paulthomas
Punk
Well then, do you know where I can collect a few hundred gallons of Fijian-like NSW? Lemme guess...
Zeovit
- Thread starter CaptainAndy
- Start date
Well then, do you know where I can collect a few hundred gallons of Fijian-like NSW? Lemme guess...
jackthestrat
DON'T PANIC
A question about this system, I'm thinking about setting it up on my Elos.
What happens to zoas, shrooms, etc in ULNS? Do they melt away?
What happens to zoas, shrooms, etc in ULNS? Do they melt away?
Joel A
Started over.
the only thing i personally dislike about the system is the daily maitenence.
You have to dose multiple solutions daily, as well as pump the reactor once or twice a day. Doesn't take long, and i didn't think it'd be a problem, but where you run into a bit of a problem with it is the initial phase.. you're supposed to dose in front of the reactor, and only when it's on (it switches on and off in 3 hour intervals). So you have to be home, and ready to dose when the reactor is on... you also need to pump it once or twice a day when the reactor is on.
Doesn't sound like a big deal, but for someone with a bit of a busy lifestyle, it can be a bit frustrating at times.
The other thing is make sure you place the zeo-reactor down wind of you're skimmer..
You have to dose multiple solutions daily, as well as pump the reactor once or twice a day. Doesn't take long, and i didn't think it'd be a problem, but where you run into a bit of a problem with it is the initial phase.. you're supposed to dose in front of the reactor, and only when it's on (it switches on and off in 3 hour intervals). So you have to be home, and ready to dose when the reactor is on... you also need to pump it once or twice a day when the reactor is on.
Doesn't sound like a big deal, but for someone with a bit of a busy lifestyle, it can be a bit frustrating at times.
The other thing is make sure you place the zeo-reactor down wind of you're skimmer..
jackthestrat
DON'T PANIC
These kinds of complications are why I haven't already pulled the trigger on this system. The Elos sump is small and poorly designed (IMHO). There's no chance that I can have a reactor "down-wind" of my skimmer, when my skimmer and reactor would have to share the same area in the sump. Plus, I would have to build my own reactor because all the commerically available ones I have found have such huge footprints that they wouldn't fit.
I was thinking about having a custom sump built early next year. This will probably have to wait until then.
Dragon2115
Non-member
You don't necessarily need to do this. I use zeovit products but I took a different approach. First, I haven't replaced my zeolites since April. After reading the paper that Randy Holmes-Farley posted the link to that proved that clinoptilolite (the zeolites used in the zeovit system) do not remove ammonia/ammonium from salt water as the guide claims (only works in fresh water) and that all they do remove from salt water is potassium I decided to leave the zeolites in place. After awhile they staturated with potassium and I was able to stop dosing K-Balance. I still dose 2-3 drops of Zeobac every 2-3 days and I stir the reactor daily. Well, when I remember. It's more like once every two or three days in reality.
What I'm doing seems to be working because I feed the tank fish goo daily plus flake, mysis, and arctipods whenever I feel like it and although I do have some hair algea in my frag tank, I don't have any problem HA issues. I can still maintain coraline. My nitrates are maintaining in the 5-10ppm range and my PO4 is 0.04ppm measured with a low-range Hanna meter. My fish seem to be healhy and I don't seem to have any aggression issues from competition for food. My clowns breed about every two weeks and they have good size egg clutches. You can tell when they aren't getting enough food because their egg clutches get smaller.
The Zeovit system can be throttled back to meet your particular needs if you don't want to go the whole nine yards with it. Just something to think about.
creatureteacher
Non-member
I'm not sure I understand the argument either. After seeing the zeovit tank posted on this site, I am really impressed by the clarity of the tank and the quality and color of the corals. As far as the "natural" look, I have seen very few tanks that really look natural. This is by no means an insult to anyone. We all play God when we start and maintain an aquarium; however, I have never seen 2 square feet of ocean that has 30-40 individual species of corals placed next to each other. If we are to argue for a more natural look, we should probably start with aquascaping and coral selection. Just my opinion.
jackthestrat
DON'T PANIC
Can you post the link so I can check it out? And how did you know when the zeolites were saturated with potassium?
I'm interested in this system for both the nutrient control and ability to overfeed aspects. I want to get rid of my GFO and my fuge. Whenever I take either of these components off-line I get a color shift in my corals, presumably due to nutrient build-up.
Dragon2115
Non-member
That discussion is in the thread linked below. Warning, it long and boring.
I knew my zeolites had saturated because I test for potassium and it stopped dropping at an unnatural rate.
http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80028&highlight=zeovit
That is exactly the reason I started using it. But you have to decide where you want to be. I didn't like the loss of coraline where the system really got going which is why I throttled back. I also don't want my corals to have that pastel look that you get when you run the system to its full potential. The full zeo system works pretty good if your goal is to get all your numbers to zero for an sps tank. But my tank is a mixed reef and things like my sunset monti don't do well in those condiditons without dosing a few things. I really don't want to get into that for the reason Joel said, too much work. I need my tank to be able to sustain itself for two weeks with only family tossing food in for the fish daily and a reefer friend to come in and check on things and stir the reactor once during the weekend in the middle.
Dragon2115
Non-member
Yes they are impressive, but the point about them not looking natural has nothing to do with Aussie corals being next to Caribbean corals. It's that the colors themselves are unnatural. We are causing them to exhibit colors that they normally don't. We already do that to an extent because of the lighting we use where on a natural reef they don't see 8, 10, 12 hours a day of cloudless sun 365 days a year. The best they'll get, IIRC, is 90 cloudless days a year in the wild. And because of the way the sun travels they probably won't be in the light for all of it. Where we already push them the argument can easily be made, why not push them further. That is up to the particular reefer to decide. After all, it's your tank, make it look any way you want.
As for the clarity the carbon certainly helps, along with the Zeozyme and coral snow. Or iow, something else to buy and dose. But even the water clarity is unnatural if we get right down to it. I'm a diver and I've never seen totally clear water. There is always particulates in it. And at night it can be downright disgusting with the amount of stuff floating around when there aren't any fish around to gooble it up. I once wondered, if sun corals have to be target fed in our tanks then how could they survive in the wild? After seeing what's out there at night I realized why. It's like I said, it's basically a soup of food at night that would be very hard for us to replicate in our tanks. The filtration to clear the water every morning would be rediculous.
creatureteacher
Non-member
I absolutely agree, although I'm not sure that there is more stuff in the water at night. Although you see a totally different cast of characters at night, I have found that the narrow beam of your dive light tends to create a snow of backscatter that would indeed appear to make the water look like it has much more stuff in it. But that is neither here nor there. Your point is that it is up to us whether or not we manupulate our aquarium environments, and it is truly not a right or wrong scenario.
Blueflu1
The Acan Reaper!
I just ordered myself a zeovit kit, along with a potassium test kit, coral snow and a potassium supplement.
Just for an update, how is everyones tank going that started zeo in this thread?
Any recommendations?
How is the KZ potassium test kit. I have read that it stinks but it is the only potassium kit out there that I could find.
Just for an update, how is everyones tank going that started zeo in this thread?
Any recommendations?
How is the KZ potassium test kit. I have read that it stinks but it is the only potassium kit out there that I could find.
Joel A
Started over.
the potassium test kit is fine if you get a good one.. there are major quality control issues though. If you're having an issue with it post it up on the zeovit.com forums.. they are usually pretty good about getting a replacement kit if you get a bad one.
My tank is currently off zeovit due to lack of time for the daily dosing. It's a shame, i was noticing good results when i was using the system.. i just haven't been able to give my tank as a whole the care it deserves lately. When i start up my new system it will be zeovit from the start.
Randy Holmes-Farley
Well-Known Member
How do you know they are good?
I think the Fauna Marin K+ kit is a reasonably accurate ( at least it reads my seawater standard correctly enough for gross understanding), while the kz kit seems to read low from what I've heard from some advanced reefers.
I think the Fauna Marin K+ kit is a reasonably accurate ( at least it reads my seawater standard correctly enough for gross understanding), while the kz kit seems to read low from what I've heard from some advanced reefers.
Joel A
Started over.
My experience with the KZ tests is that they are either really really low, or fairly accurate. The ones that read really really low are the ones that are "bad".. and their other ones that are presumed to be "good" because they get a more reliable ball-park reading. Most of the people who complain of bad kits have kits that read ridiculously low in my experience. I've seen people test a whole bottle of Potassium supplement and get little to no reaction out of the KZ test kit, and that's where a lot of the complaints come from i believe. A lot of people have had bad experiences with them so they talk down about them, at the same time though it seems if you don't get one of the test kits with an issue they are fairly reliable. Obviously i don't know exactly how good they are, as i don't really have a better way of testing for potassium, but they seem reasonable. Mine seems to have worked fine since i've had it.. haven't used it much, but when i have i've gotten results in the ball park of what i was expecting.
No experience with the Fauna Marin here though.
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Randy Holmes-Farley
Well-Known Member
OK, that's reasonable, but if you use one and get a result that is, say 300 ppm, how do you know if it is a good kit or a bad one?
Gardiner
The Reef Farmer
I have the KZ test, but do not rely on it. I have a blue acro that seems to be a better indicator of low levels. Since I stopped replacing the zeolites, I have not needed to add nearly as much Potassium.
I wonder if switching from zeolites to the solid vodka pellets will alleviate the Potassium draw.
Nothing special needs to be done. SPS will darken and possibly brown once they are out of the Zeovit system. Zoas will not really be affected.
I wonder if switching from zeolites to the solid vodka pellets will alleviate the Potassium draw.
Nothing special needs to be done. SPS will darken and possibly brown once they are out of the Zeovit system. Zoas will not really be affected.
Randy Holmes-Farley
Well-Known Member
I wonder if switching from zeolites to the solid vodka pellets will alleviate the Potassium draw.
It will reduce some/most of the potassium sink, as would just getting rid of the zeolites and continuing the rest of the zeovit system, if you use it now, or vinegar, vodka, etc.
It will reduce some/most of the potassium sink, as would just getting rid of the zeolites and continuing the rest of the zeovit system, if you use it now, or vinegar, vodka, etc.
