whats next?

[reeftec]

i finally got my reactor made,also alk has been dropped to 8.2 over 4 weeks,i removed the rowareactor,stoped uv &o3,net water volume is about 100gal& as most of you know its a dsb tank,i got all the other additives as well ,howmuch zeolith should i start with,zeobac,etc....?
also should i start the aahc &cv as well?

[G.Alexander]

Please answer the questions from this thread:

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14

G.Alexander

[reeftec]

1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) 140
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) 95
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique reactor
4. Are you using a PO4 reactor (how long, how long ago, etc.)1 year just stopped
5. Are you using Ozone just stopped
6. Are you using UV just stopped
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume) euroreef for 110 gal
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels have not tested
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels ca 430 alk 8.2 mg 1300
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) refugium , dsb ,70lb lr
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.)4mo old 2x 400 xm, 2x 54 w t5 actinic,2x 96w pc
12. What corals do you keep90% sps ,alvepora,hellofungia short tentacle fungia,leptoseris explanata ,pseudopterogrgia bipinnata ,open brain, 4 tube anemone
13. Tissue color (light or dark) i did have some darkening 4 months ago but they are slowly comming around so some light with thier true color,some browned abit
14. How long has the tank been running 19 months
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system i always had good color & growth more than anything is trying a new reefkeeping method for me
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.)oyster eggs 2ml every other night,dt 50 ml once weekly
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) 70 lb 18 months
18. Any present problems no
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.)
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.)salifert pinpoint electronic
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) have not started yet?
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.) sg 1.025 temp 78-79 f

[Aged Salt]

Hi Jason, you'll enjoy the ease of this new method of reef-keeping. It is important to have testers for N03's & P04's. I recommend a Hanna colorimeter for P04's but in the beginning a Salifert's is fine. For your system, I recommend the following:

1)dose 1 Cup carbon in a mesh-bag, passively, in your sump, kneaded 3x's/wk & exchanged monthly. I strongly recommend K-Z's aktivkohle--it brings out more color.
2)dose 1 ltr. zeolites at a flow rate of ~100gph. Cycle the zeo-filter on & off at 3hr. intervals, being sure that the stones remain submerged when the filter is "off". Pump-clean the stones 2x's/day about 10 reps each time. Exchange the stones every 6wks.
3)dose 3 drops Bak & Food7 daily for the first two wks. then 4 drops each 2x's/wk. Dose these in front of your filter pump & turn off your skimmer for 60min after dosing these. Remember Bak & C-V are refrigerated.
4)dose .25ml Start2 2x's/day. It is not necessary to turn off the skimmer when just dosing Start2.
5)dose 3 drops AAHC daily;dose C-V 6-8 drops daily; dose PIF 6 drops 2x's/wk;dose Fe 1-2 drops 2x's/wk; we'll discuss the Spurs & K-Balance after a few zeolite changes if fine-tuning of color is necessary

Keep us updated, Jason, Bob

[reeftec]

thanx bob
i am getting started with that today,do i have to rinse the zeolith first?i am asuming you clean the media when the pump is on ,correct?
i will look into hanna my lfs doesnot carry it,but one question bob,a couple of years back we were using alot of hanna products @ work(mainly ph testers,pens),my personal experience the product was a poor made ,not accurate& in need of clibration constantly,that was a few years back as i said i have not even seen the po4 tester,how do you rate the product bob,user friendly,does it need alot of calibrations,..? thanx again

[Aged Salt]

Yes, Jason plz. rinse the silth off the zeolites with RODI water. Pumping removes the duff from the stones, freeing up surface area for the zeo-bacteria to latch onto. Once or twice a day is fine. My understanding is the Hanna P04 colorimeter is the only Hanna tester presently available for tightly accurate seawater testing. It has a noise of .04 P04 & I have found it to be very accurate, once the procedural steps are optimized[it takes a couple of trys to avoid the pitfalls] You can use our search engine for more details regarding testamonials on this superb tool. Bob

[reeftec]

i just finished the 2nd week,exactly as bob's dosage regiment here
here is my observations,as far as LESS PE if you guys remember i had a bit of problem with,so i reduced the photoperiod & raised the lights, everything is almost recovered,except a pink milli colony & a neon green table still not demonstrating their usual pe,however they have gotten much better,during the course of last week,i had a 2 baby blue stag go brown (less light)but thats ok i am happy they are healthy

also i have an alveopora that been in my system for 1 year growing nicely that has less pe as well(not much maybe 20% less) ,also green chalice looks a shade lighter
no major changes as far as colors except the milli looks a bit lighter,

my orp has gone up by 30mv(from 360 to 390)so i guess water is a bit more clear,which is amazing considering i just stopped uv & o3,i was considering a drop atleast for the initial stage.

i have very little bit of diatom on sand,i guess stopping o3,uv,rowa & also bob was telling me how zeolites leach si in the water,i wonder if that has contributed to that as well

fatalities 3 frags,all went rtn in the prop tank,they were new from another reefer(all from same tank& rather brown)

growth, now this is the interesting part,i have to say CV IS ,THE BEST PRODUCT THAT I HAVE USED IN THE HOBBY SO FAR,AS FAR AS GROWTH EXCELERATION,SPECIALY THE INITIAL SPROUT& THE FACT THAT PRETTY MUCH WORKS OVERNIGHT & ITS CONCENTRATION,IT TRUELY IS ONE OF THOSE PRODUCTS THAT ,"YOU NEVER BELIEVE IT UNTILL YOU TRY IT"

the other additive i really can't see any improvement in anything yet,except that maybe,pif has intensified the blue,even in my corcea's blue mantel
so what is next ? do i keep the same dosage?
howabout k-b or spur & macro elements?
also i have one colony that grows quiet fast,but also very slow stn in the base for the past few months,(there is good flow around the base & around the coral & still very little light goes through) would k-b help that,i think alexander mention it would
sorry for the long post J

[Aged Salt]

Hi Jason, just a comment on coral coloration & ZEOvit. It takes some systems months[up to 9 mos.] to become balanced in essential elements[NSW water composition] & bacterial-metabolism-equilibrium, so color emergence will vary from tank to tank. The balanced elemental composition is more difficult to achieve & can be a by-product of the salts that we use[deficiencies/excesses] Therefore, all of these changes occur in every reef on ZEOvit, ie. nutrient lowering, initial elemental imbalances, increased light transmission[clarity], etc. which over time reaches equilibrium that promotes corals to lose zoox. density & allows chromoprotein sysnthesis[true bright coral color] to show through. At this time, additional zeo-supplements would not be beneficial, & potentially stressful--just relax, stay the course & allow the basics to lower nutrients & the WC's to balance your water composition. After an zeolite exchange or two, these other supplements will function much more effectively. Bob

[CAReefer]

Jason, I have to second Bob's advice. STAY THE COURSE. I have had some relatively serious color problems, and through Bob's expert tutelidge (sp?), things are turning around. At the lower nutrient Zeo allows us to maintain, I believe ionic balance of ALL the elements plays a much larger factor than most give credence to. FWIW, I have ran zeo for over 1 year and even though P04 dropped quickly, colors didn't recover until the addition of the CV, and K-Balance. I highly recommend the K-balance if things start getting "pastel" on you.

Marshal