To zeo or not to zeo

[mark]

there's some pretty nice tanks out there (and some with clams) not running Zeo

[christyf5]

Oh I totally agree, there are several threads I was just looking at on canreef that are truly spectacular and they aren't using zeo or any sort of ULNS system. I just thought I'd try something new. I guess when I see it every day I just don't see the ooh ahh in my tank that I see in others.

[BlueAbyss]

Just a thought... isn't the Zeo system supposed to remove 'bad' nutrients and then replace them with other 'good' nutrients?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I had struggled with this question myself. Mostly because if the cyano. After two weeks or increased Bak and dosing coral snow daily, no cyano. You literally can't find a spot. It kept coming and going for a week and then now its been gone for days. Doesn't seem to be coming back.

Other than the cyano, I have been thrilled with ZEO. I did for a while think I may start VSV dosing instead of ZEO but don't like the fact that its less controlled than ZEO.

I guess the only other problem I have with ZEO is that they will not tell you WHAT your dosing. But I have just listened to what I was told on the ZEO forum and its worked nicely. Nitrates are still around 10-15 but slowly dropping. I don't think nitrates harm much anyways...its phosphates you have to worry about with sps.

Good luck figuring it out. IMO you should stick with it but maybe rethink the dosing schedule. I would post on the zeo forum and see what they say.

[Jack]

What does the zeovit forum say about your nitrate level?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by Jack

What does the zeovit forum say about your nitrate level?

Mine?

Just that it will take up to 6 months to reach 0 but will get there. They did say to be careful how low I go though.

I started with a high bioload, so it takes a while to get it down.

Actually today after transferring the tank to the new one, I tested my nitrates at 5. But that is like a 50% water change since the tank is almost double the size.

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Jack

What does the zeovit forum say about your nitrate level?

They readjusted my regimen and told me to post back in 2 weeks. The numbers were pretty much the same and they didn't have much else to say it seemed so I just forged on.

GSP, that dosing coralsnow with the bak did nothing for me. Didn't even make a dent in the cyano, I was pretty disappointed.

Originally Posted by Green Spotted Puffer

There are a lot of reefers who seem to really dislike ZEO or see it as some kind of cheating

I agree, I guess like everything tho there are the lovers and the haters. I think maybe if they explained what each product was based on or something, maybe they'd like it more? Who knows? I suppose to a certain extent when you think about it, starving something to the brink of death and then feeding it only a little at a time to make it look better is kind of uncool.

[lobsterboy]

come over to the dark side. i mean bright side.

[christyf5]

Whats over there? Guys breathing heavily into plastic beer cups?

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I hate zeo. Let me explain. I started zeo in december and everything was fine for the first couple weeks and then my montis started dieing and then my acros started to brown out. Not all of them though just most of my nice ones. I followed the guide but misinterpreted it I guess. I started with about 60% of the zeolites as suggested for starting out and ran it on the 3hr on/off cycle, also as suggested in the zeoguide. Nothing was stated to dose less so I dosed as per a nutrient rich tank starting out. That was apparently my problem. The dosing seems to be directly linked to how much zeolites used and not necessarily water volume. Anyways, I tried to correct the problem but still I lost about half my corals and I'm not very pleased at all. I always have considered myself to be very diligent in following directions and that's what I did. I followed the zeoguide almost to the letter so I think it needs to be added to, to include more variables especially when starting out on it, as this is the most crucial(and dangerous)time.