Hi everyone,
I am setting up my second ZeoVit tank, but I seem to be struggling with getting the water parameters to stabilize. I think this is partially a byproduct of the fact that I've seen three different sets of ZeoVit "starter" instructions each with different dosing recommendations. This is a nano tank, so I'm worried that I might be overdosing and want to get the recommendations of the experts.
1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - 20 US Gallons All-In-One Tank
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - 20 US Gallons
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique No
4. Are you using a PO4 reactor (how long, how long ago, etc.) No
5. Are you using Ozone. No
6. Are you using UV No
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume) eShopps Nano Skimmer
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels Nitrates: 10-20ppm / Nitrites 2mg/L
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels 9.7 DKH / 460 cal
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) Filter pad in the first chamber, carbon in the third chamber, skimmer in the second
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.). Kessil A360X light. Mounted 8" above water and intensity turned down to 15%
12. What corals do you keep Intend to keep a mixed reef: Zoas, LPS, SPS. No coral currently as this is a new setup
13. Tissue color (light or dark) N/A
14. How long has the tank been running 18 Days
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system. Stability, Low-Nutrient, High growth & color
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.) Will dose BRS 2 part when ALK/CAL levels dictate
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) 20# of new ocean live rock. Added to tank during setup
18. Any present problems Some brown diatom-like algae on sand and rock. Nitrite levels don't seem to be dropping / Nitrates are still high
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.) Above ^^
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.) Hanna Checker, API test kit, Red Sea test kit. All are new
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) See below
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.) salinity is 35ppm. Water is 78*F
23. Which salt brand do you use. Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
Current ZeoVit: I currently run Zeovit material in a mesh bag (0.2L of material) that I shake daily. I also have ZeoBak, ZeoStart, and ZeoFood. When I started the tank, I dosed according to the instructions found here: https://www.korallen-zucht.de/cms/fi..._english-1.pdf After a week, I had a considerable amount of a brown diatom-like algae on all surfaces. Did a 20% water change and some more research, as I didn't have this problem on the previous Zeo tank I setup.
Then I found these instructions: https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstruct...glish_2018.pdf
After searching on this forum, I also found a post by G. Alexander that recommends a dosing regiment that is a mix of the two instructions. Now I'm confused.
The first setup guide suggests daily dosing of the various additives for the first 14 days, before moving to the maintenance dose, but a pause if brown algae is seen. The second set of instructions has an initial starting dosage for ZeoBak, food, etc and then immediately goes into the maintenance schedule after a short dosing break. Finally, the instructions that G. Alexander posted suggest a hybrid approach where you dose for 14 days and continue to dose through the algae bloom.
Help!? I paused dosing 48 hours ago in hopes of stabilizing things and getting the Nitrates and Nitrites to come down, thinking that there were too many nutrients in the tank. I have yet to see a drop in either parameter, but just did another 25% water change and am waiting to test again. How long should I wait to resume dosing, and when I do resume, what dosing schedule would you recommend?
Thanks in advance for the help on my small nano tank!
-Kristen
I am setting up my second ZeoVit tank, but I seem to be struggling with getting the water parameters to stabilize. I think this is partially a byproduct of the fact that I've seen three different sets of ZeoVit "starter" instructions each with different dosing recommendations. This is a nano tank, so I'm worried that I might be overdosing and want to get the recommendations of the experts.
1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - 20 US Gallons All-In-One Tank
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - 20 US Gallons
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique No
4. Are you using a PO4 reactor (how long, how long ago, etc.) No
5. Are you using Ozone. No
6. Are you using UV No
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume) eShopps Nano Skimmer
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels Nitrates: 10-20ppm / Nitrites 2mg/L
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels 9.7 DKH / 460 cal
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) Filter pad in the first chamber, carbon in the third chamber, skimmer in the second
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.). Kessil A360X light. Mounted 8" above water and intensity turned down to 15%
12. What corals do you keep Intend to keep a mixed reef: Zoas, LPS, SPS. No coral currently as this is a new setup
13. Tissue color (light or dark) N/A
14. How long has the tank been running 18 Days
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system. Stability, Low-Nutrient, High growth & color
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.) Will dose BRS 2 part when ALK/CAL levels dictate
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) 20# of new ocean live rock. Added to tank during setup
18. Any present problems Some brown diatom-like algae on sand and rock. Nitrite levels don't seem to be dropping / Nitrates are still high
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.) Above ^^
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.) Hanna Checker, API test kit, Red Sea test kit. All are new
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) See below
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.) salinity is 35ppm. Water is 78*F
23. Which salt brand do you use. Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
Current ZeoVit: I currently run Zeovit material in a mesh bag (0.2L of material) that I shake daily. I also have ZeoBak, ZeoStart, and ZeoFood. When I started the tank, I dosed according to the instructions found here: https://www.korallen-zucht.de/cms/fi..._english-1.pdf After a week, I had a considerable amount of a brown diatom-like algae on all surfaces. Did a 20% water change and some more research, as I didn't have this problem on the previous Zeo tank I setup.
Then I found these instructions: https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstruct...glish_2018.pdf
After searching on this forum, I also found a post by G. Alexander that recommends a dosing regiment that is a mix of the two instructions. Now I'm confused.
The first setup guide suggests daily dosing of the various additives for the first 14 days, before moving to the maintenance dose, but a pause if brown algae is seen. The second set of instructions has an initial starting dosage for ZeoBak, food, etc and then immediately goes into the maintenance schedule after a short dosing break. Finally, the instructions that G. Alexander posted suggest a hybrid approach where you dose for 14 days and continue to dose through the algae bloom.
Help!? I paused dosing 48 hours ago in hopes of stabilizing things and getting the Nitrates and Nitrites to come down, thinking that there were too many nutrients in the tank. I have yet to see a drop in either parameter, but just did another 25% water change and am waiting to test again. How long should I wait to resume dosing, and when I do resume, what dosing schedule would you recommend?
Thanks in advance for the help on my small nano tank!
-Kristen
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