this thread seems to have sort of ended w/o any conclusion. The last time I step into this thread was in Nov and too many changes has taken place like a lot of pple giving up on zeovit also at the same time other reefers started using it.
It is said that the zeolites releases iron and that inorganic PO4 would be bin by the iron on one end and iron eating bacterial would consume the iron (with the PO4 already bin to it). The skimmer would be skim out the bacterial (together with the binned iron).
When zeovit stage 3 is achieved (meaning no more pooled nutrients). At this stage NO3 and PO4 would already be undetectable and remains so without the need for zeostart (which had been giving a lot of reefer problem as they cannot keep track on how to dose it properly hence leading to a lot of problem with over and under dose).
Zeofood (as carbon source is needed) to maintain the bacterial population.
After using the full zeovit system for 10 months and going thru my 9th change of zeolith 2 weeks ago, I can say that the zeovit system truely delivers what it promises, ultra clear water, low nutrients (NO3, PO4 undetectable, colorful SPS. The system has allowed me to keep a relatively heavy fish load and also feed my fishes heavily (no paper thin tangs) and still having ultra low nutrients.
The big improvement I got was when I went barebottom for my current setup. Currently at 40 days after going BB. Zeovit full potential can only be unleashed with full berlin setup. Stable parameters are essential to avoid stress to the corals (example, stable salinity, kH, Ca, Mg etc).
The zeovit stuffs are easy to dose which takes up very little of my time. There is a need to understand how to dose and observe your corals and not just plain blind dosing which results in overdose and killing all your LS.
As I post this message, I can see the color of my SPS getting better each day, RTN/STN are a thing of the past, it is more enjoyable to get home daily with a tank full of colorful SPS, fat fishes and ultra clear water greeting you