DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)

[RamsReef]

http://gifsoup.com/view/3126596/train-derail.html

(EDITS the preview is working but when I save it is not, can't figure it out, oh well)

 

[jedimasterben]

also

I can tell you don't understand what they mean about the statement 'liquid secondary biological facilitator', 'optimal size for absorption by SPS' and also can tell you don't understand the zeovit system but its ok.

No, actually I do understand the zeovit system. You create a low nutrient system by using the zeolith to remove ammonia, and secondarily potassium, to bypass the nitrogen cycle. You then control coral bleaching by products like Zeospur, and then add specific elements to try and bring those colors back to a degree of your choosing. It's not that difficult of a system to understand.

'Liquid secondary biological facilitator' is fluff for it being a flocculent, and 'optimal size for absorption by SPS' is simply not an accurate statement, as just saying SPS doesn't mean too much. Going between even different Acropora species you will have wildly different 'optimal' sizes of particulates that will elicit a feeding response and that they will try and eat.

 

[iiluisii]

No, actually I do understand the zeovit system. You create a low nutrient system by using the zeolith to remove ammonia, and secondarily potassium, to bypass the nitrogen cycle. You then control coral bleaching by products like Zeospur, and then add specific elements to try and bring those colors back to a degree of your choosing. It's not that difficult of a system to understand.

'Liquid secondary biological facilitator' is fluff for it being a flocculent, and 'optimal size for absorption by SPS' is simply not an accurate statement, as just saying SPS doesn't mean too much. Going between even different Acropora species you will have wildly different 'optimal' sizes of particulates that will elicit a feeding response and that they will try and eat.

Again I can clearly see you don't know anything about the zeovit system. I'm fairly new to the zeovit system but zeospur is not used to control bleaching lol. Zeospur is used to decrease zooxanthellae algae.

A biological facilitator mean slot of things. One is you can used corals snow combine with a bacteria additive to drive the bacteria into the rocks and facilitate the effectiveness of the bacteria additive.

 

[iiluisii]

Basically zeospur is copper.

 

[jedimasterben]

Again I can clearly see you don't know anything about the zeovit system. I'm fairly new to the zeovit system but zeospur is not used to control bleaching lol. Zeospur is used to decrease zooxanthellae algae.

A biological facilitator mean slot of things. One is you can used corals snow combine with a bacteria additive to drive the bacteria into the rocks and facilitate the effectiveness of the bacteria additive.

Do you know what decreasing zooxanthellae in the coral is called? Bleaching

Coral snow will simply not 'drive bacteria into the rocks'. That is absurd. Calcium carbonate is a flocculent, and bacteria will also readily take up residence on it, but most bacterial supplements for aquariums are not the same bacteria that are growing on the rocks or sand, which is why these products are not 'one and done', you have to keep dosing them. If left alone for a bit before dosing, the bacteria will cling to the calcium carbonate, but then will still be removed by the system's mechanical filtration and protein skimmer, the bacteria won't have any way of knowing that they should abandon ship right after dosing and dive for the rocks.

 

[iiluisii]

And you are correct on the other functions of zeovit but you are missing one of the main ones which is the release of bacterioplankton on a daily basis. And the potassium depletion is just a believe.

 

[iiluisii]

Do you know what decreasing zooxanthellae in the coral is called? Bleaching

Coral snow will simply not 'drive bacteria into the rocks'. That is absurd. Calcium carbonate is a flocculent, and bacteria will also readily take up residence on it, but most bacterial supplements for aquariums are not the same bacteria that are growing on the rocks or sand, which is why these products are not 'one and done', you have to keep dosing them. If left alone for a bit before dosing, the bacteria will cling to the calcium carbonate, but then will still be removed by the system's mechanical filtration and protein skimmer, the bacteria won't have any way of knowing that they should abandon ship right after dosing and dive for the rocks.

So I guess me using coral snow this way in conjunction with cyano clean and A Balance for a week wiping all cyano from my tank was just a coincidence. And I stand corrected on the control bleaching statement I understood it in a different way from reading your post. I thought you mean that using zeospur will help control the bleaching from the system.

 

[chrismelb]

Being CaCO3, I imagine Pi will also bind to it quite well. Has anyone noticed this?

 

[butters417]

wish i saw this thread last week before i bought more snow...

 

[Nebraska Reef]

zeo fans hurt.

 

[jedimasterben]

 

[iiluisii]

zeo fans hurt.

Oh not hurt at all I have both versions but after buying the kz coral snow I realized that it's not the same stuff and there's no way to tell without getting specific ingredients that KZ uses. Btw they have another version of coral snow now which is called coral snow plus.

 

[jedimasterben]

Oh not hurt at all I have both versions but after buying the kz coral snow I realized that it's not the same stuff and there's no way to tell without getting specific ingredients that KZ uses. Btw they have another version of coral snow now which is called coral snow plus.

I can guarantee the extra ingredient in the Plus is very diluted lanthanum chloride, so you can save yourself some big bucks there too by buying that directly

 

[iiluisii]

I can guarantee the extra ingredient in the Plus is very diluted lanthanum chloride, so you can save yourself some big bucks there too by buying that directly

Im good with paying for kz stuff I can for sure say that the system works and it works really well. I have kept acros under almost every method you can think off and what I have notice from zeovit it's unbelievable but to each its own. [emoji1417]

 

[audikers]

So Korallen Zucht's Zeovit product line has been around for a while. It contains many products, but one that finds usefulness outside of the ultra low nutrient setups is Coral Snow. In addition, the claims that KZ makes about it are not completely absurd and actually lie in the science of it. They claim it is a 'calcium-magnesium carbonate mix' (aka MgCO₃ and CaCO₃). When dried, it looks like an off-white confectioners sugar, extremely fine ground powder.

It is essentially a calcite chalk. Yes, the same stuff that teachers used to write on chalkboards with, that is bought for pennies and sold in RO/DI at nearly $120 per liter.

Despite being expensive, it does have its benefits. Organics adhere to its surface, as do particulates, acting as a flocculent, being easily removed via protein skimming or small micron mechanical filtration. This leads to unparalleled water clarity.

Thankfully there is a cheaper way to get that same clarifying effect. You can purchase food grade calcium carbonate powder, minimum 97% purity, for around $9 per pound, less if you order more (but that's not really necessary).

It comes as a very fine powder. You will want to mix it with water before dosing. The amount of KZ product in each mL (after it is very well-shaken to thoroughly mix) is 0.4g. This is a bit less than 1/8 teaspoon, and this is good for roughly 100 liters aquarium volume (25 gallons). You can either just put the dry powder into a small container and mix right there, or you can create a stock solution.

For a 250mL solution, use 5 level tablespoons (roughly 115 grams) of CaCO₃ powder and add roughly 230mL of RO/DI water. This should mix right about 250mL. The powder will NOT dissolve, it will stay suspended in the water. Will look like this when you're done.

Mix thoroughly before dosing, and dose 1mL per 100L volume (25 gallons) whenever you feel like. No harm in doing it daily, twice a day, once a week, etc, as it gets removed from the water column. It won't raise your pH, calcium, or alkalinity, as the powder will not dissolve in a reef aquarium, the pH is too high. You can even double, triple the dose without consequence. Your tank will look like this (or actually a bit cloudier, as this is roughly an hour post-dose) for a few hours, then will clear up with much higher clarity than before.

Happy reefing!

@Manchild check this out. We might need to try this. I emailed you the link for the amazon.

 

[Mark Taber]

Just came across this thread and have now ordered my CaC03. How have others been getting on using this?

 

[s2nhle]

Let us know your result. Thanks,

 

[masssnapz]

I've been using this secretly since I saw it on NR like 15-16 months ago. One weeekend a month or two after I started I was complimented on how clear my water was and how clean my tank looked by a reefer I really look upto and haven't had a second thought about using this recipe since.

 

[s2nhle]

Great Thank you very much.

 

[Mark Taber]

Thanks for the reply. I should receive mine in a day or two so will add it and provide some feedback of my own. If this works, it is insanely cheaper!