Progressing with Zeovit

[Reefdom]

Hi,

I am starting a new thread to help with running my system on Zeovit.

I am now 3 months in to full zeovit after a switch over on a tank that was a year old at the time. I am Acropora dominant with a few LPS (Goniopora and Acan/lobo/Duncan).

Tank details below.

1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - 290 Litres
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - 230 litres
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique - Balling Light
4. Are you using a PO4 reactor - no, never have
5. Are you using Ozone - no, never have
6. Are you using UV - no, never have
7. What skimmer are you using - Deltec 600i (rated for 200 litres -600 litres)
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels - Po4 0.00, no3 2.5 (was previously 0)
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels - 7.8, 430, 1275
10. What filtration method do you use - Filter socks and skimmer
11. Type of light - T5 8x39w ATI Sunpower Dimmable
12. What corals do you keep - Acropora with some LPS (Goniopora, Lobophylia, Micromussa, Euphyllia)
13. Tissue color - mid.
14. How long has the tank been running - 15 months
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system - involved method, keep in tune with tank.
16. Any supplemental dosing - Sponge Power, zeobak, biomate, zeofood plus, coral vitalizer, Iodine
17. Live rock - started with dry rock (marco rock), roughly 15kg
18. Any present problems - a little cyano on sand. Brown buildup on rocks over the course of the day. Small amount of algae
19. Problem description - ony above. Corals are looking well and encrusting, good PE on most corals. SOme have poor PE
20. What test kit do you use Salifert for all other than p04 (Hanna ULR)
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals: zeobak & biomate 2 drops 2x a week, sponge power 1 drop 3x a week
22. Other water parameters and water stability - 35ppt, 26 degrees C
23. Which salt brand do you use - Tropic Marin Pro Reef


The rise in Nitrates has been over the past 2 weeks, zeolites are currently 6 weeks old, could this be the reason. Phosphate is undetectable.

I am currently running 3/4 the recommended quantity of zeolites and dosing 0.2ml Zeostart, split over two daily doses.

After 3 months I must say I am not very impressed. growth has not improved much and PE is less than previous. I think part of the reason is a few changes (temp swing from heatwave, treatment for bryopsis which meant no skimmer for 3 weeks, fragging of corals leading to alkalinity changes).

However I would like to get the tank back on track and would like some help.

I will be changing the zeolites this weekend (6 weeks). Should I keep the current amount of 375ml or increase? Flow rate is 130l/hr.
Should I increase zeostart dosing? Current dose is 0.2ml a da, which is just under 50% recommended dose.

At the moment I only dose Sponge power, Zeobak and biomate. As stated above, po4 is 0 and nitrate is 2.5.

[Reefdom]

Current coral status

[Reefdom]

Closer view

[G.Alexander]

Some corals still have relative dark tissue for the undetectable PO4 level and the minimal NO3 level. Does the brown stuff on the sand disappear while the dark period growing back quickly when the light is switched on in the morning ?

I do expect those are any kind of Dinoflaggelate which by the way do also create cloudiness of the water.

G.Alexander

[Reefdom]

Yes, overnight the brown dusting on the sand does clear and comes back later in the day during the light period. The later in the day the more is present.

I have had dinoflaggelates before and this seems different, however I know there are a number of different species.

I agree some corals still appear dark, a few are quite new and I have a few new frags being delivered today.

Do you have any guidance on next steps in clearing the tank up and moving forward. Should I increase the zeolite amount to the recommended, increase the zeostart dose? Reduce the zeostart dose.

Leave thing

[G.Alexander]

You can first try to treat them with a mixture of 4 ml Coral Snow and 2 drops ZeoBac / 25 US gallons for a couple of days but usually this does not help. While the treatment it is not necessary to dose ZeoBac additional. Many had success by a total light blackout for three days including to wrap the display system with black foil to prevent indirect light from the room.

G.Alexander

[Reefdom]

This is all assuming what I have is dinoflagellates and not something else.

What about zeostart dosing and zeolite quantities?

At present even though phosphate is zero and nitrate is 2.5 I am growing film on the glass and some cyano in the back glass and rocks. It is not a lot however.

[G.Alexander]

The film you describe is some kind of a biofilm which is usually a indicator for a good working biology. If the PO4 level is solid undetectable I would recommend you to keep the dosing regimen as it is, run 0.5 liters ZeoVit with a constant water flow of ~ 200 liters per hour through the reactor and replace it every 6 weeks.

G.Alexander

[Reefdom]

Thanks. I tested this morning before my water change and phosphates, for the first time since starting zeo were 7pbb (0.02). Nitrates were 2.5.

i am going to change the zeolites next weekend once the new corals have settled.

[Reefdom]

Phosphates are up again, now 13 pbb (0.04).

could this be due to the zeolites being 6 weeks old now?

[G.Alexander]

Yes, it can be the reason. Keep in mind to just replace 90% of the material while keeping 10% of the old material in the reactor. After each exchange dose ZeoBac daily for 10 days.

G.Alexander

[Reefdom]

Thank you. To help with my learning I am going to wait a week or two and monitor phosphate. After a week or two I will change the zeolites and see how things change.

It will also help the new corals settle before any changes happen.

How does zeostart 3 impact phosphates and how should the dosing be adjusted based on phosphate levels?

[G.Alexander]

Usually I would recommend to dose it like described on the bottles label. If a system does run nutrient poor stabile over a longer period you can reduce the quantity a little bit as long as you notice a PO4 increase again but I would not recommend to dose less than 50% of the bottles label recommendation to keep the biology solid.

G.Alexander

[Reefdom]

Thank you. At present I am dosing 0.3ml a day (which is 0.15ml in the morning and 0.15ml in the evening. This was increased last week from 0.2ml a day. If all continues well I will go up again to 0.4ml next week.

[Reefdom]

I am now 7 weeks into my current zeolite set and over the past 2 weeks I have noticed nutrients rising. I am concerned that a change of zeolites now might reduce my nutrients too quickly and stress my acropora.