Thinking of going fauna

[fencer]

Yes you have to slowly get off of Ultra like Zeo. I think you should do the easier stuff first...water change etc

[Delphinus]

When I dabbled in Zeo with my old 75g the folks over at the zeovit.com forum advised me that older tanks don't always react well to switching to a ULNS system and that one should ease themselves into it slower. Can't remember what all the potential symptoms were of shock but the one thing I do remember is I got a wicked and persistent cyano bloom a few weeks in. I ended up running a red slime remover treatment to get rid of it.

I don't really recall that it got rid of any nuisance algaes. I know for sure it did not starve out the stupid caulerpa problem that particular tank did have.

[Myka]

Hi Marie! I agree with fencer. I suck at doing water changes too because I am also lazy. I have set up myself a system where water changes are super easy though, and I find I do a lot more water changes. I used to do maybe 6 water changes a year before, now I'm up to weekly!! If you make it easy for yourself you will be more likely to do it.

You could use some of the additives without using all the nutrient lowering products. You can gradually ease into using some of the bacteria encouraging products as time goes on, and see the reaction of that. I am familiar with Zeo, so I would have to suggest these products: Sponge Power, Xtra, Amino Acid High Concentration (for SPS), and Coral Vitalizer. These four you should have no issues using on your established tank, except the latter of which I find I have to use very sparingly or I will get diatoms and cyano. You could also put Coral Snow to use which I have found is a great combatant of algae especially if used with Bak. However, on an established tank I would be careful using both of those, but especially the Bak.

As far as Zeo goes...don't follow the directions on the bottles. If it says use 1 drop per 25 gallons daily use 1 drop per 25 gallons 3x per week or even less. You should notice a different with a small amount. However, I do find that with Zeo you need to be tedious about it (I assume FM is the same way). Either do it, or don't - there is no halfway. If you do it halfway (use the additives irregularly) you will cause yourself more grief than good imo.

[Aqua-Digital]

Hi

Sorry for late coming into this, trying to take weekends of now.

As everyone has said for now it is important to get your basic maintenance regime in place.

10% water changes a week
PO4 and nitrate tests.

If your PO4 is high then using FM Ultra power phos to bring this down. This is powerful suff and does not leach the PO4 back into the system it remains bound, you also dont have to use much of it and the absorbant rate on tests is fast. (but thats another subject we will be doing this review in the new year)

correct PO4 test proceedure

heat sample of water to 80oC
Allow to cool for 5 minutes
Take test in normal way

By doing this you are unbinding the PO4 trapped in the water molecules and obtaining a correct reading.

After this as Myka says you can use some nutrient lowering products, a good start would be

Ultra Bio
Ultra Bak

These as Mike proved in his tests rids he system of any nutrients in a stable and structured manner. But again as Myka points out you must keep up with this.

IF you want to go down the Ultra lith route, in some parts it is not too different from Zeo but you will not get the crash situations if you come right off of it, as the forumla is a lot milder in nature. However we do still recommend a weaning process off of it as no tank should experience sudden changes.

With Fauna Marin Lith systems the independant reports are you get a more gentle change to the tank and more natural colours, it is reported to eb more user freindly.

So what would you need

the very least is the following

Ultra Lith rock
Ultra Bio -(the bacteria)
Ultra Bak (the bacterial food)
Ultra Min-S (the amino acids)

This is the basic 4 for start up.

Again - If you chose this route, it would mean for the first 6 weeks some daliy tasks of adding drops of the above mentioned products. After this period things settle down, and after the first 3 months you will have a stable system.

Remember also, we offer direct and outstanding support every step of the way to anyone that starts and continue to use Ultra Lith you are not left wondering what you should be doing.

[marie]

Hi Myka, you say I can use these 4 zeo products safely ( Sponge Power, Xtra, Amino Acid High Concentration (for SPS), and Coral Vitalizer.) but what exactly would they do for my aquarium? I'm not looking for things I can add to my tank just because.

Specifically I'm looking for the easy way to control numerous species of macroalgae. The algae isn't particularily out of control (except maybe the coralline algae) just unsightly when guests come over

[Aqua-Digital]

Hi Marie,

This being the Fauna Marin product forum we can only really talk about FM products here.

To control Algea we first need to know the route cause before suggesting any Fauna marin product (that goes for any product as well really)

If you can get back to us with your "true" PO4 results and nitrate results, we can then establish a maintenance plan for you.

Using FM products you would only need two

Ultra Bio
Ultra Bak

This is the uilding blcoks of low nutrient dosing and will keep you nutrients in check

[marie]

Hi aqua digital,
So the ultra bak is the bacteria food and the bio is the bacteria, what do the amino acids do for the tank...

[Aqua-Digital]

Hiya

Ultra Bio is a very powerful blend of bacterias that are designed specifically for consuming nutrients.

Ultra bak is the foods source, call it the energy drink for the Bio.

Min-S (amino acid supplement) is used to replace the negative nutrients with the exact requirments your system and corals require without causing algal issues

I would suggest adding a small amount of Min-S after you have your nutrients down other wise the corals can go pale due to lack of nutrients.

ULNS is a balancing act, once you found the balance it is very easy to maintain.

One piece of advise given above older tanks do not react well to ULNS due to the high build up of trapped nurtrients in sand and rock.

I would suggest testing your nutrient levels and then getting back to me for further advise.

At this time i do not receommend full Lith dosing, but I do recommend a structured maintenance program that could or may include the use of bak bio and some min-s.

Regards
Michael

[marie]

Also I'll apologize in advance in case I come across as "difficult and negative" . I say I'm lazy but really I have slightly different thoughts on reef tanks then a lot of others.
I believe the ocean reefs are finely balanced systems with algae and bacteria playing equal roles. For my tank I've always strived for a balance between the two and sponges, other filter feeders, pods and worms are as important to me as the fish and corals.
I'm researching ultra lithe to find out if it will help me maintain that balance. I don't want a "low nutrient" system... I want a healthy one and I don't think they are the same thing

[Mrfish55]

Originally Posted by marie

Specifically I'm looking for the easy way to control numerous species of macroalgae. The algae isn't particularily out of control (except maybe the coralline algae) just unsightly when guests come over

UNSIGHTLY!!! you have got to be kidding, your tank is amazing. If you are wanting to try something I do recommend the Ultralith line, I recieved a demo of Ultra Bio and the food source (powder in a bottle with no label, perhaps the Fauna folk could identify what it is) I used it on the 90 corner tank and it cleared up my nuisance algae as well as a real bad case of cyano.