How do I convert a system to Zeo

[sirrealism]

So after seeing many great tanks here that use Zeo products I am sold. I want to convert my 93 cube to Zeo but its been running for several years. I have read most of the threads on here where people have started there tanks on Zeo but I cant do a restart."This is my clam tank" Would someone mind giving me the rundown on what I need to buy. "Its the perfect time with the 40% off sale" Also what to dose and how much. As some of you know I have been doing this for a long time and I didnt think I would ever try a "system" But i am losing some of my SPS and I am a bit frustrated. So instead of fighting it I may as well try it. To many people doing very well with it. Thanks

 

[Snelly40]

hey buddy!!
from reading you can really start anytime... i linked two pages that i read over and over haha. they do describe starting new and strating with a nutrient rish (established) tank.
The main initial expense is the reactor, i went with a notable good brand, Vertex, from BRS and then the basic starter pack will be:
ZeoVit (rocks)
ZeoBak (bacteria which is dosed twice daily)
ZeoStart3 (this helps rid the system of all nitrates and phosphates)
SpongePower (i chose this over zeofood because it's less harsh when starting)

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10354

https://www.korallen-zucht.de/cms/files/zeoguide_103_english-1.pdf

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks Snelly. I am trying to understand what is so special about the reactor. I have at least 15 different reactors from MR1s to carbon to well just about any other that has come on the market. Yet I dont have this exact one. Can some one tell me what this one does different? I have very large ones 2 so if thats part of it no problem. See I am cheap LOL and I dont mind moding one that I have to make it work. Thanks for the info. I have not read it yet but I will shortly.

 

[sirrealism]

Bump. Hoping some can tell me the difference in the reactors. From the pics it looks like they just have a lot more flow through them.

 

[Snelly40]

Bump. Hoping some can tell me the difference in the reactors. From the pics it looks like they just have a lot more flow through them.

sorry just saw this.. i was off yesterday and me and the fiance were out all day and had a Led Zeppelin Tribute Band concert to go to so we made a day of it..

the reactor is pretty different than most, sadly for the pocket, the water is pumped in via a fairly common pump, the inlet does have an adjustment so you can regulate the flow through the media. The Media (ZeoLites) are basically rocks,http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/korallen-zucht-zeovit-zeolith-zeolite-rocks-1-liter
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeolite) the zeovit absorbs ammonia therefor halting the nitrification process as well as simultaneously adding a bacterial breeding ground for plankton colonization. This is where the reactor is key, they have a handle on the top which allows us to stir the inner compartment (once of twice daily) to then release the beneficial bacteria back into the tank, place this reactor after your skimmer naturally... hope this helps haha

this is the one i went with..

 

[sirrealism]

Yes it sure does. I did see where people were shaking there reactor. This must be to stir the rocks. Ok so I have an old kalk stirrer that i am going to mod. I will take the motor off the top so I can manually turn it to stir the rocks. I will have no open the inlet and outlet to have more flow. I have 5 reefs and if this works I will end up buying the right reactors later. Now its more about doing this cheap and see if it will work for me. I found some close up pics of the reactors and I believe I can mod mine to work the same or very close.
After the skimmer? Ok thats cool. I will have to move a bunch of stuff around in my sump. I really need to clean my sump out anyway as its been a couple years. "Yes I said a couple years" which is prob my issue from the start. I bought this system running and have done nothing to it accept WCs The sump is a 3 chamber with the first being for the sock. Second is full of reef rubble and the third is the skimmer then an external return pump. So I am sure the rubble is full of waist and thats where my N03 is coming from. I am going to remove the rubble and rinse it. Its more then a 5g bucket full. This is a bare bottom system and its has 5 clams and 2 of them are over 13" so I go through massive amounts of cal and alk. My dosser is running 2 pumps for Alk as I go through 1g per week. The 3rd is Cal which is about 1g every3 weeks. Its very hard to keep my alk and cal stable. Its a 93 cube. I can not wait until I get the 300g up and running as it will be easier to keep up with and be much more stable. If this Zeo works I will do it in the new 300g with a 125g sump which will be a total of about 375g total amount of water. When I get the 300 running I am thinking about all systems running together so it will be one system. Which would mean one WC, one test. One dose. I have a cal reactor that I will be running also but I am pretty sure it wont be able to keep up with my needs so I will still have to dose. I will also run Kalk to keep my PH up.

 

[Snelly40]

sounds like a plan, let me know how the mod goes, i'm curioius. I do know that @Frankie builds his own as well. Yah i'd remove that rubble and pop the skimmer in the 2nd chamber then viola good to go . The reason the zeo reactor after is due to the bacteria it releases would get skimmed out and you're minimizing that beneficial bacteria

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks Snelly. I appreciate all the info. This is why I could read about it for weeks but someone telling you makes it much simpler.

 

[Snelly40]

agreed haha

 

[Wrangy]

Sorry I've only just found your thread on this @sirrealism

@Snelly40 is pretty much on point here You only need the basic four(five) to start with, being:
- stones (heart of the operation)
- zeobak (bacteria source)
- zeostart (carbon source)
- spongepower (sponge and clam food, helps with nutrients)
- And finally an activated carbon, one that's not strong so matrix, rox or KZ carbon will do the job well

Food7 is a no-no as it's a nutrient and amino source designed to add back to the system but is only necessary when you reach true ULN, so in the beginning it only causes problems.
For you and I, I can't recommend sponge power enough! It grows sponges in your tank like crazy!! My sponge population tripled in less than a week after starting dosing again after running out lol and clams seem to love the stuff as well!! I love my clams so most things are done for their happiness and sponge power is a big one lol.
The carbon should be run passively in your sump as you don't want it stripping too much from the water but if you do want to run it in a reactor a slow tumble with a lower water flow is best

Given that your system has been running for several years now, you're going to have to take zeo slowly and be patient as it may take a few months before things really start to change but you might start seeing small changes in under a couple of weeks.
The first month and stone change is crucial as if you come in too aggressive things will go south quickly! For the first stone change and potentially the second depending on where your system is at with it, the recommended thing to do is run the reactor pump 3hrs on and 3hrs off so that it slowly introduces to the system. This IMHO is a pain in the bum! I didn't do this when I started zeo on my tank that was a year and a bit old, instead I bought a small variable speed pump and started off with half the recommended flow going through the reactor 24/7 (150lph) and saw no ill-effects from that. Then after the first stone change (50%) I bumped the speed up to 3/4 (220lph) of the correct flow and once again that worked well and finally when the third round of stones were introduced (80% change) I went up to full correct flow (300lph) and everything was happy

If you have any questions on anything about zeo ask away! Here or anywhere else

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks Wrangy. The only question really now is about the reactor. But from your post I get the feeling you answered it. 300L per hour. Simple enough. Making a reactor with that kind of flow wont be to hard. I have heard of people shaking the reactor instead of stirring it. I would think it does about the same thing. As long as your moving the rocks in the reactor so the bacteria is released.

 

[Wrangy]

Thanks Wrangy. The only question really now is about the reactor. But from your post I get the feeling you answered it. 300L per hour. Simple enough. Making a reactor with that kind of flow wont be to hard. I have heard of people shaking the reactor instead of stirring it. I would think it does about the same thing. As long as your moving the rocks in the reactor so the bacteria is released.

No problems
Shaking or stirring will be fine, as long as you can disturb the media and therefore release the mulm build up on the stones you will be golden either way. You free the bacteria/mulm so that the corals can eat it, it gets skimmed out and allows for more to re-populate the stones and therefore continuing to consume nutrients and such.
You flow will be higher than mine though, around the 600L per hour mark. The flow is dependant on the size of your system as all the zeo products are
Have a read through of the zeo guide that Snelly linked and that should explain most things, your system will be existing with high nutrients I would imagine and if not, I would start like that anyway as it's a more gentle introduction to the zeo system given the tank is a few years old and you've got a strong clam population, they're tough buggers so you'll be fine anyway but better safe than sorry
If you have any queries while you read through the guide sing out

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks again. Yes I read all the links snelly gave me. I may have missed the part about flow in the reactor. But I get it.

 

[PSU4ME]

I'm tagging along as I'm going to set up a 50/60 cube and I'm thinking if trying this route!

 

[Wrangy]

Everyone join in!! and we can have a reasonably strong zeo group and help area

 

[PSU4ME]

Where does one find the automatic mixing reactor?

 

[sirrealism]

BRS has them. Vertex seems to be the one suggested. BRS has a starter kit which includes reactor, stones and products all included accept it the Sponge power. Its a great way to get started IMO

 

[Wrangy]

Where does one find the automatic mixing reactor?

The best and I think only auto reactor is made by Avast Marine, their auto-zeo reactor is absolutely killer and an amazing bit of kit!

Linky link:
http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/mediareactors/The-Vibe

 

[sirrealism]

Opps I misread the question. He asked for an "automatic" The one I posted is manual. Good catch Wrangy