I'll bet it's the macro you're trying to grow that's messing things up. I had a similar problem to the one you're describing. I was running a refugium in addition to the zeovit and had slime algae issues everywhere. Following advice on the zeovit forums, I killed the refugium, cut back on my dosing (the zeofood I cut back by 50%) and since then I haven't had any cyano issues worth mentioning. Maybe try disconnecting the tank with the kelp in it.

Yeah that is one thing i've read as well, not many zeoheads have good results with macro's...i'm sure there are a few..but i believe i've read a few messages on forums stating to get rid of any refugiums as well.

The macro isn't something I deliberately put in there, it's something that sprouted out of the rock voluntarily one day. Not sure where it came from. I figured it would subside on its own once zeo kicked in and I was fine with that. It however just hasn't happened. Must be one of those survivor species. :lol:

Maybe I'll see if anyone else wants it and thus just pull it out. It is a really keen purple thing, someone might like it. Or I might just let my tang and rabbitfish at it..

Not sure about the recommendation to remove refugiums. If they mean, don't try growing macros for the sake of nutrient export, that's common sense. But if they mean remove any tank that shares the sump, that's just out and out ridiculous. My 40g isn't a "refugium," it's an extension of the display tank where I house my clowns and carpets. If I can't run zeo with this tank on the same sump as the 75g then I just won't run zeo, that's a simple call.

reply
 

I'd like to know where anyone gets off telling people not to run a refugium if the are using Zeo. Both are used for nutrient export, but one costs way more money in the long term. Hmmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with it? No refugium = more Zeo = more money?

Tell me to shut up if this is a stupid conspiracy theory.:mrgreen:

The reason I was told not to run a refugium with zeovit is that the system wouldn't support the macroalgae since the zeovit would remove the nutrients the algae needs to grow.

The green hair algae in my RSM disproves that theory.

:lol: Exactly my thoughts about the patch of bryopsis I've found.

Those algaes are insidious though, they just find a way to live. Like how caulerpa only grows where you can't see it for example. If you don't know it's there you can't prune it.

The theory I guess behind the no macro-algae suggestion is that it competes with the zeovit bacteria, and that if the zeovit bacteria can't thrive then the supplements you dose get gobbled up by things like cyano. It's explained better over at the zeo website. All I know for sure is that almost as soon as I quit trying to grow Chaeto in the same system that the zeo was running I saw a positive change.

Bryopsis is tenacious stuff, even the true die-hard zeoheads over on the zeo site won't claim that zeovit will handle it!