Conversion to ZEOVIT system

[Matta_S]

HELLO.. i am from Israel and always fascinated by the zeovit system; 5 years in the hobby and my last tank is 2 years old; and now its the time to make the big step; my ZEOVIT reactor is on its way from JAPAN (PRS)

i have read the guides on the zeovit conversion but always an expert opinion or thought is welcomed; i am know working with NOPOX.. so please help me with your advice to make the safest conversion with minimal risks..

my system parameters:

1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - 780 liter
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - 700 liter
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique - calcium reactor WITH coral bones and Mg stones (85/15%)
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 - STOPPED 2 WEEKS AGO (UVC)
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume) - TUNZE DOC Skimmer 9430 DC RATED FOR 3500 L !!! WET SKIMMING
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels - PO4: 0.02-0.03 ; NO3 0.5-1
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels: CA 420-430; ALK 7.9; MG 1290-1300
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) - BARE BOTTOM; ROLLER FLEECE FILTER RATED 40 MICRON (INNOVITECH X-FILTER 1.7)
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.) - 3 X GHL MITRAS 6300; 190 WATTS EACH; ABOUT 3 YEARS OLD; AT 90%; 10 HOURS; MAINLY BLUE + 3 X 60CM Blue Plus LIGHTBARS; 90W EACH; AT 70%; 9 HOURS.
12. What corals do you keep - mainly SPS
13. Tissue color (light or dark) - tricky question; in between light and dark; toward the dark
14. How long has the tank been running - 2 years
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system - extraordinary coloration and corals health; stability.
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.) - NOPOX 16ml daily; Tropic Marin A and K elements 7 ml each; correction of elements once a while with aquaforest products.
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) minimal rockwork; about 35 kg; 2 years old.
18. Any present problems - none; last coral or fish lost a year ago.
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.) little bacterial bloom here and there; not a real issue.
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.) - hanna for CA ALK PO4; salifert for NO3 MG
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) - NONE
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.) SALINITY 1.024-1.026; TEMP 25.0-25.5; PH 7.8-8.1
23. Which salt brand do you use - UNTIL 4 MONTHS AGO I USED RED SEA BLUE BUCKET; SINCE THEN I SWITCHED TO TROPIC MARIN PRO REEF

WAITING FOR YOUR HELP; THANKS IN ADVANCE

[G.Alexander]

Hello Matta and welcome to ZeoVit.com !

I would recommend you to start as follows:

1. Place 1.7 liter zeovit in a Zeo Reactor. Water flow around 700 liters 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 0.7 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 7 drops ZeoBac daily for the first 2 weeks, flowed by a 2 – 3 x weekly dosage of 7 drops. Dose 0.7 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 colouration. 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.

Reduce the NOPOX addition to 50% when you start ZeoVit and than reduce the rest slowly step by step to ZERO over the next 4 6 weeks. When starting stop the addition of the TropicMarin products , the Aquaforest products are also not necessary.

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

[Matta_S]

WOW .. thanks a lot.. great and detailed replay.. i will stick to the plan.. and will inform you if any major issue happen..

and another question about PH; i know that my range is ok.. but i am aiming to the 8.1-8.3 range.. does zeovit have any product or method to help with that?? i would not use a kalkwasser at this stage

[jacky]

While implementing the #2 plan, replace the water with a larger 15%, 3 times within 10 days. This should improve PH. If you have a CoralSnow product, it can neutralize unnecessary acid and it can also help this process.

In point 22, ph 7.8-8.1 are described. Basically it’s okay, as far as possible is to maintain the correct KH level, kh6.5-7.5

[G.Alexander]

There is no need to have bring up the PH, neither growth nor coloration is affected if the level is a in a lower range.

G.Alexander