Returning to ZEO after 8 years.

[Tyson]

Tell us about your tank.
Please give us answers to the following questions in order to get more accurate dosing recommendations.

1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - 170 liter (Redsea Reefer 170)
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - 150 liter
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 - Nyos 110 skimmer
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels - tested 1 week ago, Po4 = 0ppm No3 = 9-10ppm
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels tested 1 week ago, ALk = 10dkh, Cal = 420ppm, Mag = 1350ppm
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) was using- NOPOX, with polyplabs bacteria and their ceramic blocks. Currently using ZeoCarbon in a filter bag = .150 L in sump.
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.) Neptune systems SKY light, running at 75% on the ABS+ mode ( maybe 18k look)
12. What corals do you keep- Mostly SPS dominated, nepthia, photo-Gorgonia, GSP rock island, 2 rodactis mushrooms, one acan-micromusa colony.
13. Tissue color (light or dark) - Most are dark, one or two that have in the past two week started to lighten up.
14. How long has the tank been running - almost two years
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system - because I’ve used it before and loved it.
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.) - Running ATi essentials PRO 1 and 2 for major and minor elements(5ml/day), Acro power amino acids (5ml/day)
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) - yes, 5-8 LBs in display and sump, about two years old. Plus two polyp labs ceramic bricks in sump,
18. Any present problems - yes
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.) - Slight Cyano in some small spots
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.) Alk-aquaforest; Cal,Mag - Salifert; Salinity- Hanna digital meter; Po4 ,No3 LR- Hanna checkers and Hagen.
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) - ZEOvit = .250 liter; ZeoBac 1 drop/ 3 days; ZeoFood 2 drops/2days; Zeostart 0.2ml/ Day on a doser; waiting on zeospur to come in; SP 1 drop/day; acroglow 1-2 drops/day; coral vitalizer 1-2 drops /day; coral snow 1-2ml /day
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.) - Salinity = 1.026-1.027SG; Temp 77-78F
23. Which salt brand do you use - Redsea (Purple bucket)

Just a bit more information on the system and how i run it so far.

I am using a Nyos torq reactor for my zeovit rocks on its lowest setting, fully open the pump can do 1000L/H, to shake the rocks daily i remove the top of the RX holding the rocks give it a few shakes then reinstall it and turn the flow through the RX to high for a few mins then return it to the lowest setting,

I am dosing the ZeoStart using the Redsea dosing pumps - super accurate dosers ( using two, two head Redsea Dosers for ATi pro 1 and 2, acro power and the zeostart,
all other supplements are dosed by hand.

I test ALK weekly, and the rest monthly, water changes are weekly ( 5 Gallons)



Thanks everyone for your help in advance,

Tyson W

[jacky]

Start with basic products to reduce nutrients first:

1. Put 0.38 L of zeovit into the reactor. Make sure that the zeolite is not exposed to air when the pump is turned off. Clean materials daily. Leave the zeolite in the reaction for 4 weeks until your first change. This is the first replacement interval, others can be extended to 6-8 weeks. There should be a maximum flow of 150 liters per hour through the reactor.

2. Put 0.15 liters of activated carbon in the filter bag and keep it in the passive water flow in the sink, change it every 30 days. Rub the charcoal daily to keep the surface clean. Most users get perfect results with korallenzucht carbon.

3. Zeo Bac 2 drops 2-3 times a week, take 0.15ml ZeoStart 2 times a day (morning and evening)

4. 2 drop of Sponge Power every other day will provide additional improvements in systems biology. Once the system is running nutrient solids, other products you already have can be used later.

5. Since you use NOPOX, it will be reduced by 1/2 immediately, and it will take about 2 weeks to reach 0

6. Use only Zeo base product dose, you can use other products later for coral coloring. When you start using ZeoVit, also stop taking your current nutritional/coloring products (those you listed) Take only supplements to keep Ca/KH and Mg levels within recommended ranges, they should not contain additional trace amounts element. Adjust your skimmer to skim off wetness and keep it as clean as possible for exit. Change the water 5 – 10% weekly and use good quality salt.

7. Choose a suitable salt brand, I use KZ salt and try to keep it at the level recommended by NSW.

The basic water parameters are not 100% ideal, adjust them slowly and try to keep them within the following ranges around NSW:

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

For malnourished environments, K+ (potassium) appears to be an important element. I suggest you get the test suite for this element as well, and post your results.

This is a starting dose that may need to be adjusted later.

[Tyson]

Thanks Jacky,

I have just a few questions, should i run the the zeo reactor on and off ? 3hrs on 3hrs off ? Or is it ok to run 24/7 right now?

As for my supplements for Cal ALK and Mag, i have been using ATI essentials pro (two bottles) 1 and 2, but they have the major and minor elements premixed in them.
should i spot using them and switch to just a Cal ALk and Mag only supplement?

Last one, I don’t have access to KZ salt here in Canada anymore, only Redsea salt (their two kinds) aqua forest salts ( both kinds), and instant ocean/ reef crystals, some places have the delta h2 ocean, Tropicmarine ($$$)

Any-thoughts on the best out of these to use?

Thanks again !

[jacky]

150 liters per hour flow through the zeolite material reactor (remains resident) if the corals are all healthy

Only separate supplements of Cal ALk and Mag are good, the difference in tank stage/biological changes/coral numbers and growth, this is different for each element consumption, it is recommended to add separately and maintain the level in NSW

I personally use KZ salts, mostly salt mixes that have high calcium, high potassium and low KH, which is convenient for my parameters. I have not used Red Sea (purple barrel) and I think it has a high KH.

[G.Alexander]

Hello Tyson and welcome back !

Tropic Marin Pro Reef would be a good alternative if you can get it.

Make sure to not use a "Probiotic" salt.

As Jacky has mention if the Ca / KH supplement does contain additional trace elements try to get a pure supplement. Also stop doing the AcroPower product at the moment (cyanos).

If you remove 50% of the nopox observe nutrient concentrations. If you notice they do increase slowly while the removing process lengthen the interval to remove the rest step by step to 4 weeks. The ceramic blocks can be removed later slowly step by step.

G.Alexander

[Tyson]

Thank you G and Jacky, glad to be back.
Ill work on the instructions you’ve given me,

thanks again gents!

[jacky]

Welcome back, compared with you in this forum, I am still a novice, you are a senior. Sorry, some "details" I didn't notice. I also wish you success, glad you shared your tank with us

[Tyson]

Thanks Jacky,
Just happy to be back with you guys, this is the best reef forum community!

[Tyson]

Hello everyone.

Most recent test results and as of April 21/22 i have changed over to a basic Calcium/Magnesium/ALK dosing, no more major and minor elements being dosed.

Test results-

Temp 77.8F (Apex probe)
Salinity 1.027 SG (Milwaukee tester)
ALK 8.4-8.5 Dkh ( Aquaforest test kit)
CAL 350 ppm (Salifert kit)
MAG 1350 ppm (Salifert kit)
Po4 0.12 ppm ( Hanna LR checker)
No3 10 ppm (Fluval test kit)
K+. ( no test kit yet)

Corals look brighter and lighter but still not as they should be. Good Polyp extension, still have cyano and its spreading a bit more now.

Current dossing-

ZEO Start 2 - 0.30 mL / day but split into 3 times through out the day
ZeoBac - 2 drops 2-3 times weekly
Zeovit media - 0.35 L in reactor 150L/HR flow ( should be 0.38 L of media, will adjust in a week at first zeovit change out)
ZeoCarbon - 0.15 L in filter sack in sump.
Sponge power - 2 drops every other day.

Coral snow ( have but do not dose)
Zeofood7 ( Have but do not dose)
Pohl’s coral xtra ( have but do not dose)
A-Balance ( have but do not dose)
Zeospur 2 ( have but do not dose)
Coral Vitalizer ( have but do not dose)
Cyano clean ( have but do not dose)
AcroGlow ( have but do not dose)
AcroPower amino acid ( have but do not dose)

[Tyson]

[Tyson]

[G.Alexander]

Thank you for your update. The Ca level has dropped massive since the beginning so I would recommend you cross check it with a different test kit. If that shows the same result slowly increase it to ~ 400 mg.

KH has come down but is still a little bit high, let it drop to ~ 7.5 and keep it solid there.

The PO4 level has increased, can you please do another test to make sure it was not a measuring error ?

Can you tell a little bit more about the sand you have used, is it live sand ?

G.Alexander

[Tyson]

Hi G,
So i made up a calcium solution after dosing around 20ml of this stock solution the new reading was 410 ppm.

as for the Po4, I have notice alot more green film algae on the glass every day, I have clean the glass twice in a day. I'll test again.

I started the tank with Fiji pink sand (not live) and a hand full or two of of the crushed coral sand ( not live) to keep it from blowing around to much.

[Tyson]

Hey G,
just checked my doser, the one dosing my zeostart2 had been reset to 0ml, so it hasnt been dosing zeostart2 for the last 4 days.

[G.Alexander]

The sand is fine, just wanted to rule out you have used live sand because of the film on the sand which is common in the combination of ZeoVit and live sand.

Lets dose ZeoStart manually for the next couple of days as planned until your dosing system is working reliable again.

If the cyanos do not start to decrease in the next days I would recommend you to dose CyanoClean and Coral Snow to get rid of them, additional vacuum the affected areas while the weekly water changes.

G.Alexander