Ultra Low Nutrient Systems - Fauna Marin or Prodibio or Zeovit

reef / aholic · #1 10/07/2007, 10:04 AM

Which of the following methods do you use? Fauna Marin or Prodibio or Zeovit

What did you need to get started and what did you add later to your routine?

How long have you beening using one of these methods and did you see the results you wanted?

twon8 · #2 10/07/2007, 10:12 AM

i use none of those and have great color, and save money. i've had my reef up for 4+ years, and i see the results i want.

reef / aholic · #3 10/07/2007, 10:36 AM

I understand that there is more than one way to do this. I'm looking for people that have used these different types of methods and hear there results.

Jar*Head · #4 10/07/2007, 10:58 AM

Zeovit for me for a little over 3yrs. I stopped last year because the Reefer Best salt has an issue. I went back for almost 10 weeks now. I like the result and the way Zeovit work, many folks has great success with natural or different system. It is all personal reference of what you want to do. I think there is a misconception with the cost of maintain Zeovit tank. It is expensive to you first start because you have to purchase the Reactor, Zeovit rock, and basic 4. You only have to change out the rock every 6-8 weeks, dosing daily which take approx 5mins for my 550g system.

Some pic of my Zeovit system...

Zeovit reactor made my Captive Ocean 5ltr

As for as the "Ultra low nutrient" will take a while depend on your system. How old? How large is your bioload? How strong is your protein skimmer? This system just like any other system, it doesn't take overnight to show the result. Don't expect any miracle in couple weeks or months. But one thing you will notice after a week or two of running Zeovit is the Crystal clear water quality.

Here is some pic of my tank two weeks ago...

Jar*Head · #5 10/07/2007, 11:05 AM

Lots of people claimed softy or LPS don't thrive in Zeovit system. That is a fault info... All my zoas doing great, growth fast and nice color as well

Pic of my SPS two weeks after adding 240lbs of live sand....

Frags of my Pink lemonade i bought from hugo 3 months ago...

GSMguy · #6 10/07/2007, 11:30 AM

Jarhead did you have a name change? were you reefer7 something before?

i love 240cubes

PSam · #7 10/07/2007, 11:33 AM

I'm using prodibio now - started last month. You can click my red house for info on what's happened so far, which ain't much, but it's only been a month.

GSMguy · #8 10/07/2007, 11:38 AM

Prodibio started after macna no results exept my corals colors are better and growth is better algae all gone

but i was having diatom problem still probobly due to underpowered skimmer and too long photoperiod.

i have suspended reefbooster dosing until diatoms are gone. i also dose a maintenance dose of 30ml vodka daily

reef / aholic · #9 10/07/2007, 04:12 PM

Jar*Head, which BK skimmer are you using?

What Zeovit supplements are you using, "ZEOspur2, Amino Acid, Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, Pohl's K-Balance, Potassium Fluoride, Stylo-Pocci Glow, ZEOlive, Coral Snow"?

What saltmix are you using the Zeovit method to maintain low alk levels?

Do you have any dosing gudelines you like to use?

Also after doing some more reading arent the Fauna Marin method and Zeovit method the same thing?

DocG · #10 10/07/2007, 06:32 PM

I use FM Ultralith and have for 10 months now.

I started with an ultralith reactor, Ultrabak, UltraBio, and UltraMin S.

I started out really slow on the system and slowly increased my doses. I am still much lower then the recommended doses of Ultrabak and UltraMin S.

I have made a few changes since I started. I now use UltraOrganic and I have also started to use a dosing pump for the Ultrabak and UltraMin S. Using a dosing pump has been a great tool for me as I have never been good at dosing daily.

Since I started using the ultralith I have noticed the following changes:

My growth is significantly better despite switching to lower PAR bulbs.

My colors are better. They are not all great, but I am much happier with them now then I was before.

I used to have sporadic episodes of STN that were very frustrating. It was never a tankwide disaster, but losing a colony here or there was very frustrating. Since starting ultralith I have not had a case of STN that I can remember.

I was able to get my nitrates down from 5-10 ppm before ultralith to 0 - 0.2 ppm.

Here are some photos (sorry that they are not well done)

Jar*Head · #11 10/07/2007, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoBolton
Jar*Head, which BK skimmer are you using?

What Zeovit supplements are you using, "ZEOspur2, Amino Acid, Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, Pohl's K-Balance, Potassium Fluoride, Stylo-Pocci Glow, ZEOlive, Coral Snow"?

What saltmix are you using the Zeovit method to maintain low alk levels?

Do you have any dosing gudelines you like to use?

Also after doing some more reading arent the Fauna Marin method and Zeovit method the same thing?

Hello RoBolton,

For supplements i use: Amino acid, Coral vitalizer, Corals Snow, K-Balance strong, B-Balance, Stylo poxy glow, Potassium iodine flouride, Iron, Spur 2
I dose Amino acid, coral vitalizer, K-balance strong daily, everything else 1x week, B-balance 3x's week, Spur 2 1x month.

I did follow the zeovit guideline at first but after the 3rd change out, my dosage base on the appearance of the corals. Most likely i do 50% of recommended dosage on everything after the 3rd change out. Also, make sure your parameter and nutrient level fall within the range.

I use TM pro... Very very happy with the salt. I do 5% water change weekly.

They are pretty similar but i am not qualify to answer that question due to the lack of knowledge and no chemistry skill what so ever

DarkLordCoral · #12 10/07/2007, 11:36 PM

We have used Fauna Marin in all of our tanks for 13+ months. We chose this after talking to European reef keepers and the experiences they have had using both products. The Fauna Marin line is very simple and does not seem to make your tank dependent on the system. You can miss dosing for a week at a time and the most you will get is a small algae bloom.

The initial start up as mentioned is a little more due to the reactor. We dose UltraBio, UltraBak, UltraMin S & UltraOrganic daily. Our main reason for this is to provide all of these animals with the healthiest possible conditions.

The water quality & stability you gain is unbelievable as well as the deep colors in all your corals.

We use SeaChem Reef Salt in all our systems.

~Mike

reef / aholic · #13 10/08/2007, 12:06 AM

What is the main difference between the Fauna Marin method and Zeovit method?

Do you use any of the Fauna Marin Trace Elements?

Jar*Head · #14 10/08/2007, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkLordCoral
We have used Fauna Marin in all of our tanks for 13+ months. We chose this after talking to European reef keepers and the experiences they have had using both products. The Fauna Marin line is very simple and does not seem to make your tank dependent on the system. You can miss dosing for a week at a time and the most you will get is a small algae bloom.

The initial start up as mentioned is a little more due to the reactor. We dose UltraBio, UltraBak, UltraMin S & UltraOrganic daily. Our main reason for this is to provide all of these animals with the healthiest possible conditions.

The water quality & stability you gain is unbelievable as well as the deep colors in all your corals.

We use SeaChem Reef Salt in all our systems.

~Mike

Hello Mike, Have your European Reefers ever mention the dude who came up with Fauna Marin and Thomas Pohl used to be partner

? Just like ASM and Euroreef LMAO... I went to school for 2 months without dosing a drop of Zeovit and i don't even have the algae bloom. I hired my maintenance guy to do water change weekly and that is t...... if you ever missed a week or two, just continue with your regular schedule...

Jar*Head · #15 10/08/2007, 02:03 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RoBolton
[B]What is the main difference between the Fauna Marin method and Zeovit method?t

From what i saw at the LFS who is carrying the Fauna Marin. they have pretty much the same stuff... just different name

DarkLordCoral · #16 10/08/2007, 02:25 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jar*Head
[B]

Quote:

Originally posted by RoBolton
What is the main difference between the Fauna Marin method and Zeovit method?t

From what i saw at the LFS who is carrying the Fauna Marin. they have pretty much the same stuff... just different name

Not really, look at the list you just said you add in addition to your basic 4:

Quote:

Originally posted by Jar*Head
For supplements i use: Amino acid, Coral vitalizer, Corals Snow, K-Balance strong, B-Balance, Stylo poxy glow, Potassium iodine flouride, Iron, Spur 2

That's a lot more items then you add with the UltraLith system.

DarkLordCoral · #17 10/08/2007, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jar*Head
Hello Mike, Have your European Reefers ever mention the dude who came up with Fauna Marin and Thomas Pohl used to be partner ? Just like ASM and Euroreef LMAO... I went to school for 2 months without dosing a drop of Zeovit and i don't even have the algae bloom. I hired my maintenance guy to do water change weekly and that is t...... if you ever missed a week or two, just continue with your regular schedule...

Yep, I know they used to be partners. That's also why partnerships usually never work out well

reef / aholic · #18 10/08/2007, 08:05 AM

There is no need for a refugium if you are using one these methods?

Denadai · #19 10/08/2007, 08:49 AM

I used to use Fauna Marin and Prodibio

In my opinion, waste of money

Now I just do regular water change and add a phos reator....my colors are awesome now, better then when I used prodibio and fauna marin

The aquarium market is huge, and there is a lot of stuff to buy that doesn´t work so well...they sell dream...and people love to buy dreams

Keep it simple and the aquarium will thrive

Regards

reefkoi · #20 10/08/2007, 09:04 AM

Thats what i have read no fuge. I don't run a fuge, but I have seen tanks with fuge's and no addatives that have better color than my Prodibio tank.
Sometimes I wonder................
I've been using the complete prodibio line for 1 year now, no bad algae ever and the colors are ok.
heres a pic from a couple months ago

Denadai · #21 10/08/2007, 09:18 AM

Just to show some pictures of my SPS...

No additives, just water changes and phosban in reactor

stony_corals · #22 10/08/2007, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GSMguy
Prodibio started after macna no results exept my corals colors are better and growth is better algae all gone but i was having diatom problem still probobly due to underpowered skimmer and too long photoperiod.

i have suspended reefbooster dosing until diatoms are gone. i also dose a maintenance dose of 30ml vodka daily

A bit OT.... You're dosing 30ml of vodka on a 50 gallon? That seems a lot aren't you getting a bacteria bloom?

gcarroll · #23 10/08/2007, 11:30 AM

I went back to prodibio last month and have everything appears to be doing well. I had a friend measure phosphate with his Hanna meter and it was .02. The water is crystal clear, the corals exhibit increased polyp extension, and I am having a nice growth spurt. I have not begun dosing Reefbooster yet only because the wife just had a baby and is spending more time downstairs around the tank. She refers to it as the stinky stuff.

arts007 · #24 10/08/2007, 12:14 PM

I have not used Prodibio or Zeovit, but I have started Polyp Lab, which is a similar system. I have been using it for about 4 weeks now.
What I have noticed is a much increase in polyp extension, an increase in coloration on all SPS. I also put a brown acro in the tank and was surprised to find it changing to a bright powder blue color. I wish I would have taken pictures before and after but my camera is still in the shop.

ReefRockerLive · #25 10/08/2007, 02:15 PM

I've been using the UltraLith system for 9 months now and I am loving the results. My tri-colors have developed amazingly deep purple tips that actually go blue under my FM AS Blue bulbs. Water Clearity is astonishing and using this system is very easy and affordable for me. Other color improvements are green acros, they have become from a standard green to a neon green color. My loripes has shown deep pink tips with a teal body and white polyps. Polyp extension is simply amazing on all my acros. I currently dose: UltraLith, UltraBak, UltraMin S, and UltraOrganic. On the way is UltraAmin and UltraEasy-Kalium.