Zeovit method ?

[Yanir34]

Hello everyone, like most of us I'm also searching for perfect enhanced colors in my SPS.
I heard a lot on Zeovit method , and seriously thinking about moving into Zeovit.

My tank is 1 tear old , mostly SPS small colonies.
What is your recommendation about this method ?

 

[ksfulk]

Zeo is a great proven method for reef keeping, that said you're likely to find more specific help and opinions about it on the Zeovit forums, rather than on reef2reef. As for the method itself, I used only the basics, and never really got into the specific additives for coral color - but as a waste management system, it works great. Very hands on, and seems to have very little detriment to the tank itself, even if switching over from another method.

 

[Miami Reef]

Don’t sell your soul to zeovit (unless you want to).

You can get the same results without spending so much on their secret bottles. Your acropora look really good. If you like the low-nutrient look (taste is subjective), then you can run lower nutrients with lower alkalinity.

 

[Yanir34]

Don’t sell your soul to zeovit (unless you want to).

You can get the same results without spending so much on their secret bottles. Your acropora look really good. If you like the low-nutrient look (taste is subjective), then you can run lower nutrients with lower alkalinity.

I will not sale my soul to zeovit...
I'm just searching the next level of vibrant SPS.

 

[billyocean]

You could try their kz colors1234 line..its improved my color a bit

 

[Rscott]

Absolutely don’t do it unless you want Dino’s and to lose your whole tank

 

[Miami Reef]

Absolutely don’t do it unless you want Dino’s and to lose your whole tank

You went with the zeovit system?

 

[Rscott]

You went with the zeovit system?

Yes and spent two years fighting Dino’s and gave up $15k later
Ruined the hobby for me

 

[jda]

There are a few things that people need to understand before they go to ZeoVit.

First, your tank needs to be fully mature and in a place where you are wildly successful and looking to tweak or fine tune. Zeo is not for tanks that are struggling.

Second, you need to go in 100% and not try and piecemeal this or that - do it all, or don't do any of it, IMO.

 

[cjtabares]

There are a few things that people need to understand before they go to ZeoVit.

First, your tank needs to be fully mature and in a place where you are wildly successful and looking to tweak or fine tune. Zeo is not for tanks that are struggling.

Second, you need to go in 100% and not try and piecemeal this or that - do it all, or don't do any of it, IMO.

What do you mean by do it all? Like the base 4 parts, or is there more to all? Thinking of using the basic method when I set up my tank, just not sure I want to use all their other stuff just yet.

 

[jda]

I mean go in 100%. I do not recommend doing any sort of Zeo method with a new tank. Sometime similar to basic berlin might be better to start - live rock, skimmer, lots of feeding, diverse ecosystem, etc. You need the ecosystem to fully develop and thrive... then see if ZeoVit can help you fine tune a bit to reach a higher level with some acute things.

The best zeovit tanks that I have seen were already good and just used the full Zeo system to get a little bit more out of them.

I am basing this off of experience many years ago when Zeo was all the rage. Maybe their methods changed, but I still have a few friends who do it the same way that they always did.

I will say that some of the things that you might see change when introducing Zeo to a mature tank are along the same lines as keeping no3 and po4 at lower levels, adding T5 to LEDs or just using MH. These things can be subtle and while they are noticeable, not everybody can notice or care. Some corals are just never going to care.

 

[cjtabares]

I mean go in 100%. I do not recommend doing any sort of Zeo method with a new tank. Sometime similar to basic berlin might be better to start - live rock, skimmer, lots of feeding, diverse ecosystem, etc. You need the ecosystem to fully develop and thrive... then see if ZeoVit can help you fine tune a bit to reach a higher level with some acute things.

The best zeovit tanks that I have seen were already good and just used the full Zeo system to get a little bit more out of them.

I am basing this off of experience many years ago when Zeo was all the rage. Maybe their methods changed, but I still have a few friends who do it the same way that they always did.

I will say that some of the things that you might see change when introducing Zeo to a mature tank are along the same lines as keeping no3 and po4 at lower levels, adding T5 to LEDs or just using MH. These things can be subtle and while they are noticeable, not everybody can notice or care. Some corals are just never going to care.

Ok, I was hoping it would help with high nutrition in high nutrients out, so kind of a carbon dosing plus. I have the reactor from when I used zeovit years ago, had some success with it then, and saw the guide to use it with starting a new tank, so was thinking of doing that. Was not trying to use it a an ulns, just a tool to keep things in check. Was also thinking of using TMs Phos-feed so the corals had phosphate available in granular form instead of dissolved in the water column. Was watching a talk by Lou Ekus was talking about how natural reefs have low phosphate in the water but they get them in a solid form. Maybe I will try a different carbon dosing method. Thank for the reply.

 

[Miami Reef]

Zeovit never worked for my tank. I wanted Zeovit because I wanted to go ULN with a proven system and track record. My nutrients wouldn’t drop.

I also don’t appreciate all the Zeovit rules like no ozone allowed.

Now I just do a mimic Zeovit system where I use GFO and carbon dosing to get my nutrients were I want them. Basically following @Roberto Denadai principles of low nutrients. IMO we don’t need Zeovit to get the Zeovit colors.

Roberto had many tanks with no Zeovit but amazing ULN results.

 

[Troylee]

I run zeo and I love it! Very simple once it’s up and going in my opinion… my tank is large and stocked pretty well with large tangs and a fox face.. I just run the stones in a reactor with zeo bak, zeo start, coral amino and use zeozym also… my carbon source is bacto balance.. my nutrients stay low but not ulns and I don’t care to drop them that low.. slow and steady for me and works great! I also use mb7 in my diy coral snow with coral amino and reef roids! The tank processes it well and like they say heavy in heavy out!

 

[cjtabares]

I run zeo and I love it! Very simple once it’s up and going in my opinion… my tank is large and stocked pretty well with large tangs and a fox face.. I just run the stones in a reactor with zeo bak, zeo start, coral amino and use zeozym also… my carbon source is bacto balance.. my nutrients stay low but not ulns and I don’t care to drop them that low.. slow and steady for me and works great! I also use mb7 in my diy coral snow with coral amino and reef roids! The tank processes it well and like they say heavy in heavy out!

This is what I was hoping to use it for.

 

[jda]

I am not a ULN guy. I am a LN guy, though.

For po4, I can do this with just skimmers, water changes and a large fuge where I take out large buckets of chaeto every few weeks.

My sand can keep no3 near 0 with ease.

Lou is not completely right there... there are particulate forms, but also poly/meta phosphates and also organically bound po4. You can get all of these from fish waste. Of course, ortho is always there too, but not too high if you are removing the excess. The ortho is all that you can test for without a super expensive Total P test kit from Hach, or the like.

If you have a lot of fish and feed them well, there is nearly no chance that your corals will be phosphorous starved. Phosphorous is the key, not phosphate.

 

[Miami Reef]

I am not a ULN guy. I am a LN guy, though.

For po4, I can do this with just skimmers, water changes and a large fuge where I take out large buckets of chaeto every few weeks.

My sand can keep no3 near 0 with ease.

Lou is not completely right there... there are particulate forms, but also poly/meta phosphates and also organically bound po4. You can get all of these from fish waste. Of course, ortho is always there too, but not too high if you are removing the excess. The ortho is all that you can test for without a super expensive Total P test kit from Hach, or the like.

If you have a lot of fish and feed them well, there is nearly no chance that your corals will be phosphorous starved. Phosphorous is the key, not phosphate.

Keeping phosphate at 2ppb and nitrate at 0 is considered ULN in reef tank standards. LN and ULN mean the same thing by those numbers with hobby grade kits.

I define LN as PO4: 0.02-0.05ppm

Just because phosphate is at 2ppb doesn’t mean there aren’t other forms of P. ULN just means low nitrate and phosphate levels IMO.

2ppb is 0.006ppm. That is definitely ULN

 

[jda]

For me, and going back to when people did this a lot, you need to use media and chemicals to drive those things lower than natural seawater to be Ultra. Otherwise, you are just natural.

The true Zeo folks used to do this... then supplement harsh metals to have better contrast in their acropora and keep the whites really white. They could not get what they were looking for with natural levels, they had to actually deprive their corals of nitrogen and phosphorous which doesn't really happen until you go ultra.

 

[Miami Reef]

For me, and going back to when people did this a lot, you need to use media and chemicals to drive those things lower than natural seawater to be Ultra. Otherwise, you are just natural.

The true Zeo folks used to do this... then supplement harsh metals to have better contrast in their acropora and keep the whites really white. They could not get what they were looking for with natural levels, they had to actually deprive their corals of nitrogen and phosphorous which doesn't really happen until you go ultra.

Zeovit doesn’t use any media. GFO isn’t allowed, and zeolites only remove some ammonia at best.

But I agree, Many zeovit tanks have very little fish and they use mystery blue bottles to stress their corals to have better coloration. It’s a very fine line to walk on.

 

[cjtabares]

I am not a ULN guy. I am a LN guy, though.

For po4, I can do this with just skimmers, water changes and a large fuge where I take out large buckets of chaeto every few weeks.

My sand can keep no3 near 0 with ease.

Lou is not completely right there... there are particulate forms, but also poly/meta phosphates and also organically bound po4. You can get all of these from fish waste. Of course, ortho is always there too, but not too high if you are removing the excess. The ortho is all that you can test for without a super expensive Total P test kit from Hach, or the like.

If you have a lot of fish and feed them well, there is nearly no chance that your corals will be phosphorous starved. Phosphorous is the key, not phosphate.

I may of oversimplified or misspoke to what he said, which he admits to being a simplistic explanation. So the error may be on me.

I would like a fuge, but don’t really have the sump space, one reason I was trying Zeovit.