NanoTopia's ZEOvit 80L [ ]

[jedimasterben]

As you can see, "full spectrum bulb" I believe you could run 8 of these on a 8 bulb fixture and grow corals with decent colour.

You certainly could, just not with a lot of reaction from fluorescent proteins

[NanoTopia]

Potassium Update:

 

I have always promoted maintaining NSW potassium levels in the reef aquarium, 400ppm. I am now experimenting with pushing that slightly, let me emphasize - slightly. I am in the process of increasing to 420-430ppm over the next few weeks from 400ppm. I am at 410ppm now with no negative results. PE is very good, colours are great, growth seems to be accelerating, tissue health remains good.

 

All other parameters in my tank are NSW level.

 

Keep you posted.

[jedimasterben]

 

 

Skip to ~19:45

[NanoTopia]

 

 

Skip to ~19:45

 

Yup saw this already, this is what prompted me to try an increase on K however, after seeing the video I remember when I was dosing more K-Balance (potassium supplement) I had SPS growth tips with unbelievable, almost translucent, brightly coloured growth tips on my Cali Tort. They faded quite a bit when I slacked off dosing K-Balance. Now that I have started dosing more K, the tips are back to their magical beauty once again. Coralline growth has also increased and is dark purple colour. Still early in the experiment and still increasing K (doing this very slowly) but I see positive results all around. The trick is it has to be done very slowly otherwise you will stress corals and possibly have burnt tips on SPS. I am taking about 10 days to increase 10ppm, so this is going to take 20-30 days to get it to 420-430ppm. And, I think that would be as far as I dare increase it in a nutrient poor environment.

 

BTW, I am also increasing the K in my 7 gallon LPS system that runs higher nutrients. I do have a couple of Montipora in that tank as well. Interesting to see effects on LPS and Gorgs over the next month. I'm worried about my spiral corals mostly, just not sure how black coral will react, time will tell.

 

Justin Credible... (likely not the name he received from his parents unless they were hippies, LOL) suggests 800-1200ppm Potassium. I see that as a major stress on corals and maybe not even possible, definitely not in a ULNS, and definitely not where SPS corals are involved.

 

I think everyone should buy themselves a Potassium Test Kit and a bottle of potassium chloride and get to work, aim for 400 - 410ppm

[jedimasterben]

Justin Credible... (likely not the name he received from his parents unless they were hippies, LOL) suggests 800-1200ppm Potassium. I see that as a major stress on corals and maybe not even possible, definitely not in a ULNS, and definitely not where SPS corals are involved.

Remember that Justin runs Reef Gen and has thousands of corals propagating under that parameter, along with the Long Island Aquarium's display running that, as well. I'd say that they represent a large amount of coral species and show that they do fairly well in it lol. So while getting to the level you want slow and steady would be good, it doesn't seem that there would be much of an upper limit.

 

I've seen several Spanish and Italian tanks that are low nutrient and run immensely high light, flow, and water parameters. Calcium 600ppm+, alk 280ppm+, mag 1800ppm+ with significant coral growth.

[NanoTopia]

Remember that Justin runs Reef Gen and has thousands of corals propagating under that parameter, along with the Long Island Aquarium's display running that, as well. I'd say that they represent a large amount of coral species and show that they do fairly well in it lol. So while getting to the level you want slow and steady would be good, it doesn't seem that there would be much of an upper limit.

 

I've seen several Spanish and Italian tanks that are low nutrient and run immensely high light, flow, and water parameters. Calcium 600ppm+, alk 280ppm+, mag 1800ppm+ with significant coral growth.

He seemed pretty specific about the higher nutrient levels in his talk. I just don't believe you can push element levels to that extreme in ULNS (<0.005ppm PO4). I would be interested to know exactly how low these "low nutrient" spanish and Italian reefs are.

[jedimasterben]

He seemed pretty specific about the higher nutrient levels in his talk. I just don't believe you can push element levels to that extreme in ULNS (<0.005ppm PO4). I would be interested to know exactly how low these "low nutrient" spanish and Italian reefs are.

Me too, no one was able to get more details from them other than 'nutrient poor'. They use extreme protein skimming, so it is at least possible. I'd love to be able to talk to some of those people, but I don't really know Spanish or Italian, and it's been many years since those posts first surfaced.

[NanoTopia]

Im just playing it pretty safe and moving pretty slow with this. I have seen what extreme levels of elements can do in ULNS, it isn't pretty. That said, my 7 gallon has some nutrients so if I get brave I might just go higher in that tank, see how things progress at 420ppm and 430ppm.

 

What are you keeping K at Ben?

[k4ndyk1ng]

Man, i just found this thread, maybe i have been hiding under a rock, this thing kicks ass.

Have you had any downsides of using ZEOvit on such a small tank? sorry if this has been asked but it is going to take me weeks to trawl through 90 pages

[jedimasterben]

Im just playing it pretty safe and moving pretty slow with this. I have seen what extreme levels of elements can do in ULNS, it isn't pretty. That said, my 7 gallon has some nutrients so if I get brave I might just go higher in that tank, see how things progress at 420ppm and 430ppm.

Always good to play it safe

What are you keeping K at Ben?

Psh, heck if I know lol. I've been meaning to buy a test kit, but never remember.

[NanoTopia]

Man, i just found this thread, maybe i have been hiding under a rock, this thing kicks ass.

Have you had any downsides of using ZEOvit on such a small tank? sorry if this has been asked but it is going to take me weeks to trawl through 90 pages

Thanks, I wish I had started this tank with ZEOvit, probably the only downside. Okay, it does require a little more maintenance at times and especially in the beginning when your just getting used to it all. I have had this tank on ZEOvit for two years, what I have concluded is tanks like mine, 20 gallons and under, should run 20% more stones than recommended with the equivalent flow for that volume. Mainly because we tend to keep a large amount of livestock and not as much water in our systems, and often not enough rock. Of course every system is different but usually this is the case. It really helps to run more stones but not from the start up, more stones can be added after 3 months or so if need be.

 

Honoured your taking the time to read through all 90 pages

 

Always good to play it safe

Psh, heck if I know lol. I've been meaning to buy a test kit, but never remember.

I have a tone of livestock in the 20 gallon I would be sad to loose, some stuff that's been with me for a long time. I find however I am getting bored with the tank lately so I need to experiment a little to keep my interest up. It happens .

 

Get a test kit Ben, the Salifert one will give you a ball park reading and it is super easy to use.

[jedimasterben]

I have a tone of livestock in the 20 gallon I would be sad to loose, some stuff that's been with me for a long time. I find however I am getting bored with the tank lately so I need to experiment a little to keep my interest up. It happens .

I have the same addiction sickness problem.

Get a test kit Ben, the Salifert one will give you a ball park reading and it is super easy to use.

Ok, fine, I'll order one

[Nano sapiens]

He seemed pretty specific about the higher nutrient levels in his talk. I just don't believe you can push element levels to that extreme in ULNS (<0.005ppm PO4).

 

I was a bit surprised at the very high levels of potassium that Justin was talking about. I picked up on his idea that running higher potassium levels makes sense to keep a more 'balanced ratio' in a system that has much higher element levels (esp. nitrate and phosphate).

 

However, I think that your cautious and deliberate approach is wise considering the true ULNS nature of your system. The levels Justin is describing just don't make sense (to me) when a reef aquaium is run at levels closer to oceanic reef NSW and I don't think he intended it as such.

 

All this talk of potassium has my interest piqued. In a large system with regular WCs I would not expect that potassium would be rapidly depleted, but in a nano tank's typically higher bio load to water ratio (especially if stony coral dominant) the possiblity is certainly there, even with regular WCs.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this works out for you and the long term changes that you observe.

[NanoTopia]

I was a bit surprised at the very high levels of potassium that Justin was talking about. I picked up on his idea that running higher potassium levels makes sense to keep a more 'balanced ratio' in a system that has much higher element levels (esp. nitrate and phosphate).

 

However, I think that your cautious and deliberate approach is wise considering the true ULNS nature of your system. The levels Justin is describing just don't make sense (to me) when a reef aquaium is run at levels closer to oceanic reef NSW and I don't think he intended it as such.

 

All this talk of potassium has my interest piqued. In a large system with regular WCs I would not expect that potassium would be rapidly depleted, but in a nano tank's typically higher bio load to water ratio (especially if stony coral dominant) the possiblity is certainly there, even with regular WCs.

 

It'll be interesting to see how this works out for you and the long term changes that you observe.

ZEOsystems seem to use more K than most average systems. I am normally dosing 1-2mL weekly to keep levels stable and I do 15% WC weekly. Now I can't say how much of the potassium is being exported by the skimmer (needle wheel) but I assume most of what I dose is used biologically in some form or another.

 

Another factor is the concentration of K in the salt one uses, I think many are a bit low. I use KZ Reefers Best Salt and I have tested it at 400ppm at 35ppt.

 

I have always kept 390-400ppm but since increasing it higher I see some nice changes in some corals and coralline algae so far.

 

Just tested and I am at 415ppm, a little higher than I expected so I will slow the rate of increase now to maybe 1ppm every two days.

[jedimasterben]

ZEOsystems seem to use more K than most average systems. I am normally dosing 1-2mL weekly to keep levels stable and I do 15% WC weekly. Now I can't say how much of the potassium is being exported by the skimmer (needle wheel) but I assume most of what I dose is used biologically in some form or another.

It's not the skimmer, it is the zeolith used that adsorbs it.

[Nano sapiens]

ZEOsystems seem to use more K than most average systems. I am normally dosing 1-2mL weekly to keep levels stable and I do 15% WC weekly.

 

Interesting, that is quite a bit of usage, especially considering that you also do a 15% WC/week.

 

Potassium usage seems not to be that well documented in the various types of reef tanks. I would find it interesting to determine how much my 'non-filtered' tank with it's biological processes uses up in particular period of time, so I think I'll order a Salifert test kit

[defender.TX]

I don't know much about K dosing and magical growth tips but I know this tank is stunning. So much for my contribution!

[NanoTopia]

It's not the skimmer, it is the zeolith used that adsorbs it.

No doubt about that Ben, I think the skimmer (needle wheel) pulls out some too. So keeping a boosted level of potassium in my tank will require some effort.

 

Interesting, that is quite a bit of usage, especially considering that you also do a 15% WC/week.

 

Potassium usage seems not to be that well documented in the various types of reef tanks. I would find it interesting to determine how much my 'non-filtered' tank with it's biological processes uses up in particular period of time, so I think I'll order a Salifert test kit

ZEOvit tanks are known to pull out K more than other tanks, and as Ben said, the Zeolites play a role in that. Most of the better salt mixes contain "close to" NSW levels of potassium, so the average tank will read low K if it has never been dosed additionally and the tank is 1+ years old. K is no different from Ca or Mg, if you need to dose Ca, it would make sense you would need to dose K.

 

I think keeping 400ppm K is adequate in any tank, what I am doing is seeing if keeping slightly above that level (420-430ppm) makes any difference to corals, especially SPS corals which I am most fond of. I have a lot at stake and if I end up with burt tips I will not be a happy camper. That said, I believe that if the corals are allowed to slowly acclimate to higher levels they should tolerate it, the trick is a very slow acclimation.

 

I think K usage is dependant on many factors including the type and amount of corals in the tank. Every tank will be different so it makes it hard to document, similar to documenting the usage of other elements. It is pretty widely known that low K values, those under 380ppm, have a direct impact on Montipora species (among others), I have witnessed this myself on many occasions. If you have trouble keeping Montipora sp. and your salinity is fine, it is likely your potassium is low. Potassium plays a critical role in biological processes so the health of the entire tank is dependent on adequate K levels.

 

I don't know much about K dosing and magical growth tips but I know this tank is stunning. So much for my contribution!

Thanks defender, the "magical growth tips" are really the look of the tissue at the growth areas of the SPS. I have tried to photograph what I see but the camera is not picking it up. Basically, the tissue looks translucent with bright intense coloration. My brother used to paint cars for a living, I can only compare this to a high end car with 10 coats of lacquer on it, if that makes any sense.

[jedimasterben]

No doubt about that Ben, I think the skimmer (needle wheel) pulls out some too. So keeping a boosted level of potassium in my tank will require some effort.

I'd say the skimmer doesn't really have much to do with it. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature

 

The chemical analysis of the 5.18 gm of skimmate solid follows a similar approach as that described for the heavily washed skimmate solid discussed above. However, in this case, the solid was not washed repeatedly, and so some water-soluble compounds persist, although most of the water was likely removed through vacuum drying. These water soluble species consist of 3.45 wt % sodium, 0.40 wt % chloride, 0.38 wt % potassium, and 1.18 wt % sulfur (= 3.6 wt % sulfate)

[Nano sapiens]

I think K usage is dependant on many factors including the type and amount of corals in the tank. Every tank will be different so it makes it hard to document, similar to documenting the usage of other elements. It is pretty widely known that low K values, those under 380ppm, have a direct impact on Montipora species (among others), I have witnessed this myself on many occasions. If you have trouble keeping Montipora sp. and your salinity is fine, it is likely your potassium is low. Potassium plays a critical role in biological processes so the health of the entire tank is dependent on adequate K levels.

 

No problems with Montis or Acro health, so K has been at least 'acceptable' over the years.

 

Truth be told, I just need something to play with now that the tank is just humm'in along

[chironerd21]

awesome tank! but all that fancy equipment for a 20 gallon tank... wish it was on a bigger system =)

[NanoTopia]

awesome tank! but all that fancy equipment for a 20 gallon tank... wish it was on a bigger system =)

I take my nano seriously, LOL.

[defender.TX]

awesome tank! but all that fancy equipment for a 20 gallon tank... wish it was on a bigger system =)

 

Hey there's nothing wrong with fancy equipment on a 20 gallon .

[Arkayology]

awesome tank! but all that fancy equipment for a 20 gallon tank... wish it was on a bigger system =)

You can never have too much fancy equipment on a nano.

[NanoTopia]

Potassium at 420ppm

 

 

Some pics from today (top down)...