I have been doing some serious investigation into Zeovit over the last couple of days. In the last month or so I have did a lot of reading about the system but I wanted to get some pricing. I should have some concrete numbers here shortly and I will post them in case any of you were wondering what it would cost to use this system in your tank.
Zeovit
- Thread starter Gondore
- Start date
Here is what I have found so far with Zeovit.
Inital Cost:
Starter Kit - $174.99
1 x Vertex 1.5 liter Reactor Dual Chamber Reactor (Includes pump)
1 x 1 liter Zeovit Media
1 x 10 ml Zeobak
1 x 50 ml Zeofood 7
1 x 250 ml Zeostart 2
1 x 250 ml K-Balance Strong - $29.24
1 x Potassium Test Kit - $29.99
1 x 50 ml Coral Vitalizer - $30.74
Total Cost = $264.96 (not including sales tax or shipping)
All of these products would be enough for at least a years supply.
Dosage Recommendations (This is a reply posted by Bob on Zeovit.com forums after answering an entire questionaire about my setup):
There's a few do's & don't with using the ZEOvit method...first be sure to read & download the ZEOvit Guide for an explanation of the components & their function. Also the stickies section contain additional detailed info on ZEOvit. With ZEOvit, no UV, 03, P04-aborbers, resins are used as these are counter-productive to the zeo-biology. You'll want to pull the GFO when beginning the method.
The secret to success with ZEOvit is mantaining stable & guidelines ranges of the parameters, including K+[potassium] which is < NSW in many saltmixes plus as nutrients are lowered with ZEOvit, K+ tends to be depleted as well. Thus, you'll need a KZ Kalium test kit & if < 380, K-Balance Strong to raise this major element to goal. KBS is dosed at 0.5ml/25g net 3x's/day daily. Once at goal, much less is needed & this is determined by trial & error & wkly Kalium tests. The guideline parameter ranges are:
Ca 380-420
Mg 1200-1350
dKH 6.5-8.0
K+ ~ 380ppm
salinity 33-35ppt.
Do not begin ZEOvit until all of the above within your reef are inline & stable. Slowly begin reducing your dKH over a wk. or 2 to within recommended ranges in order to prevent coral stress. For your system:
1)place 1 Cup of well rinsed/soaked GAC in a filter bag, passively in your sump. Knead this carbon daily & replace monthly.
2)place 1ltr[one bag] of rinsed/soaked zeolites in a zeo-reactor with the flow rate of ~ 75gph[48 seconds for your zeo-reactor pump to fill a one gal. container] This slower flow rate will allow slower water chemistry changes for your corals while the zeo-bacterial densities are being established. Cycle the reactor on & off at 3hr. intervals, being sure the stones remain submerged when the reactor is off. Clean[stir] the zeolites 2x's/day daily with 10-15 reps each time when the reactor is on. Initially, the stones are exchanged at 4wks. thereafter, the time frame is 6-8wks. Always use 10-15% 'old' stones to help seed the new.
3)dose 4 drops Bak & Food7 daily for the first 2wks. then dose these 2x's/wk, when the reactor is on. Dose these near the reactor's pump. ZeoBak can ber refrigerated.
4)dose 0.3ml Start2 2x's/day daily near the reactor.
5)dose 2 drops CV daily for coral support while the nutrient decease. Later after the firsr exchange, others can be added one at a time to help with coral colors, growth & vitality.
Do 5-10% WC's wkly & post at your 1st exchange as dosing adjustments may be necessary. Bob
Inital Cost:
Starter Kit - $174.99
1 x Vertex 1.5 liter Reactor Dual Chamber Reactor (Includes pump)
1 x 1 liter Zeovit Media
1 x 10 ml Zeobak
1 x 50 ml Zeofood 7
1 x 250 ml Zeostart 2
1 x 250 ml K-Balance Strong - $29.24
1 x Potassium Test Kit - $29.99
1 x 50 ml Coral Vitalizer - $30.74
Total Cost = $264.96 (not including sales tax or shipping)
All of these products would be enough for at least a years supply.
Dosage Recommendations (This is a reply posted by Bob on Zeovit.com forums after answering an entire questionaire about my setup):
There's a few do's & don't with using the ZEOvit method...first be sure to read & download the ZEOvit Guide for an explanation of the components & their function. Also the stickies section contain additional detailed info on ZEOvit. With ZEOvit, no UV, 03, P04-aborbers, resins are used as these are counter-productive to the zeo-biology. You'll want to pull the GFO when beginning the method.
The secret to success with ZEOvit is mantaining stable & guidelines ranges of the parameters, including K+[potassium] which is < NSW in many saltmixes plus as nutrients are lowered with ZEOvit, K+ tends to be depleted as well. Thus, you'll need a KZ Kalium test kit & if < 380, K-Balance Strong to raise this major element to goal. KBS is dosed at 0.5ml/25g net 3x's/day daily. Once at goal, much less is needed & this is determined by trial & error & wkly Kalium tests. The guideline parameter ranges are:
Ca 380-420
Mg 1200-1350
dKH 6.5-8.0
K+ ~ 380ppm
salinity 33-35ppt.
Do not begin ZEOvit until all of the above within your reef are inline & stable. Slowly begin reducing your dKH over a wk. or 2 to within recommended ranges in order to prevent coral stress. For your system:
1)place 1 Cup of well rinsed/soaked GAC in a filter bag, passively in your sump. Knead this carbon daily & replace monthly.
2)place 1ltr[one bag] of rinsed/soaked zeolites in a zeo-reactor with the flow rate of ~ 75gph[48 seconds for your zeo-reactor pump to fill a one gal. container] This slower flow rate will allow slower water chemistry changes for your corals while the zeo-bacterial densities are being established. Cycle the reactor on & off at 3hr. intervals, being sure the stones remain submerged when the reactor is off. Clean[stir] the zeolites 2x's/day daily with 10-15 reps each time when the reactor is on. Initially, the stones are exchanged at 4wks. thereafter, the time frame is 6-8wks. Always use 10-15% 'old' stones to help seed the new.
3)dose 4 drops Bak & Food7 daily for the first 2wks. then dose these 2x's/wk, when the reactor is on. Dose these near the reactor's pump. ZeoBak can ber refrigerated.
4)dose 0.3ml Start2 2x's/day daily near the reactor.
5)dose 2 drops CV daily for coral support while the nutrient decease. Later after the firsr exchange, others can be added one at a time to help with coral colors, growth & vitality.
Do 5-10% WC's wkly & post at your 1st exchange as dosing adjustments may be necessary. Bob
JCR's Reef
New member
I would be interested in the future. Im still reading alot to see if its what I really want to do.
Fireworm
New member
One thing to point out on the zeo reactor though. After talking alot with the guys on their forum, you don't really need to do the reactor if you don't want to. Or you want to cut down your inital start up cost. You can put a bag of the zeo rock in a low flow area of your sump, and jsut treat it the same as a bag of carbon in the system.
have you checked out the Brightwell Aquatics line yet David? That is supposed to be just as good, and cheaper from what I am hearing. Still a new product though so there is no long term data on that yet.
By the way, tell Bob I said "hi". Aged salt is a cool guy, very helpful.
have you checked out the Brightwell Aquatics line yet David? That is supposed to be just as good, and cheaper from what I am hearing. Still a new product though so there is no long term data on that yet.
By the way, tell Bob I said "hi". Aged salt is a cool guy, very helpful.
JCR's Reef
New member
We'll I was talking to the guy from Michigan that was at your house meeting the other day and we got on the topic of zeo. He says he uses the brightwell product and they are better. Granted everyone has their own opinion. Kinda like the best skimmer.
He says he has more color with brightwell. Brightwell is just a more diluted form of zeo and cheaper. I guess zeo is too concentrated and he ended up using half the recommened doses of zeo. Decided to switch to brightwell to save a little bit of money
He says he has more color with brightwell. Brightwell is just a more diluted form of zeo and cheaper. I guess zeo is too concentrated and he ended up using half the recommened doses of zeo. Decided to switch to brightwell to save a little bit of money
JCR's Reef
New member
That I dont know. I dont remember his name either but I ran into him at the Coral Reef Tuesday. Im sure you know who IM talking about though. He says he has great results from Brightwell though. Might be an alternative from zeo. But its like I said, everyone has there own opinion. Just like I was asking him about dosing vodka and that was something he was totally against. Some people swear buy it though.
I believe his name is Brian. I think Vodka dosing can work, but it's really only one piece of the equation. What I mean is from what I have read Vodka creates a bacteria bloom and the bacteria consume nutrients in the system. The goal being to obtain ultra low nutrients in the system. This is the same goal with all the systems (i.e. Zeovit, Prodibio, etc.). Once you achieve this state then you need to feed the corals with something and I think this is one area that some of the system differ.
Fireworm
New member
You were talking to Brian. He was in town for the holiday. I was supposed to go to the LFSs with him, and just got to busy with kids, and getting that last bit of OT for the year.
Brian switched over to Brightwell just about the time I had the meeting at my house. He claims he gets better results with less money using that over the Zeo.
I was hoping when he came to the meeting at David's house, he would have got there early enough to spend some time talking about the whole process and explain the system. I think you can only get so much from reading on a topic, and you get so much more from some one who has first hand experience.
Brian switched over to Brightwell just about the time I had the meeting at my house. He claims he gets better results with less money using that over the Zeo.
I was hoping when he came to the meeting at David's house, he would have got there early enough to spend some time talking about the whole process and explain the system. I think you can only get so much from reading on a topic, and you get so much more from some one who has first hand experience.
I have just completed a lot of reading on Neo Zeo. It seems very similar to Zeovit. One main difference is that they suggest running the Neozeo media (seems like the same as Zeovite) in a canister filter instead of a reactor. This is a cheaper alternative and requires less space in your sump. The additives are also a lot less expensive per bottle. I am not sure if they are cheaper overall all yet though because the Zeovit additives are a much higher concentration and require you dose less. I have PM'ed Brian and hopefully I can chat with him about this. I will post what I find out.
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