Effects of stopping zeobac dosing

[zcom]

A question has arisen as to the effect of an established tank stopping the dosing of zeobac/zeofood. The underlying question, of course, is whether continued dosing is necessary after the tank is zeo-established. I assume someone (Alexander?) has done this, and I'm wondering what the effect is, both for a tank that is still getting established, and a well-established tank.

Anyone?

Arthur

[wasp]

In the absense of evidence to the contrary, one can only assume it is to replenish certain desireable bacteria types, that do not fare so well in the general hubbub of a bacterial community.
In fact the zeovit claim is that it is to maintain the desired "chain" of bacteria types.
The system will probably work without zeobac dosing, it is likely a case of keeping the bacterial aspect optimised.

[javajaws]

Hi Arthur,

Thanks for posting this over here...I probably should have done that as well - but you beat me to it.

BTW, I hope no one takes the question as Zeo bashing in any way...I'm just curious by nature. I'm thinking about using Zeo in the future, but just don't feel I know enough about it yet to blindly put my faith in it. And watching the RC thread unfold this just seemed the natural thing to ask.

- Jason

[javajaws]

In the absense of evidence to the contrary, one can only assume it is to replenish certain desireable bacteria types, that do not fare so well in the general hubbub of a bacterial community.
In fact the zeovit claim is that it is to maintain the desired "chain" of bacteria types.
The system will probably work without zeobac dosing, it is likely a case of keeping the bacterial aspect optimised.

That was my assumption. The cause of the bacterial species inbalance is an interesting question though...as well as the effects of such an inbalance: If it results in a slight inefficiency of the ZEO system vs. a resulting state where the ZEO system won't function without it.

- Jason

[GTR]

I stopped dosing for some time during a system rebuild and move.
What happened... PO4's went up, acros darkened and the algae were once again happy.

This was though a total ZEO shut down and not just bak and food.

SteveU

[zcom]

Wasp, I'm wondering in practice what the effect would be...less coloration? Polyp extension?

Arthur

[Aged Salt]

Phase 4, anyone? Bob

[G.Alexander]

Hi Arthur, we have many reports from people who stopped adding ZeoBac for some weeks in their tanks, running in the first or second phase, caused rising nutrients. In my opinion this is also the fact in phase three.

As Bob told, once a tank is running in phase three very stabile, stopping the dosage for some weeks will not cause a nutrient comeback in a measurable way, but I have observed the corals become a little bit darker over a longer period.

Once in phase “four” I can recommend to lower the dosage of ZeoBac to a minimum. Once in a week some drops brought excellent results (350 gal. tank).

We also should not forget that it is observed, the micro organism contained in ZeoBac are also accepted by SPS as a nourishment. Here you can find a interesting article by Sanjay Joshi:

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...hi_050398.html

I also like to add, stopping the dosage of ZeoBac will not create a dangerous situation, just darker corals an the increase of nutrients.

G.Alexander

[CosmoKramer]

A half a kilo of zeolites has the surface area of a football field.Depending on your system you could have 3 or 4 football fields for your little bacteria buddies to grow on.I would think,It would depend on the nutrient level in your system and what phase your in with zeovit when stopping on how far your tank would go back to what it was.If we have a very nutrient poor system and we remove the bacteria's new home(the football fields) and their food(zeofood)I don't think we would see too much of a problem,unless we start putting nutrients back into the tank.In a high nutrient system,I would expect to see the corals going brown and nutrient levels rising again to a certain level.The zeolites are multi tasking.They will absorb ammonia and PO4,but without the bacteria and food,the bacteria wont grow fast enough on the zeolites and they will probably clog up with calcium,ammonia,PO4 and magnesium before the bacteria has a chance to establish on the zeolite.they will exhaust faster and theres nothing to munch on the ammonia and PO4.I believe without bac/food the job of the zeolites are limited,but with bac/food the bacteria can keep the zeolites clean for a certain amount of time.I believe the zeolites get clogged up with nutrients,the bacteria can't keep up and are pushed out by the absorbtion and thats why we change them out,to give our little bacteria new football fields to grow on.If we stp dosing bac/food the zeolites would clog with absorbtion of nutrients before the bacteria could establish and help clean our tanks Love the Elephant

[zcom]

Thanks, Alexander, that helps immensely.

CosmoK, I think the question that is arising is why the continuing adding of the bacteria, if the bacteria are viable. At some point, the anti-zeos are saying, the bacteria are in the tank and don't need replenishment from a few drops every couple days. I was looking for personal experience of what happens when zeobac is stopped, to make sure the observations match the dosing instructions.

Thanks, all...

Arthur

[Aged Salt]

Arthur, if you wish, consider withholding bak/food7 for 7 days & observing your corals for any darkening or nutrient rise. During this time, also do not dose any supplements. At that point, if your corals are unchanged, or your nutrients do not increase, then dose bak/foods minimally, say 2 drops once a wk. If this fasting period produces darkening or nutrients rise, resume your usual dosing regimen Bob

[javajaws]

Is the continued dosing of ZeoBak only used as food for the corals, or does continued dosing help keep the nutrients low?

In other words: what role does further addition of Zeobak play when the tank has already been populated with it?

[Aged Salt]

Jason, that Q falls under the category of "known-unknowns" The exact mechanisms of the ZEOvit method actually all fit into that same area Bob

[javajaws]

Ha! At least its not one of those unknown-unknowns...those are always the ones that bite you in the rear!

[Aged Salt]

Jason, there may be a few things in that category also Bob