So far i have not heard anything negative about these pellets. They seem to do what they claim to do and that is reduce nitrates and phosphates. So my question is, why would you run zeo rocks or macro algae or mangroves or VSV knowing that these pellets exist and are so easy to use? Just curious :-)

because at 100 bucks a litre dey expensive! (compared to macro algae atleast)

oh that is a very good point! They are not cheap.. but they do last a long time it seems.

Re: N/P Reducing Pellets ("Solid Vodka") and Zeovit - Wow
 

Not cheap for something that lasts up to 14 or more months? I would say it is an easy choice even compared to the natural route. Around $6 a month for the cost of pellets is insanely cheap in this hobby.

It is easy to forget the food source aspect of the pellets too, pretty nice added benefit....

Not being a true blue zeohead I can only guess here .. but I think zeo does more than just reduce nutrients. For one, there's the food thing (ok, guess that's still equivalent to the pellets, but I bet the particulate size is different, which makes it somewhat distinguishable), water clarity and brighter SPS colours. Just guesses though.

If the goal was just nutrient reduction though - the pellets are cheaper and more effective without manual daily intervention. That said, some regular basis monitoring is still needed (make sure there are no clogs etc) but at least you're not pumping some reactor every day.

I dunno. I'm not sure if the zeo guys are worried yet, but I do agree the pellets on their own seem probably good enough for most folks. Going beyond that and doing both is probably venturing into a more experimental type category perhaps..

Well, I think the zeo additives will continue to be used, perhaps in conjunction with the pellets (i'm sure tonnes of people are doing that now). I didn't realize the zeo rocks clarified the water as well. I thought coral snow did that. $6 a month is pretty darn cheap in this hobby! Especially for what the $6 is getting you each month, low nutrients (which is priceless in my opinion).

I've been using the pellets along with the Zeovit Amino Acid, Sponge Power and Coral Vitalizer, without the Zeo Rocks. Nitrate levels have dropped considerably which I attribute to the pellets. I may drop the additives to see if there is any change in coral colour and growth.

The Vertex reactor package sure works well hey?:wink:

Tai No prob. Glade I could help. My pellets have been tumbling for over 10 day with no problems after I have done the mesh. At that time I cleaned my skimmer cup. Tonight I cleaned the top mesh of the TLF reactor. Just cleaned it in the sump. There is going to be some maintenance with the top mesh. I cleaned the skimmer cup as well. It was only half full but big difference in the skim.

Tai when I had the cover of my TLF there is a rubber o ring you are missing on yours. Once you install the o ring. You have no more problems with leaks.

I will post some test results later.

Yup. The UF-15 easily holds one liter of pellets and tumbles them very nicely with the MJ-1200. Very happy with it.