ZEOvit User's Thread
- Thread starter Wrangy
- Start date
??? Please do go on
mojoreef
Just a reefer
Wrangy just to preface I know a lot of current and former zeovit users and had a long sit down with Thomas prior to him introducing it into the US. Anyway their are somethings about the methods and claims made with system, truly even the viability if you get it all right. So I am not trying to down it just shed a little more light as to the biological processes that are going on.
So first the zeolites, They are an ion exchanger and as you said NH3 and 4 are its primary ion exchange, but as with most zeolites they have 4 to 5 more ions they go after when ammonia is not present, in your case its Potassium (thus the reason all zeovit folks have to dose Potassium), Also as a bacterial housing/porosity they are pretty poor compared to LR or similar. But hey thats not all that bad as long as you are willing to buy and dose potassium and bacteria.
Now from my understanding you are suppose to shake out the mulm that forms on the zeolites as a food for the corals? but arent you then just returning to the tank the same product you are trying to get the bacteria to export? Also bacteria reduce based on a ratio (just like algae does) as in if they get 200 part carbon - 25 part nitrogen - 1 part phosphate they will reduce, so if you are stripping out the nitrogen what does that do to the reduction ratio?
With the Zeobak you are dosing bacteria which is ok to do as long as it is controlled as a bacterial bloom can kill a tank in minutes, it would be nice to know what strains are in that product though?
Then the Zeofood? So in theory you want the bacteria to feed on the nutrients in the aquarium and thus remove said nutrients but then you say you need or want to feed the bacteria does this not work against itself? If you are dosing a bacterial food does this not take away from the bacteria naturally removing product from the aquarium water?
So then Zeostart, a carbon source that smells like vinegar? which is most likely is vinegar as vinegar is a carbon source. So you dose this which help fulfill the carbon requirements I mentioned above in the required ratio for reduction. But as a liquid carbon how do you test for it? how do you know how much of a carbon pool you are creating? So as an example, you are creating a carbon pool that is being used by bacteria, the bacteria use it to reduce in the tank but you have no idea how much is being used so you are creating a carbon pool as you can not test for its amount, now say something dies? fish, snails coral or what ever. Now you get the other two ingredients bacteria requires and the bacteria blooms and the tank is dead from oxygen deprivation?
Then their is the over all concept of zeovit which is to nutrient stare the tank in order to reduce the zooanthelia count in corals in order to allow pigments to be more visible. To me thats down right scary. In SPS corals zoo's account for up to 98% of the corals energy budget and you want to reduce it? Its kinda of like the runway model to me, slim and beautiful but on the verge of death from starvation or susceptible to all kinds of outside dangers?
As I am said above I am not trying to down it, their are just a lot of things being said and done that dont make biological sense?
Mike
So first the zeolites, They are an ion exchanger and as you said NH3 and 4 are its primary ion exchange, but as with most zeolites they have 4 to 5 more ions they go after when ammonia is not present, in your case its Potassium (thus the reason all zeovit folks have to dose Potassium), Also as a bacterial housing/porosity they are pretty poor compared to LR or similar. But hey thats not all that bad as long as you are willing to buy and dose potassium and bacteria.
Now from my understanding you are suppose to shake out the mulm that forms on the zeolites as a food for the corals? but arent you then just returning to the tank the same product you are trying to get the bacteria to export? Also bacteria reduce based on a ratio (just like algae does) as in if they get 200 part carbon - 25 part nitrogen - 1 part phosphate they will reduce, so if you are stripping out the nitrogen what does that do to the reduction ratio?
With the Zeobak you are dosing bacteria which is ok to do as long as it is controlled as a bacterial bloom can kill a tank in minutes, it would be nice to know what strains are in that product though?
Then the Zeofood? So in theory you want the bacteria to feed on the nutrients in the aquarium and thus remove said nutrients but then you say you need or want to feed the bacteria does this not work against itself? If you are dosing a bacterial food does this not take away from the bacteria naturally removing product from the aquarium water?
So then Zeostart, a carbon source that smells like vinegar? which is most likely is vinegar as vinegar is a carbon source. So you dose this which help fulfill the carbon requirements I mentioned above in the required ratio for reduction. But as a liquid carbon how do you test for it? how do you know how much of a carbon pool you are creating? So as an example, you are creating a carbon pool that is being used by bacteria, the bacteria use it to reduce in the tank but you have no idea how much is being used so you are creating a carbon pool as you can not test for its amount, now say something dies? fish, snails coral or what ever. Now you get the other two ingredients bacteria requires and the bacteria blooms and the tank is dead from oxygen deprivation?
Then their is the over all concept of zeovit which is to nutrient stare the tank in order to reduce the zooanthelia count in corals in order to allow pigments to be more visible. To me thats down right scary. In SPS corals zoo's account for up to 98% of the corals energy budget and you want to reduce it? Its kinda of like the runway model to me, slim and beautiful but on the verge of death from starvation or susceptible to all kinds of outside dangers?
As I am said above I am not trying to down it, their are just a lot of things being said and done that dont make biological sense?
Mike