ZEOvit Tank not maturing as expected

[AllCustom]

Any advice on what I can do to get my tank in order? Corals aren't surviving how I would hope. I'm not sure what I should do. Corals are healthy when I put them in, then lose health and die over the course of a month or so.


1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter

135 gallons

2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter

Approximately 120 gallons

3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique

2 Part additives with Tropic Marin Trace Elements

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)

Red Sea RSK 300, rated for 150 gallons or more given my bioload

8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels

PO4 ~0.06

NO3 ~8-12ppm

9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels

Ca 460 ppm

Alk 7 dk/h

Mg 1325 ppm

10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.)

Skimmer and filter rollermat

11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.)

2 XR15w and Supplemental Actinic Reef Brites

12. What corals do you keep

Zoas, LPS and SPS

13. Tissue color (light or dark)

Dark tissue on SPS, pale colors on zoas

14. How long has the tank been running

1 year

15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system

Straightforward results

16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.)

No

17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.)

Approximately 50 lbs, 1 year old

18. Any present problems

Dying corals, white tips on SPS. Very short turf algae on the rocks, and growing in the sand

19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.)

Tissue loss on base and tips. Some very short thick algae on the rocks

20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.)

Neptune Trident for Ca/Alk/Mg, Nyos for NO3, Red Sea for PO4. All relatively new test cases

21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.)

ZEOvit changed every 60 days

ZEObak 4 drops Monday and Thursday

ZEOfood 8 drops Monday, Thursday, and Saturday

ZEOstart 0.8ml every day

Brightwell Coral Amino approximately 1 time per week

22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.)

Temp: 78 degrees

Salinity: 35ppt

23. Which salt brand do you use

Tropic Marin Reef Pro

[G.Alexander]

Welcome to ZeoVit.com !

Thank you for posting the information about your system. I can not see anything unusual or anything which will cause the issues so some more information are necessary.

Can you please post a full tank shot of your system, also from your sump ?

Can you tell when you have started to use ZeoVit on the system and if you have had those issue before also ?

Have you already done a ICP test and does it show any issues ?

My first guess is that any kind of harmful substances are leached from any component in your system, please also check your pumps if you can find any of them with rust.

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

I don't have any full tank shots right now. I should mention I am running carbon in a carbon reactor, so I can't imagine any contaminants would linger this long. About 50% of the recommended volume of carbon since I am running BRS Rox.

I have an ICP Test Kit arriving tomorrow. Probably won't have results until late next week.

I tested NO3 and PO4 again today. 5 NO3 and 0.0 PO4.

I left out that I wasn't dosing aminos or feeding the coral while I was bringing the nutrient levels down, so is it possible I'm starving the corals? I have upped the fish food and have started dosing aminos and Reef Roids before lights out.

[G.Alexander]

Lets try to remove the carbon temporary for about 2 weeks to see if this makes any difference. After that do two water changes each 10 % within 3 days. Carbon does remove a lot of elements and components but not all kind of harmful substances so this will never be a guaranty.

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

I have turned off the carbon. If it would help I can turn down the flow in the carbon and leave it running. I have a ball valve on the reactor.

Unfortunately my ICP test kit was lost in the mail, so I now have to wait another week for a replacement.

I have the Zeovit Nano Power package on the way to try out. Should be here Tuesday.

[G.Alexander]

Lets keep the carbon removed for two weeks, do not forget the additional water changes I have mention. At the moment lets stay with the dosing regimen you use at the moment until your test result does arrive.

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

Right now my sump goes filter roller mat -> ZEO reactor -> skimmer -> return. Should the reactor go after the skimmer to make sure the bacteria coming off of it make it to the display?

[G.Alexander]

Best direction is roller mat, skimmer, ZeoVit reactor. If you clean the material it does leach sediments which are a excellent food source for the corals otherwise it will be removed before it does arrive at the corals.

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

Finally got my ICP Test Results back. Any idea why my tank is still looking bad? It seems phosphorous is high, and I guess barium, but I'm not sure what to do.

[G.Alexander]

Can you please tell when you have started ZeoVit at your system and how much ZeoVit material you have in your reactor ? Also what exactly is the reactor flow (measured) ?

Would also be interesting to know if the problems where there before you have stared using ZeoVit.

The PO4 level is elevated however not the reason for the problems, same with the barium level.

Have you checked your system for any kind of leaching harmful substances like rust on pumps, hoses which should all be made of silicone, plastics just PVC , is the material you use for your roll filter seawater resistant etc.

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

Can you please tell when you have started ZeoVit at your system and how much ZeoVit material you have in your reactor ? Also what exactly is the reactor flow (measured) ?

Would also be interesting to know if the problems where there before you have stared using ZeoVit.

The PO4 level is elevated however not the reason for the problems, same with the barium level.

Have you checked your system for any kind of leaching harmful substances like rust on pumps, hoses which should all be made of silicone, plastics just PVC , is the material you use for your roll filter seawater resistant etc.

G.Alexander

I think I converted to ZEOVit in September, so about 4 months ago.

I have 1 full bag of ZEOVit rocks in my reactor that flows at about 50-60 gph at last measure.

The tank was not great before I switched to Zeovit, but it wasn't this bad either.

I haven't had a chance to inspect the pumps yet,, but I will tomorrow. I read somewhere that rust on an impeller could cause the extremely elevated Barium levels.

The only parts of the filter roll that touch water are made of acrylic. The material itself is made specifically for aquariums by Trigger Systems.

[G.Alexander]

Reactor flow should be ~ 100 US gallons per hour so yours it to low but this is not the reason for the issues. At the moment I would not increase the flow as corals are not healthy it will just stress them additional in this stage.

Are your LPS coals expanding their tissue and doing fine ?

Are the rocks you have used live rock from the sea or is it any kind of a different type ?

G.Alexander

[AllCustom]

LPS corals are somewhat mixed. Some like chalices are losing tissue. For the most part the rest of the LPS like acans are a little shrunken and not growing.

The rock is CaribSea Life Rock, so it is completely man made.

[AllCustom]

I got a Hanna ULR Phosphate checker for Christmas and I'm measuring 0.03 ppm, so that is certainly good. Maybe even a little low.

[G.Alexander]

The PO4 level is on the lower side but this does not cause issues and is also not the reason for the problems. From all I have read now I can not see any kind of a apparent problem.

As the LPS corals do suffer also it is some kind of a bigger problem as they do usually tolerate much more then SPS corals.

The ICP test result was helpful however it does not show anything unusual. Just keep in mind that there is still a chance that some kind of plastics do leach softeners or any other harmful substances, not sure what materials you have in your tank / sump exactly.

G.Alexander