About to take the plunge.

[MrMongoose]

Hey guys I've made a few post on RC about ZEO I'm wanting to start the system on my 65Gallon. I guess I'm just alittle worried before I spend my inital $500some to get it all going I'm just skeptical of the results. I'm not expecting somthing that will change all my corals to brighter than the sun in a week or even a month, but I do want to see a vast improvement in time. Is ZEO really what its cracked up to be as long as you do the upkeep on your tank that is required (weekly waterchanges/heavy skimming/debris removeal ect)?
I guess I'm just one of those people who doubts things that are too good to be true....lets hear some opinions of if ZEO is what you thought it would be...and more? Comparison pictures are always helpful
-Nathan

[OUinLA]

I'll let someone who doesn't sell zeovit answer your questions but I wanted to let you know that the start up cost can be way less than $500. For your tank is could be as low as $180. If you need a custom/external reactor then the cost would be around $275ish.

[wasp]

Hi, my zeo frag tank is 65 gallons. Running costs for the zeovit system on this tank are very small. Five hundred bucks? well that will run it years.
I'd suggest dropping ouinla a PM to sort a quality reactor at a price that will please you.
As to the results of zeovit,well you won't see the sun shining out of your tank in a week, but you will be smiling.

[mesocosm]

Greetings All !

Nathan,

Welcome!

...I'm just skeptical of the results.

Wise is the reefkeeper who starts to evaluate potential system components from a place of skepticism ... JMO.

Is ZEO really what its cracked up to be ...

All I can comment on are my observations during the first two weeks of running the ZEOvit system in a newly established ~60G setup designed as a WC SPS acclimation and frag system. I'm sure more experienced users will jump in shortly.

The alga succession pattern appears to be fundamentally different from what I experience/expect when using "standard configuration" Berlin-style systems (SSB & BB). This system's brown dinoflagellate bloom lasted less than 48 hours and has been almost completely eradicated. The dark green/brownish algae which normally follows has failed to appear. 90% of the pre-existing Derbasia and Bryopsis algae (... on the specimens, there was none in the tank ...) bleached then disappeared in the first 72 hours, although about 10% remains persistent.

Water clarity improved dramatically during the first 48 hours of ZEOvit system operation (... the tank had been up and running for 5 days prior to starting to use the ZEOvit system). Everyone who looks at the tank ... EVERYONE ... comments on this system's water clarity.

WC Acropora, Montipora, Seriatopora, and Pavona specimens have all retained the color they had when purchased without any "browning out" (... in a system this young, this may mean nothing ...). Growth and polyp extension, particularly with the Seriatopora, is greater than expected, but nothing ultra extraordinary.

HTH.

[MrMongoose]

Am I wrong I thought the Grotech reactor was $350? then the smallest bottles of ZEOstart ZEObak ZEOfood and the media. I would like to run the growtech reactor so i know that everything is to spec and blueprinted.

[Aged Salt]

Nathan, from my personal experience with SPS[>15yrs] I've never seen anything quite like it;low nutrients from low maintenance with double my SPS growth. I'm satisfied Bob

[Diesel3443]

Im slatisfied too. If you want a grotech reactor you will have to pay a lot. Most on this board have a diy reactor or Madison's reactor to my knowledge