Thinking of Starting Zeovit

[SuperSaiyanTang]

1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter
Here is my math
60x26x21 3/4'' rimless tank = 126 gallons
Sump a current level = 23 gallons
Total = 149 gallons
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter
110lbs liverock and 60lbs sand displacement brings net to 118 gallons
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique
Dosing two part
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
Yes for disease control and water clarity
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume)
Deltec 1000ix
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels
PO4: .24 NO3 ~25
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels
Alk 7-7.1
Ca 440
Mg 1300
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.)
Small refugium
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.)
ReeFi Leds
12. What corals do you keep
SPS and LPS
13. Tissue color (light or dark)
dark
14. How long has the tank been running
6 months
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system
I am struggling to keep my nutrients low and sps healthy.
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.)
None
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.)
110 lbs I got from a lfs that was from a customer that tore the tank down, could be a few years old
18. Any present problems
SPS tips are dying and turning brown, colors are dark
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.)
tissue loss tips, browning
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.)
Trident, Salifert No3, hanna PO4
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.)
None
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.)
1.026, 78-78.5
23. Which salt brand do you use
Tropic Marin PRO Reef


I am thinking about switching to Zeovit. I am really struggling to maintain my nutrients and grow SPS. When I first setup the tank and added SPS they grew pretty well and had good colors. Now my nutrients are high and I cant manage to bring them down even with water changes, refugium, and GFO. My goal would be to try Zeovit to maintain ULNS and add beneficial bacteria for healthy SPS. My math may be off on net volume so please feel free to correct.

I was thinking of purchasing the AquaMaxx 3L Zeo reactor and Zeo media to start.

I appreciate all of the help!

[G.Alexander]

Welcome to ZeoVit.com !

Difficult to say what the reason for the high PO4 level is but my doubt is the old rocks from the other system is the reason. Even if you start ZeoVit on this system it will be a long way until you notice a decrease of nutrients, this can take up to one year as first the PO4 depots need to be processed and this does take time.

Not sure if you like to give ZeoVit a try under those circumstances ? The system is still young so I would first try to find the source for the PO4 and remove / replace it.

Anyway if you like to give it a try I would recommend to start as follows:

First start with the basics products to decrease nutrients:

1. Place 1.2 liter zeovit in a Zeo Reactor. Water flow around 125 US gallons per hour. Connect the reactor pump to a clock timer and run the reactor pump with a 3 hour on / 3 hour off / 3 hour on interval. Please make sure the zeolite is not exposed to air while the pump is switched off. Clean the material daily. Leave the zeolite 4 weeks in the filter until you do the first change out. This is the first changing interval, others could be lengthen to 6 – 8 weeks.

2. Place 0.45 liters activated carbon in a filter sock and keep it in a passive water flow in your sump, changed every 30 days. Knead the carbon daily to keep the surface clean. Most users get perfect results with korallenzucht carbon.

3. Dose 5 drops ZeoBac daily for the first 2 weeks, flowed by a 2 – 3 x weekly dosage of 5 drops. Dose 0.45 ml ZeoStart 2 x daily (morning & evening). Dose those in front of the Zeo reactor pump while it is switched on.

Later on you could use the additional products for coral coloration. Adjust your skimmer to skim wet, keeping it clean to export as much as possible. Do a weekly water change of 5 – 10 % with a good salt.


Basic water parameters looking good, try to keep them as stabile as possible close the NSW in the following ranges:

KH 6.5 – 7.5
Ca 400 – 420 mg
Mg 1250 – 1300 mg
K+ ~ 380 mg

For a nutrient poor environment K+ (potassium) seems to be a important element. I would recommend you to get a test kit for this element also, posting your results.

This is a start-up dosage which might have to be adjusted later.

G.Alexander

[SuperSaiyanTang]

Thank you for all of the information! I think I am going to give it a try.

My plan is to take the UV and refugium offline and setup what you suggested. Why does the reactor run at 3hour on / 3 hour off / 3 hour on intervals? When I looked at the Zeovit guide for an existing tank it didnt mention this. Should I be following this guide?, https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/Korallen+Zucht/korallenzucht_guide_easy_reefing_english_2018.pdf

Also. would you recommend the 3L AquaMaxx reactor? The KZ reactor is pretty expensive, is it worth the extra money?

Thanks again for the help!

[jacky]

The reactor was turned on and off for 3 hours. 1. System conversion, all bacteria and water chemistry changes, this takes some time, Zeo is a bacteria-driven system 2. The size and time of the reactor flow, it takes time to allow corals to adapt to everything and the environment, otherwise drastic changes ( Nutritional level, bacterial growth, water chemistry, biology), corals may not be adapted

[G.Alexander]

I do not have experience with the reactor you mention but I would recommend you a system with a outer and a inner tube as this prevent constant issues with blocking material between the tube and the perforated plate at the bottom while cleaning it.

G.Alexander

[SuperSaiyanTang]

I think I have settled on the KZ reactor. Should I purchase a bottle of zeofood? Will I need it soon?

Also, is there a recommended turnover rate for the sump? My sump is about 4-5x right now.

[jacky]

Zeo Food can be added later when the low nutritional level is stable and good. At the current stage of system conversion, it is recommended to use Zeo basic products (Zeo Bac/Start/Sponge Power/Zeolite and activated carbon) to reduce nutrition. Please follow the plan in #2, and release the actual nutritional level and coral health at any time. At the same time, make sure that the salinity is correct, and the basic water parameters Kh, Ca, Mg, K+, are at the level of NSW. At present, the source of high nutrition is still uncertain

In question #1, do you still use UV for 24 hours? Do you use additional drugs or other methods for treatment? Are you treating fish?

Has the nutritional level of tank been so high since it was established?

Do you use Ro/di water? What is the quality? Have you checked it

[SuperSaiyanTang]

Zeo Food can be added later when the low nutritional level is stable and good. At the current stage of system conversion, it is recommended to use Zeo basic products (Zeo Bac/Start/Sponge Power/Zeolite and activated carbon) to reduce nutrition. Please follow the plan in #2, and release the actual nutritional level and coral health at any time. At the same time, make sure that the salinity is correct, and the basic water parameters Kh, Ca, Mg, K+, are at the level of NSW. At present, the source of high nutrition is still uncertain

In question #1, do you still use UV for 24 hours? Do you use additional drugs or other methods for treatment? Are you treating fish?

Has the nutritional level of tank been so high since it was established?

Do you use Ro/di water? What is the quality? Have you checked it

Thanks for the reply!

1. I am currently using my UV 24hrs, I was planning on taking that offline once I start Zeovit.

2. I am not currently treating the fish, they all show no signs of disease.

3. My nutrient levels were originally very low. For awhile I actually battled dinos. I believe the nutrients got high from skimming very dry and not doing water changes to help battle the dino's. I currently do a 10% water change once a week now. I also had no other nutrient export method so I added some macro algae in the sump recently. I am planning on removing that to make room for the reactor.

4. I use a 6 stage rodi to make water. It outputs 0 TDS, but I have never had it tested for anything else.

[G.Alexander]

UV is not compatible to the system, I would recommend to switch it off when you start with ZeoVit. A sump turnover rate of 4 – 5 times per hour is fine.

G.Alexander

[jacky]

Before starting the Zeo system, maybe we can temporarily use 3 days to turn off the lighting and use black cloth to completely cover the display system and sump. Maybe you can try it. This will slow down the dino. Many people have succeeded in doing so. But I can't guarantee you. If there is a root cause, it may recur again.

ZeoVit is a bacterial system. I also recommend that you turn off UV at the beginning of ZeoVit. I think 1: UV can not completely treat dino, 2: UV is continuously turned on for a long time, which may affect biological changes, and in the worst case, nutrition will increase.
( 1 and 2, I can’t say I’m right, a little thought)

[SuperSaiyanTang]

My reactor and media is arriving tomorrow. I will make another post once I got everything installed.

[SuperSaiyanTang]

I received my reactor and media today and I have a few questions before I start setting everything up.

1. Are there any instructions for the 2L KZ Reactor?

2. What is the swing arm at the top of the reactor for?

3. How do I remove the top to insert media?

4. Should I put the ball valve on the output? What size do I need? My reactor didnt come with a valve.

5. The pump came with a lot of extra parts and an airline, do I need any of those?

6. My zeovit media came about half the bag crushed to small pieces. Is that normal?

7. Does it matter which order to place the skimmer and reactor in regards to flow through the sump?

8. Can I use any extension cord to make the pump plug longer?

Sorry for so many questions! Just want to make sure everything is correct.

Thanks again!

[G.Alexander]

I do not know of user instructions for the reactors but basically they are easy to handle. I try to answer your questions as follows:

2. The swing arm is to push / pull the material for cleaning.

3. The top plate can be easy removed by just pulling it, it is just hold by the red / brown seal.

4. I have used a ball valve at the reactor outlet to keep the water above the water outlet which has prevent to create air bubbles but basically for the function it is not necessary.

5. It is a standard pump with all accessory from the manufacturer so you just need to connect the pressure side of the pump with the reactor, the air line is not necessary.

6. The material has different grain sizes and the different grain sizes are different zeolites so this is normal.

7. The skimmer should always be installed before the reactor otherwise the sediments which are released while cleaning the material in the reactor will be skimmer out immediately. The material is a excellent food source for the corals (bacteriplancton).

8. You can lengthen the cable of the reactor pump with a extension cord, just make sure it keep it dry.

G.Alexander

[SuperSaiyanTang]

4. I have used a ball valve at the reactor outlet to keep the water above the water outlet which has prevent to create air bubbles but basically for the function it is not necessary.

G.Alexander
I am trying to reduce the flow to match the 125gph for the reactor. I cant seem to find a valve that fits and the setup didn't come with one. Should I be putting the valve on the pump intake or reactor output?

[SuperSaiyanTang]

After doing some research it seems I need to attach a valve to the pump intake to slow the flow to 125gph. If I dont do that then I will get a much higher flow through the reactor. I went to the hardware store to try and find a valve and couldn't find anything that fits. At this point I'm lost and not sure what to do. I may have to return the reactor.