Lando looks good man , time for a room cleaning lots of Salt creep on the sump shame on you for not cleaning that off...:razz:

At least I keep my tanks running long enough to get salt creep. :razz:

oooh.. :onfire:

hey Lando, go out side and play a game of hide and go $#%^$ yourself :lol:

too cold outside, maybe i'll hide inside and find Lori. :wink:

Little update: I started ZEO last night. I am excited to see what this does to my tank. I'll try and post some "before" pictures tonight.

Ooh, nice. Did you manage to get that reactor to fit in the sump?

Yep I had to chop over a foot off it, now it will only hold 3.5L. I only have 1.25L in it and it looks like nothing.

Are you doing the whole zeo line of products or are you just dosing a selected few? Can I ask what your motivations are for trying it out?

Not sure what you mean by whole line, from what I have read you need all or nothing with this system for it to work correctly. (you can use some of the other additional additives on there own such as amino acid concentrate but thats different)

Currently I am using/dosing zeolites, zeobak, zeofood7, zeostart2 and pohl's coral vitalizer. In the future I will start messing with the amino acids, stylo grow, coral snow etc. The original plan for this tank was to start it on ZEO but things changed now a year later here we go.

Yeah, that is what I ment.

What page is the reactor picture (is there a picture of this reactor you speak of?)? I went back to page 10 and gave up. Did you make your own?

They are on this page. :razz:

Before: 30"
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/...n/DSCN3042.jpg

After: 18"
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/...n/IMG008-1.jpg

In the sump:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/...n/IMG_4290.jpg

Aiyiyi! 30" tall? What kind of litre rating was it, that seems way larger than the 3l? (If so, where did you get it?

I have no idea what the liter rating was before, it was lots. I bought it off a canreefer(Drew) it was used by another guy who Drew bought it from. I am not sure what brand it is or maybe if its a DIY, but if it is DIY whoever built it has some serious skills.

guess would ask why Zeo, pictures of what you have look fantastic already

Its the proline reactor. The same one I have.. allthough mine's the 1.5L version.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ct_ID=zv-0rzr2

I recognize it as the Proline as that's the same one I have too but mine is a 1l version (maybe 1.5l - but it just fits 1 bag). I thought it might have been a 5l model because the 3l is listed at 24" tall overall. But maybe it's the 3l version.

Are you looking at getting a bigger reactor for the new tank Tony, or are you thinking of running two smaller ones?

The plan was always to run Zeo, fantastic is nice and all but I want holy$&!t. :mrgreen:

LOL.. looking forward to seeing the effects it has on your tank. :biggrin:

I am only on day 5 with zeovit but there is already an improvement in water clarity. There was no problem with water clarity before but now its just better. The other thing I have noticed is the glass does stay cleaner longer. Maybe there is something to this Zeo thing.

Does anyone know if zeo helps reduce bubble algae?

Seriously. That's awesome.

I knew Zeo would be good but on Thursday (after reading and talking about it here in this thread last Wedneday I put online my zeo reactor) and on Thursday I was thinking that my lights were brighter ... it then dawned on me it had to be water clarity.

I was thinking that one day had to be too soon to have such a profound difference.. although at the same time I put the reactor online I did kick off a water change so it could be due to that too.

Question, are you running carbon yet? I'm not sure what to think about the recommendation to run it passively but to also run it in a power filter to force water through it. :neutral: So does that mean we can run it in a Phosban reactor or not? (For better for worse I'm running my carbon in one... :neutral:)

Actually noticed the clarity after the first day. I forgot about the carbon until sunday, but I was already running chemi-pure so I just pulled it and replaced it with a bag full of just carbon. It sits in first set of baffles in the sump, so I would call it passive agressive flow. I think running carbon in a phosban reactor would be fine, it would eliminate the need to knead it everyday as recomended.

Ya I run a phosban reactor with only carbon in it as well. I believe in the new ZEO Guide it recomments this method over the passive method

I started ZEO 1 week into my tank cycle. I had a ton of bubble algea. Within 2 weeks I had none. Now after a year and 7 months on Zeo I have 1 or 2 bubble aglae in the tank. I don't plan on taking any action as they have been there for a while and not really doing anything.

Yes I have also seen a huge reduction on the amount of glass cleaning that I need to do.

J

Jason do you dose all the stuff at the same time?

I'm just running carbon passive right now and knead it daily. I do have my phosban reactor sitting empty so I think when I change out my zeolites and carbon I will run it in the reactor.

There seems to be conflicting info on carbon even in the zeo guide. In the same paragraph it refers to using zeo in a forced reactor like a phosban or even in the zeo reactor ontop of the zeolites.. but then later on it recommends just using it passive in the sump. :question:

Yes and no. ;)
My current dose schedule (remember I've been using Zeo for almost 2 years)

Net Water 300G
2x a day 0.6ml ZeoStart (Morning and Evening)
1x a day 7 drops AA (evening directly into the tank)
1X a Day 7 drops Coral Vitalizer (evening directly into the tank)
10ml every other day K-B Strong (when ever)

6 drops 3 times a week ZEOBac (in sump with skimmer off for 20minutes)
3 Drops 3 times a week ZEOFood (same time as Bac)

Reading the forums on Zeovit.com the general consensuses is to run carbon in a fluidized reactor. Also something not in the guide is to save a small amount of old rock to help seed the new rock when performing a rock change. the exact amount is not an issue

J

I just had to double check my dosing amounts. I understand that everyone eventually figures out how much of each works best for their tank, but I didnt realize that it differs that much from the guide.

Have you found real a benefits to :

a.) Turning off the skimmer while dosing Bak/Food
b.) Running Carbon in a reactor?

I've been debating doing both myself.

One thing I have learned about Zeovit is that the guide is a great place to start. It's stage one of the Zeo process. Once you move through stage 2 and then to stage 3 the dosage amounts decrease greatly. The best way to find what dosage is best for each stage is to start a theard over at Zeovit.com. Not sure if you've done this yet but fill out this form then start and thread with the answers. After each rock change or supplimant addition post in your thread. Peaopl like G. Alexander will post minor tweaks and fixes to your dosage schedule.

J

Thanks :) I have done that but I should update it now that I am moving past stage 1.

not sure about the Carbon. I've always done it that way so I have nothing to compare to. I have how ever noticed a huge difference in turning the Skimmer of when dosing Bac/Food. I find the reactor clouds up a whole lot more when I pump.

J

By rock change I assume you mean the Zeolites. I started a thread way back when I intially was thinking about Zeo. I'll dig up my old thread when the time comes. Thanks for reminding me.

What does stage 3 entail? Do you become some kind of zeo jedi that can grow corals by looking at them and change their color by just thinking about it.

yes Zeolites (rock)

Yes when you enter stage 3 your your coral colours are directly links to your dreams. unfortunately I just had a nightmare. LOL
You know as they talk quit a bit about the 3 stages they never define a time line or nutrient level definition.
Copied for Zeovit.com
Originally Posted by scottw
Different ZeoVit phases by Aged Salt

ZEOvit phases depend on the nutrient level & coral appearance. Nutrients are relatively high[with "pooled-reserves"] & corals are dull in coloration. Polyp-extension may or may not be present.

Consider phase 1 the initiatation of ZEOvit method. The basic 4 are used to reduce nutrients in a balanced manner. As nutrients & "reserves" are depleted, the corals become brighter, lighter in appearance & the quantities of the zeo's dosed becomes less.

Enter phase 2[~3-6mos], the corals continue to colorize more & nutrients are becoming more exhausted. During this phase, however, if dosing is stopped for more than a few days, nutrients again begin to rise, & corals become darker. This is due to "pooled-reserves" still remaining available.


Phase 3[5-10months] is characterized by stable nutrients & color appearance of the corals, ie. if the zeo's are not dosed for many days, the N03's/P04's do not increase & coral colors remain fast. In this phase, the stored nutrients are exhausted, as evidenced by the low quantites of Bak/Food7/Start used, with coral color intensive.

Man there's just too much to read over at that board. I guess I'll start my thread over there at some point. Canreef is my home, RC is where I go to play sometimes, and that's already eating too significant a portion of my days as it is, even though I have registrations at all these other places they rarely hold a lot of appeal to spend even more time online. I could be using that time to work on my 280g. :neutral: Sigh. I need a 36 hour day.

You need a clone of yourself is what you need, one for work, one for relaxing, and one to do tank work!

I hear you.
I'm here a lot. Mod at 3Reef, Read what I can on Zeo, and Play at RC.

if there was just some way I could get payed to do this.:)

J

If there was only some way I could get paid to be a reefer.

heh :)