ZEOvit User's Thread

[Wrangy]

Hey guys and gals,

As I know there are now a few of us that are running full ZEOvit systems and some of us dosing specifics or on the side, I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread specifically for any users of zeo or people with any questions or looking for any particular information I'll go through a bit of a brief overview of the system and some of the different aspects of it so that people can have a rough idea what it's about Feel free to ask any questions including how we think our tanks are going with it, guys don't be shy to post plenty of zeo photo's or coral shots to show it all off



What Does ZEOvit Do?
Let’s start off with what the ZEOvit system actually does. Zeovit is a system that incorporates bacterial sources to help rid an aquarium of excess nutrients and then continues to further reduce any nutrients beyond what is normally obtainable without such tinkering. This is most commonly referred to as an Ultre Low Nutrient System or ULNS, this is a system or tank that has nutrients well below normal standards and are almost virtually undetectable to quite a small accuracy. Much lower than what is commonly found in NSW anywhere bar the most pristine of reefs. The nutrients specifically targeted are ammonia (NH[SUB]3[/SUB]) and phosphate (PO[SUB]4[/SUB]). Due to the targetting of ammonia it therefore also very efficiently removes nitrite and nitrates from the water as there is no ammonia present to feed off.

The best way that I understand this is a two step process:
1.) The system removes nutrients (ammonia and phosphate) through the bacteria that is grown on the zeolites in the reactor and then throughout the tank which is then skimmed and also through the zeolites adsorbing them.
2.) Once ULN has been achieved different things can be done to effect different aspects of corals and their colours through the addition of different zeovit additives. It is also critically important to maintain correct calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels and then potassium once ULN has been achieved.

Well isn’t that what you are suppose to accomplish in a reef system? Is it achievable with a high-end skimmer and frequent water changes of a high quality and other maintenance routines or tinkering? Well yes it is, bio-pellets for instance can help achieve a state of ULN coupled with some husbandry but there are other aspects of the zeovit system that cannot be achieved without externally help and the level of nutrient reduction that can be reached with zeo is unmatched, at least as far as I have seen, while still having healthy and well feed corals that are dying off due to lack o nutrients.



The Basic Four
The basic four consists of the bare minimum of additives and products that is required to have a functioning ZEOvit system that is balanced correctly. There are numerous other ZEOvit products available, each with a different use for a specific aim and are 'as needed' additives and supplements to help improve, fine tune or tweak your system to how you want it to be running and having the corals at their happiest. In addition to the basic four, you will also need a zeovit reactor (for the zeolites) and to use activated carbon, 24/7, in a passive state.

Zeolites
Zeolites are a group of natural occurring minerals that exist worldwide. Their chemical composition can vary greatly and therefore exhibit different properties of adsorption, ion exchange or molecular retention. Today’s modern industrial applications require very specific properties and therefore most of the zeolites used are either modified natural
zeolites or completely synthetically manufactured. The Korallen-Zucht, KZ, mix consists of three different zeolites. These zeolites were chosen because of their ability to reduce certain toxins in a balanced manner.
"The material does not directly remove nitrite (NO2), nitrate (NO3), or phosphate (PO4) from the tank water. It permanently absorbs ammonium (NH4+) and ammonia (NH3), the first two chemicals in the nitrification cycle, thus preventing the formation of nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3)."
Pretty much, the zeolites are a naturally occurring mineral that has been specifically tailored for the use in reef tanks to adsorb specific toxins and nutrients and grow bacteria.The zeolites are housed in a zeolite reactor, these look like standard media chambers but with a section that is capable of being pumped to allow the zeolite to be freed of their bacteria growth in a mulm, this mulm is released into the tank upon which the corals can feed on. The Zeolites are placed in the inner chamber and then twice a day the inner chamber is pumped/disturbed to clean the zeolites of the mulm.

Zeobak
Zeobak is a concentrate bacteria source containing several different strains that are used to colonize the zeolites and tank which help reduce nutrients. Through the direct introduction of these varying strains of bacteria they will out compete the existing colonies of different bacteria's already present in the tank which is what you want. It means that you have a correct mix of balanced bacteria being added to the tank, while some my die and others survive it also means that it stops a specific bacteria growing into a monopoly and therefore reducing the efficiency of the tank to process. Yes your tank will still grow the right bacteria without any zeo It takes a little longer as the bacteria will need to re-establish and then grow to a processing capacity whereas there is a constant source due to zeovit dosing, this means a faster time to have aspects processed.

Zeofood
Zeofood is, as the name suggests, a food source for the bacteria and also for your corals. Since the aim of a ZEOvit system is to essentially starve the tank of nearly all nutrients and therefore food for corals and other micro-organisms you will need to put something back into the tank to replace this reduction. Due to the nature of zeofood and it being a concetrated 'nutrient' source it's not recommended dosing it until you reach the ULN status as it can cause cyano and algae blooms if your nutrients haven't been reduced yet. KZ also has many other food products available but they aren't as specifically geared towards feeding the bacteria, some of them are Coral Vitalizer (a direct coral food), Amino Acids and Phol's Xtra. Care does need to be taken with zeofood but once you reach a point of needing it you will know the signs and what to look for.

ZeoStart
Zeostart is the carbon source, it smells like vinegar and could very well be an adjusted vinegar or vinegar-sugar mix but KZ are secret squirrel about all of their products so it's anyone's guess "Zeostart is a liquid food source and promotes the reproduction of all nitrifying bacteria in the aquarium. It is therefore very effective in reducing phosphate (PO4) and nitrate (NO3.)" due to the increased growth of the bacteria strains that consume the nutrients. Zeostart works in conjunction with zeofood (the food for the bacteria once ULN has been reached) and then zeobak works in conjunction with the zeolites and it all forms the wonderful system that is ZEOvit.

Additionally, zeovit incorporates activated carbon that is run 24 hours a day, which is exchanged at 30 day intervals. It is highly recommended that the carbon is run passively in the tank. This is due to the fact that if it is too aggressive in removal of toxins it can have a negative effect on the tank and zeo system. Using a non-aggressive carbon is highly recommended as well. Zeovit have their own brand and recommend it (obviously haha) but I have also heard of Seachem matrix being used with good results. You don't want to use aggressive carbons such as ROX or CPE as it will have a negative effect due to the increased amount of it's removal abilities.

It is also assumed in the Zeovit method that you are using strong lighting for the corals to be able to photosynthesise to their required levels, also as the zeovit system is geared towards running an sps tank which require high levels of lighting anyway. A good protein skimmer that is skimming wet is also a necessity to remove the nutrients in their final stages and the other toxins and outputs that are formed due to running a zeo system. Regular water changes should not be skimped on either, sticking with the 5%-10% change per week will give the best results with a high quality salt of source of NSW, the most commonly used ASW with zeo that I've seen are Red Sea Coral (blue bucket) and the Brightwell salt.

Refugiums, phosphate reactors & removers, denitrification reactors and additives, algae/turf scrubbers, ozone and UV filters are not needed or recommeneded and should be removed before you start the zeovit setup. This is due to the clashes that they can cause with the zeovit system and the different bacterial growth and food sources that are required once the system is running.

Finally, in order to effectively use zeovit you need to run your system as close to natural seawater levels as possible. This means:
Alkalinity of 7-8 dKh (It is critically important you don't go above a dKh of 8 or corals will start to burn and die)
Calcium 410-430 mg
Magnesium 1250-1300 mg
Salinity 35ppt
Potassium (K+) 380-400 mg (This isn't super important till you reach the ULN stage but it helps even when not there)



Hope everyone enjoys the read and learns a little something here and there Feel free to add whatever you'd like, ask any questions or discuss whatever you'd like that has to do with the wonderful system that is ZEOvit

*DISCLAIMER*
I don't claim to be an expert but this is my take and thoughts on the system, some of the information has been take from the instruction manual for the ZEOvit system but I have quoted those parts. All other information is my thoughts and from my readings around the web

 

[DaveK]

Wrangy, I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but your post reads almost like a commercial for ZEOvit, and most of it can be found easily in other places. I'd be more interested in hearing about your own experiences with the ZEOvit system. What's it doing for you?

I have never used the ZEOvit system, so I I don't have any first hand knowledge of how well it works. I have seen seen reef systems that use it and they looked good, but I have also seen reef systems that don't use it and they looked good. My question here is, what is gained by running the ZEOvit system over a more conventional one?

I did read up on ZEOvit before, and one thing I did notice is that it is a method that uses a lot of additives. Also, these additives are expensive. My question here is, is the cost justified for the results obtained? Also, can the same results be obtained using generic additives, rather than the expensive ZEOvit ones?

 

[Wrangy]

Yep, it is a little bit isn't haha That post was more just to get some info into it rather than only have one paragraph running into the start of the thread and as I did use some of their info and reword some it was always going to come across a little "hard sell" because it's hard to explain a lot of it without using their words.

Personally, I've only just started running the full system. Just over a week today so not long at all. That being said I've been using zeo products for 6-7 months now and I love the ones I've been using to absolute bits! I've been researching and looking at zeo for a good 6 months too and only have just set it up now and so far I'm enjoying it. I can't say I've legitimately seen much improvement as it's still very young but I can say I'm starting to get better polyp extension on all of my acro's so I guess there's something even after a week. I can tell that colours are going to start to be effect positively soon too as a couple of acro's are starting to turn into their true colours (tricolour that is all green now, is starting to go purple from the tips back). The products I have been using longer though I can testify too, I've been running Coral Vitalizer and Sponge Power for 7 months now and when I started there was a huge difference in polyp extension, some nicer colours and better growth within a month of starting it. My sponges are out of control, the weir is practically covered with pineapple sponges and the clam is as happy as and has gone heaps since it was added to the tank (that's mainly due to the tank itself though).

It's like any system though, I've always seen fantastic and amazing tanks with it and stunning tanks without it. I can the say the same about bio-pellets and synthetic reefing (GlennF's tank for instance), heavy skimming and large refugiums, doing regular water changes and proper husbandry and so on. They all do similar things with nutrients and their reduction but all in different ways, it's a matter of choice really and how you want to tinker with things. The thing I really like about zeo and the reason I chose it over, say, bio-pellets (I was close to getting them) is because of the other things zeo does for the tank too. Not only is it used to try and achieve ULN and a steady environment but due to the ability to increased or decrease the active influences of the system on a weekly and even daily basis is a control I'll really love having and do already, the fact that it adds a couple of large food sources to the tank for the corals is another big one for me, I love my corals and have strong lighting but feeding them is something I really want to have covered too. It's also because it means I can feed heavier and more often as the fish require without having to worry about the excess pollution from the feedings and if it does become too much I can increase certain aspects to nullify it. I love my science and chemistry and having this control and active system with different and potentially more complex elements is something that I personally really enjoy having, it also gets me more active in the tank, I am as it is, but having ti pump the reactor twice and day means that I'm in there and looking at everything, from a maintenance perspective, twice a day. I also check the corals more frequently and look at specific aspects of them to ensure the zeo is running in the right balances. I've really got my Ca and Alk dosing in line (Mg isn't being consumed at the moment but I've got it on hand for when it does). It's not just about the system itself for me but also about the added attention I'm paying to the tank and the more involved I am. It's not like I'm not being active with my tank but I enjoy being even more active with it

In terms of generic brands and their additives, I know that both Brightwell and Fauna Marin do a very similar system but it really doesn't have the reach, knowledge base or years or tanks running the system everywhere like zeo does. Zeo has been tried and test over many years and is constantly changing to adjust to the advancements in the hobby, zeofood is in it's 7th edition and start is on it's 3rd both are recent-ish updates too. I however haven't heard of anyone running the Brightwell or Fauna Marin systems and nor have I seen any long term systems on it. I'm not hating on these products and they could actually work a heck of a lot better than the Korallen-Zucht system but I've just never seen it around. All my dosing additives are FM though and I can't recommend them high enough so it's not a dislike thing, it's a tried and tested and proved thing. In terms of an ebay generic additive or other lesser named brands I wouldn't really be willing to trust them, especially considering what a zeo system is aimed to do, which is starve a tank of nutrients while adding them back in in other forms. I wouldn't be able to trust the adding back in part unless long term success was proven in a multitude of tanks.

When you break it down the system only requires 5 elements (I've included carbon in this event though a lot of tanks already use carbon) and a reactor (which is still a fair bit, I know) but the stones and the reactor are a 6-8 week change over and the rest are dosed with reasonable ease if you have it all noted and taken care of. KZ as an additive company have a mind blowing amount of different supplements and additives for the reef tank but none of them are 'necessary' at all, some might be needed occasionally but even then it can be worked around if you have the basics running. They're not actually that terribly expensive and like most things in this hobby it's about the size of your tank, the bigger it is the more expensive things run but due to the size of KZ it means that they are able to keep costs down due to being able to produce in large scale and know that there will be the supply for it. It also boils down to whether you want to spend the money or not. It's like dosing with baking soda and calcium carbonate in bulk/raw forms for cheap alk and Ca vs. dosing with a well known brand where pay for the label too or go the super expensive outright solution and setup a calcium or kalkwasser reactor. It's all relative and how you personally want to budget.

For me I, I'm willing to spend the extra money as the returns are worth it in my eyes and sue to keeping a large population of acropora species and some other sps corals, I think it's a worthy and long-term investment I want to take part in on my tank. That being said I also using the named Fauna Marin brand of additives for my dosing as I tried using baking soda and such and I just wasn't getting the results at all, now I am though.

I know I'm coming across as a little preachy here but it's something I've done a LOT of research into and have really enjoyed in the products I have been using. I will keep this thread updated with my personal experiences as time goes on but for now I'm loving it and if you're looking for a little something extra I think it's worthwhile having a look at it, the system isn't for everyone and a lot of people don't see the need at all and it isn't necessary but for me it brings a few extra elements to the table and I really like that, I feel very mad scientist sometimes with it and I personally love that (I'm a big kid on the outside and inside).

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Not using ZEOvit... but always enjoy the read & your post

 

[Wrangy]

Thanks Glenn I do try to remain as neutral on these sorts of topics when it involves information but having to largely rely on the zeo info it has come across as a sale I do love the system though and hopefully we can get the others to chime in as well Now I just need to get the dosing article done haha

 

[Wrangy]

Not that the algae really ever bothered me a huge amount apart from a couple of times but since starting zeo up on the tank it has taken a massive beating! I can see rock again where I didn't even know it existed haha and the beauty of it is that I can continue with higher feeding and more regularly because of the anthias and not have to worry about nutrient input as much due to the increased efforts of the zeo

All of my corals have gone ballistic since starting it up and I'm starting to see it especially now as I'm into the third week of zeo and having the full compliment running. I get more polyp extension during the day on all of my acro's and it's just stupid during the night, it's like they're trying to escape! I'm getting new growth everywhere and colours I've never seen Lots of encrusting everywhere on all of them but heaps of branching and expanding as well.
The zoa's are really popping and multiplying and colouring up fantastically, the blue zoa's I bought have looked dull for a very long time but they have really turned their true blue colours again and have grown heaps recently. My lobo is looking as fluffy and puffy as ever and my ricordea are bright and quite happy all since starting zeo! I'm so stoked with the results I'm getting and it's only early days! My beautiful, pride and joy, t. maxima is loving life and is so happy it doesn't care about being brushed with my magnet cleaner or when the hawkfish perches on her when I'm feeding the fish

Aside from getting a darker skim and happier corals, the most noticeable thing with having setup zeo (and now adding the carbon to the mix as of a couple nights ago) is the distinct lack of the haze/fuzz/dusting of algae over the rocks and certain algae, it's been completely wiped out and so that to me is the best indicated that the system is working and doing it's job, the mulm I'm getting is good too so that's always another good sign

This has all occured in a two week and two day period with regular 10% water changes with natural saltwater and a strong skimmer running reasonably wet. I'm using the zeo brand of carbon in a section of the sump that water has to flow through. I dose alk and Ca using the Fauna Marin balling light range and I'll be starting to add a touch of Mg here and there now. I also have Acropower being dosed 1ml a day to add up to 7ml a week which is 3ml lower than the recommended amount of 10ml for my tank but I don't mind under dosing amino's with zeo running.

 

[Wrangy]

Some coral comparison shots just to see what and if there are differences and improvements which I reckon there are! The tank has been running zeo for three weeks now and carbon has been running passively for a week now too. All of the before shots were taken on the 14th of June so about 5 weeks ago.

Orange and metallic blue-green acro:
Before:

Now:


Little green fuzzy beauty:
Before:

Now:


Purple-blue milli:
Before:

Now:


Tri-colour slowly becoming a tri-colour:
Before:

Now:


Teal/green acro:
Before:

Now:


Pink and green milli frag:
Before:

Now:


My favourite pink tabling acro:
Before:

Now:


Frag Rack lol:
Before:

Now:


Zoa's (blues in particular):
Before:

Now:



Personally I think there has been an overall increase in colour and coral health and growth since starting up my zeovit system and getting fully into it, hopefully I can continue getting improvements in the future with zeo!

 

[sirrealism]

Very nice. I will be tagging along. I am ready to try something like this since I feel like I am loosing something with my LEDs.

 

[Frankie]

Looks great!

 

[PSU4ME]

Nice comparison Dom. I know this may be an unfair question but are you able to see if any one additive is helping you more than the others?

Curious to see what happens to a frag from a Zeo tank when it goes into a regular reef

 

[Creekview]

I don't think I'd ever consider something so expensive and potentially high risk. As one reviewer put it, high cost, high maintenance, high risk. The risk comes from getting your corals accustomed to the environment, then having something go south, such as missing a dose or mis-dosing. I'm way too scatterbrained to be that disciplined. Seems the Germans have a propensity to engineer things in an extremely complex and elegant way. Unfortunately, their products are also expensive, both to own and maintain. Ever try to work on a BMW or Mercedes?

 

[Frankie]

Imo, It's not a hobby if you don't experiment and take risks. ..
The cost is irrelevant, nothing is forever. For me, once the build is done, tank is stocked and everyone is happy and healthy, I become bored. Like TV, it becomes mindless and droll to my active brain.
Zeovit changed that for me. It creates a new challenge, New arguments.

 

[Wrangy]

Very nice. I will be tagging along. I am ready to try something like this since I feel like I am loosing something with my LEDs.

Thanks I find that you really need to hone your LEDs in to get the most out of them, they require a lot more effort to get right and running properly. Getting a par meter and testing is the best first step and then the next is deciding on the colour spectrum and trying to match sunlight not that bluey colour everyone goes for, think about what the corals want and need and go from there (of course be sure to indulge on the blues at the end of the day!!)

Nice comparison Dom. I know this may be an unfair question but are you able to see if any one additive is helping you more than the others?
Curious to see what happens to a frag from a Zeo tank when it goes into a regular reef

Thanks It's going ever better now!
In terms of coral health and abilities to recover I have put that down to stable and quality parameters but the biggest zeo help is coral vitalizer! I've found that since starting it back in December last year my sps became more hardy, I find that they tend to acclimatise quicker and adjust quicker with it but that's a combination of things though, the vitalizer is just the icing that boosts everything and really helps.
Sponge Power is amazing for sponge growth and clams. My overflow is practically covered with pineapple sponges and the same for my sump and my maxima has grown amazingly since getting her!
Bio-mate is awesome for phosphate reduction and just generally helping with nutrients.
My pink table isn't the same deep pink and has lightened a little so I've started doing half doses of xtra to see how that goes but I'll update that in a week or two
Well you're in luck (the reverse at least haha). My favourite small reefing business doesn't have much luck with sps at all, so on Sunday I actually went over and picked up all of their sps (4 acro's, a stag and two pocci's) all look terrible and some have serious bleaching and all are brown but they're all in my tank and all with happy polyps when I checked this morning. I'll take photo's of each so I can monitor each one and how it changes over the coming weeks in my tank! When I seel some of my frags I'll get the buyers to keep it updated to show here.

I don't think I'd ever consider something so expensive and potentially high risk. As one reviewer put it, high cost, high maintenance, high risk. The risk comes from getting your corals accustomed to the environment, then having something go south, such as missing a dose or mis-dosing. I'm way too scatterbrained to be that disciplined. Seems the Germans have a propensity to engineer things in an extremely complex and elegant way. Unfortunately, their products are also expensive, both to own and maintain. Ever try to work on a BMW or Mercedes?

This is why ZEOvit only works in some tanks and for some people. It's the same for a simple reef tank, if you don't have the mindset or dedication, don't bother.
In terms of it being high risk and high cost, reefing is a high risk and high cost activity. Simply doing a water change is a high risk activity, dosing anything can be high risk, changing lights, adding stock, removing stock, changing equipment. It's all high risk because if you haven't done research, know what you're doing, understand how it works or not testing any of these things can go south and amazingly quickly without warning. If you test, monitor and understand the system and your corals and tank, ZEOvit is actually a really straight forward and simple system that when taken slowly, properly and with some tenderness will result in many great benefits in your tank without the sizeable risk that's usually associated with it!
The only time zeo becomes high maintenance is during a stone change, this is because extra care and time and attention is required during it and for the follow week or two to ensure it's done properly. I hardly see how adding a few drops of this, a couple of ml's of that and pumping the reactor once to twice a day is high maintenance though. I can guarantee everyone looks at their reef tank more than a several times a day and everyone is familiar with additives so it's really just an extra excuse to spend time on your tank and enjoy it and really really get to know your tank and understand it.
The Germans engineer things with such precision and quality it's amazing and they don't do things unless it lives up to the quality they're known for! Yes things are different and more complex but there's reasons behind it all and the outcomes usually far outweight the extra requirements and effort. German made brands are some of the most reputable, well made and engineered brands out there.

ZEOvit is not for everyone but neither is reefing or modelling It's a matter of choice and whether you deem it as a worthy investment and I completely agree with what Frankie has said too both about experimenting and taking risks in this hobby and also the way that zeo expands a tank and continues to keep you involved and highly active with your tank even once complete stocking has been reached and you're just growing a beautiful reef garden

 

[sirrealism]

Thanks for the input. I know LEDs can be very hard to get tuned and I should have left well enough alone. but isnt that kind of like what you were talking about. When everything is set and done you get bored. I am no different. I was running 2 AI nanos on my 40b with a full spec d120. The d120 was running at about 15% just to get some colors that the AIs miss and everything was great. Fantastic growth and color. One of my Nanos mother boards went out so I moved up the d120 and turned it up. this was not bad but I am pretty sure I was running it to high since my Red Planet turned bright pink. So I found a Panel Led that has built in timmers. I liked it because is was bigger and the LEDs were spread out more plus it had 6 UVs instead of 2 on my old light. Well then I go through a round of Red bugs which I was able to cure but since the new light I just dont get good color polyp ext or growth. This weekend I put an old MH 150 hqi pendent over the 40. I have been using some ZEOvit ZEObak and the Amino. I also will admit I am always chasing my Alk. This tank drops alk 1Dkh per day at least and I do not have a doser on it so "I should put on on it". My other parameters are great Cal 440 mag 1340 N03 0.00 P04 0.00 hanna checkers I may be running to clean but until I get my Alk stable I think I will continue to have issues.

 

[Frankie]

Like a runaway dog, stop chasing it and maybe it will come back on its own.
I have found many times that if I leave things alone they tend to work themselves out

 

[sirrealism]

Frankie. Your very right and I should have left it alone but we are always looking for better. Just so happens I went the wrong way. I ordered a new mother board for my AI nano so I can put them back on my 40

 

[Blndbunny]

Thank you so much for this thread! I'm strongly considering setting up my new 40 as a zeovit tank. I've been looking at the system for years.. Since this tank will be primarily sps, and I'm in it for the colors I think it may be time to take the plunge

 

[Wrangy]

Thank you so much for this thread! I'm strongly considering setting up my new 40 as a zeovit tank. I've been looking at the system for years.. Since this tank will be primarily sps, and I'm in it for the colors I think it may be time to take the plunge

No problems mate!! Happy to do what I can, especially when it comes to the things I love, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Obviously what I'm about to say has some bias to it but that's because I love the system but zeo is fantastic! I've got some amazingly happy corals and it's not just my sps that love it either, my zoa's have gone ballistic and so have my ric's and lobo And of course all my acro's are looking excellent and as happy as!

If you have any questions don't be shy!!

 

[Blndbunny]

Thank you! I'm currently in a bit of a holding pattern while I wait on the tank to be built...

 

[salty23]

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