ZEOvit. Lets talk

[wrightme43]

Thank you very much. Its late I have more questions but now I have to get some sleep. Thanks again.

 

[mojoreef]

Light, which is necessary to keep the zoox alive they nourish to coral with amino- and fatty acids.

Yes but you have severly reduced the zoox population which in turn has reduced its compacity at producing those.

Amino Acids which are produced from the coral & provided by the addition to the water.

AA production with in the coral are very small, and additions of AA's to the water column will never make it to the corals directly. To many hungry mouths along the way. This is why I am stating its truely bacteria driven. If AA's are added to the water they will be bound up by bacteria immediately, now will the bacteria be delivered to the coral or live with in the coral?? I would say that is the result.

Nutrients, low, but always present as we can say this with the unprofessional hobby test we use to nourish the zoox which are further present but not in the high concentration we know from nutrient wasted tanks. IMO a similar concentration like corals they grew in the upper reef environments.

To be exactly the same I am not sure, depend on the enviroment the coral came from. When dealing with reef top and very low concentrations of nutrients you are dealing with corals that are subject to a lot of inputs of nutrients both organic and inorganic but then are quickly swept away by tides and wave action. Kinda like feeding a bg meal and then quickly cleaning up the table after dinner, lol. I think when relating to the zeovit system and comparing it to this it is more of a function of the skimming capability (carbon maybe to) but that would be a key.

The reason I asked you about the slime on the corals, is that it is a major form of the way they gather food. In the case of the zeosystem you are negating or severly reducing other aspects and reling on the consumption of bacteria, slime netting is the main way they take up bacteria. If your corals are producing good amounts of slime then one can assume that they are making the transistion to actively feed in this manner. Which is what you really want to see.


Mike

 

[mojoreef]

It may be the bact's are initial attracted to the zeo as it has picked up ammonia, something they want. There have been a number of studies on it and abstracts on our chem forum that they are indeed attracted to zeo's because it has picked up ammonia. "Nitrate sponges" are the same kind of zeolite and we know what they do but we never fed them or cleaned them. Ionic exchange is another issue. You are attracted to a restaurant, you can smell the food but can not get in, as the doors are looked but you stay there anyway, maybe the doors will open.

This is probibly the most accurate and logical reasoning I have heard so far on the use of the zeolites

It seems the bacteria convert much more PO4 in the time when the environment changes from aerobic to anaerobic and back

Ok lol you need to go a bit deeper on this one for me Alexander??



Mike

 

[G.Alexander]

Yes but you have severly reduced the zoox population which in turn has reduced its compacity at producing those.

Not sure if this is the fact with all corals. If I take a corals from a nutrient higher system or a coral which was in the exporters system for a longer period, this is correct. They are brown of the accumulation of zoox and this density will be reduced.

On the other side I have seen corals in the wild, also many fresh coral imports and to be honest, I do not see a significant difference in the zoox density after placing them in my tank.

AA production with in the coral are very small, and additions of AA's to the water column will never make it to the corals directly. To many hungry mouths along the way. This is why I am stating its truely bacteria driven. If AA's are added to the water they will be bound up by bacteria immediately, now will the bacteria be delivered to the coral or live with in the coral?? I would say that is the result.

Interesting view. As we know bacteria are also able to consume amino acids I would expect this could be the fact.

Ok lol you need to go a bit deeper on this one for me Alexander??

Mike, I am not the biochemical expert. I leave it up to you, but it was observed, the interval is helpful to increase the reduction of nutrients.

G.Alexander

 

[TDEVIL]

i know about the kalk issues , but thanks for the reminder

and thanks for the answer/s

a great skimmer and the zeo-reactor and a ca-reactor are all is needed
i have the lighting covered, i have needed to upgrade the skimmer for a while now, but have been spending the money on other stuff, lol and a ca reactor has been on the list ever since i got into SPS's, just havent got one yet

maybe when Scott gets his tank/s up and running i will take a road trip to see it running in person, if he is up for it, of course

have a good day/night all

Jay

 

[Haole]

I’ve been following this thread from the start and it’s great to see that it’s been staying informative rather than a heated point/counter point. Good job everyone!

Evolution Aquatics, invincible569, and G.Alexander, your pictures are truly remarkable to see! Thanks for sharing. Would it be possible for you all to show some pictures of your set ups? You know, like your sumps and zeo-reactors.

I’m a bit leery with the fact that if a person is running this type of system, they are totally dependant upon one manufacturer. Is this product line solely being produced overseas? Have you all ever run into a situation where you were unable to obtain the products that you needed?

About the zeo-reactor maintenance..... When it’s time to stir up the zeo’s in the reactor, does this have to be a vigorous stirring to dislodge the bacteria? I’m just wondering because I’ve seen pictures of some reactors that are open at the top and I think this would have to become rather messy with splashing and all if the stirring process needs to be somewhat vigorous.

Could a zeo-reactor be made out of a canister filter possibly?

Maybe I missed this somewhere if so please forgive me... Is this type of set up strictly for keeping sps or can it be done with a mixed reef. What I’m getting at is, has anyone seen any detrimental effects upon lps corals that may be included in one of these systems? What about zoanthids?

 

[OUinLA]

Haole, as far as I know, in the states, there is only one source of zeovit or similar product. It's imported by Captive Oceans. Captive Oceans has a network of dealers scattered around the US. They have done a good job of making sure that all the dealers are well stocked.

Stirring the reactor doesn't have to be vigorous at all. I make the open top models you might be referring to and I can say that they aren't messy. I also make completely closed/external reactors but I prefer the internal/open top because you have more control stirring the media. However, if you lift the media/inner chamber too high then you can get some splash when lowering it.

This system can be used on any saltwater environment. ZEOvit lowers nutrients, so any animal that can live in a low nutrient environment (sps, clams, lps, zoos, softies, fish) will do will with this system. It seems most lps are able to hold their color in conditions where sps might go brown so you may not see dramatic color changes with lps and zoos like you do with sps. But, the water will be a lot clearer, algaes won't grow as fast or will disappear and you won't have to wipe the tank sides down as often.

 

[invincible569]

Rob,

Pictures of my tank will be available in the beginning of September (couple of wks away). We can post a link when they are ready for viewing. Hopefully everyone will like it.

 

[NaH2O]

I have a question for the Zeovit users. Since this system seems to be bacterial driven coupled with nutrient removal, and everyone talks about a lack of algae.....where does that leave your "clean-up" critters like snails? Do you have critter losses, such as snails, crabs, urchins, etc?

 

[invincible569]

Nikki,

I havent seen any losses in my current cleanup crew. But then again, I never had any snails. I only had a couple of shrimp, blenny, and conch's.

 

[Haole]

Thanks for the info OUinLA!
Obviously this type of set up has been around for a while, but it sure is new to me and it’s great to learn more about different techniques that people use to maintain a reef aquarium.

Invincible,
That’s great to hear. I look forward to seeing more pictures of these types of systems. Especially and hopefully more of the behind the scenes and backbone parts of what make these systems work.

So am I too far out in left field with the notion that a canister filter could work as a zeo-reactor?

I understand that with larger tanks that a calcium reactor would be more practical, but with using the balanced two part solutions for calcium and alkalinity on smaller systems, wouldn’t regular water changes keep the chlorides from accumulating to any significant amount?

 

[scottw]

So am I too far out in left field with the notion that a canister filter could work as a zeo-reactor

You for sure can use one, many people do. Just make sure the pump is not pumping more then 100/gph per liter of stones Your set to go.

 

[mojoreef]

OUinLA I think this system would be pretty tough on any coral with a high utrient demand, such as softies and most lps. Even with a hyper bacterial system I dont think they ould meet the demand. Any reasoning behind this??


Mike

 

[MikeS]

OUinLA I think this system would be pretty tough on any coral with a high utrient demand, such as softies and most lps. Even with a hyper bacterial system I dont think they ould meet the demand. Any reasoning behind this??


Mike

I see the same thing...

Would one have to compensate with increased target feeding of softies and LPS? Would this not in turn raise nutrient levels? And in turn would the zeovite system compensate (or overcompensate) for this? Double edged sword...how does one acheive a good balance in a system like this?

MikeS

 

[G.Alexander]

I keep for example the following animals beside SPS successful in my tank:

Tridacna clams
Goniopora (which reproduces constant)
Alveopora
Favia
Blastomussa
Sinularia
Ricordea
Xenia
Scolymia
Trachyphyllia

As many others I know, running the system. No problems with those animals, but I would agree running the System with a soft coral tank makes not a lot of sense, because the change in those corals is not dramatically with the ZeoVit system. I do not see a significant difference in the corals which can be kept successful in a zeo system to a classic “Berlin” system.

Most of the zeo users run the typically “Berlin” configuration. Here are some pictures from my setup:

Schuran CaCO2 Jetstrem 1 reactor, filled with rough coral gravel and Mg granulate:

Water outlet of the CaCO2 reactor with a siphon, filled with coral gravel:

ZeoVit reactor:

Bubble King 300 external skimmer:

G.Alexander

 

[cwrenge]

You for sure can use one, many people do. Just make sure the pump is not pumping more then 100/gph per liter of stones Your set to go.

:| :| :| Gggggggggg.....? I am ....intrested in this system, my question is " is it seems that the only info ....is on large tanks.... i'm sure people like me , who have ( mines a 55 ) smaller ones and are limited to price....actual cost and availability of necessary products in our respective areas... need to realize the totall impact on our " Bucker-roos ".... after all thats spent on our present systems... most of us had to strech or beg to get everything needed yet... the Zeo-Vit is so... soo, sooo exciting....i hope EA can kinda give us "Smaller Tank Owners " a complete package.... not just the most grand results the claims represent in using the Zeo Vit.......... thanks to you all... again...Ggggggg i would like to get a Zeo System going on my Reef...... ? cw.

 

[cwrenge]

Rob,

Pictures of my tank will be available in the beginning of September (couple of wks away). We can post a link when they are ready for viewing. Hopefully everyone will like it.

can't wait to see the pic's..... hope you can get some pic's on some 55 / 75 gal. tanks.... say...theres lots-of Questions asked in these threads... thats great.. ! cw.

 

[Haole]

Thanks for posting those pictures G.Alexander.
What kind of turn over rate do you have going through your sump?

 

[scottw]

:| :| :| Gggggggggg.....? I am ....intrested in this system, my question is " is it seems that the only info ....is on large tanks.... i'm sure people like me , who have ( mines a 55 ) smaller ones and are limited to price....actual cost and availability of necessary products in our respective areas... need to realize the totall impact on our " Bucker-roos ".... after all thats spent on our present systems... most of us had to strech or beg to get everything needed yet... the Zeo-Vit is so... soo, sooo exciting....i hope EA can kinda give us "Smaller Tank Owners " a complete package.... not just the most grand results the claims represent in using the Zeo Vit.......... thanks to you all... again...Ggggggg i would like to get a Zeo System going on my Reef...... ? cw.

Just let me know what you looking for. If you are a DIY guy you can make a reactor they are simple to make and that will save you a good bit there.

For a 55 gallon tank you are looking at approx $15-20/month to run ZEOvit. That is not much IMO for what you get. Send me an email of what you want and I will get a price list for you .

Scott.

I have a friend that is running zeo on a 10 gallons system so it can be done

 

[scottw]

Just got my new frag system all setup. Stay tuned for photos of her . Just a little tease for you.

Here is my BK 300 EXT

running for 15 mins, already brown whoo hooo

My 5 liter ext zeovit reactor.

I will start a new thread soon of the new setup.