First time Zeovit user - Fish only; then Corals

[CasperOe]

Hi Guys!

A quick question after having read just about all official information about starting on the Zeovit system.

We will be setting up our new tank next week- and I have decided that I want to run it 'Zeovit-style'. Ultimately, it will be a heavily stocked mixed tank with a considerable amount of fish as well.

However, here is when it gets 'fishy'. For the first 6-8 months, it will be a fish-only tank until we can move all our corals from the old tank as well as afford some of those rally nice ones that we want.

When do I start the Zeovit-system?

1. From day 1 - It doesn't matter if its fish only
2. From 14 days before we are ready to add corals
3. Something else

Thank you!

I appreciate your feedback :-)

[jacky]

Welcome to ZeoVit.com.

First - it's helpful to fill in the details about your tank so we can learn more.

1. On the first day, usually the tank is still building a cycle, it is not a good time to add animals.

2&3 are suggested below.

I recommend that you run the Zeo 14 day cycle program with fresh, good quality live rock in your new tank (do you already have the correct Zeo guide?) Usually, adding animals starts after 14 days, basically starting with coral, and then 4 weeks you can add the rest of the fish you plan to use in the system, biology is not very stable at this stage, you need to go slowly step by step, observe that nutrient levels should not rise during this period, if all is well, you can gradually transfer old corals, This is a slow process.

The number and feeding of the added fish will be an important key (nutrient level and biological development), the initial establishment of the tank is very young. Extend this process (add coral) if nutrient levels are high

[CasperOe]

jacky - thank you for your feedback, I appreciate you taking the time! :-)

Aye, I see now I could have been a whole lot more specific- my plans for the tank are as follows:

- Next week: Set up, scape and sand
- 14 days Zen-cycle
- First two fish will go in with more coming one, or two at a time until it is fully stocked with fish
- 10-12 months from now we will start adding corals to the system once the rocks are fully covered in coralline algae

So, my main question iswhether I start the recommended Zeo 14-days cycle from 'day one' ie. next week- or whether I will setup my tank in a traditional way with three months 'no light- cycle and start the Zeovit program in 10 months when I am ready for corals following the path of an already established tank.


The full setup will be as follows:

Aquarium:
- Cade Classic Reef S-2 1200 (512 L / 135 gal)

Flow:
- 2 x Reef Octopus VarioS 4 (plumbed in parallel for redundancy)
- Stock Cade manifold with three gate-valved outlets supplied by the return pump(s)
- 2 x Red Sea ReefWave 45 gyre pumps

Filtration:
- Stock Cade filter socks with added filter pads on top
- Integrated refugium for growing macro algae (chaeto)
- Refugium is fed by the overflow from the filter sock chamber
- Refugium overflow drains in to the skimmer chamber
- Reef Octopus Regal 200-S* protein skimmer (to accommodate high bio load)
- AquaMaxx JZR-2 ZEOvit reactor
- 2 x AquaMaxx fluidized reactors (Carbon + Spare) supplied by the manifold
- D&D Professional 20W UV steriliser supplied by the manifold

*Reef Octopus Regal 150-S should i decide to go with a Clarissa SK-3000 filter roller

Chemistry:
2 x Red Sea ReefDose 4 (Cal, Alk, Mag & var. KZ)

Lighting:
- 2 x Ecotech Radion XR30 Gen 6 (blue)
- Kessil H160 (Tuna Flora) Refugium light

Heating:
- 2 x D&D 350w titanium heaters (controlled by Apex)

Controller:
- Neptune Apex A3 Pro (UK edition)
- Standard Apex probes in skimmer chamber
- 2 x Energy Bar 832
- 2 x Neptune FMM units
- Monitor flow on return pipe
- Monitor flow on each media reactor
- Monitor flow on UV steriliser
- Leak detection in sump cabinet
- Leak detection outside cabinet
- Neptune AFS
- Control of Kessil refugium light
- Control of Reef Octopus return/skimmer pumps
- Module for controlling the Radions once released

[jacky]

It's not a problem if you want to start a Zeo 14 day cycle on a given day, I would recommend that you take care of anything else (equipment, landscaping, sand, rocks, etc.)

1. Before adding the first 2 fish, make sure After the 14-day plan

2. It is recommended to use live rock

3. It is recommended to use dry sand (I use KZ dry sand, it is recommended that you use it, soak it in RO/DI water before use, change the water several times until no PO4 can be measured.

https://forum.zeovit.com/forum/gener...bout-your-tank

https://forum.zeovit.com/forum/gener...nformation-faq

[G.Alexander]

Hello Casper and welcome to ZeoVit.com !

I would also recommend as Jacky said to star the ZeoVit cyce from the beginning as soon as you have everything ready. The process is described over here:

https://forum.zeovit.com/forum/gener...803#post290803

It is important to not have animals in the system while the cycle so starting with Zeovit from the beginning would be the best to cycle the system and getting a solid biology even if you plan to keep fish in the first weeks only.

Make sure to not add to much fish at once, it is better to do this step by step while “monitoring” nutrients to prevent a quick increase because of the early stage as the biology is still not working 100% while this phase.

Just use the basic products:

ZeoVit
Carbon
ZeoBac
ZeoStart
Sponge Power
BioMate – after the cycle optional

Please keep in mind that neither a UV filter nor ozone is compatible with ZeoVit so you can not use them at the same time, if necessary temporary but it should be switched off to 2 or 3 hours while dosing.

If you are ready to add corals later the system should be solid from the view of the biology so it should not be problematic to add corals if water parameters like PO4, NO3, KH, Ca, Mg and K+ are solid within the recommended ranges. This would also be the time to use some other products which are coral related from the product line.

G.Alexander