want your corals to be lighter in color you can increase the flow, increase the amount of stones, or just feed less. Of course when you pursue the lighter colors, there is an increase chance of tissue recession. Keep up the good work!

Warmest Regards,
James