by philaquarist » Sat May 26, 2007 5:24 am
Hi dcon27,
I think zeolite is a generic term for certain minerals with a very porous structure, which can thus absorb specific chemicals. For marine aquaria, there are several zeolite-based applications coming from different companies. There is a good zeolite "big picture" write-up on .
Among those zeolite-based products I know of, there is a salt-water zeolite filter media from Hydor. But for SPS tanks, when people talk of zeolite, I think most often they refer to the Zeovit system (a complete tank husbandry philosophy, anchored on a zeolite-based system, made by a German company called Korallen-zucht). If I understand the system correctly, the Zeovit system use zeolites to keep nutrient concentrations low for the benefit of SPS (which are adapted to nutrient-depleted waters). Thus, successful Zeovit users have fantastic SPS growth and coloration.
You can find a summary write-up of the total Zeovit system in . There is also a discussion board among Zeovit users in .
I don't use it, but I did a lot of reading/research on it in 2005/2006, and then chickened out due to cost and local availability/support issues. Check out to get a feel of the costs. Someday, I still hope I can try this.
HTH,
Phil
marine aquarist since 1970
SYSTEM A: display reef tank (for zoanthids & corallimorphs)
90-gallon main tank with built-in refugium
35-gallon sump
SYSTEM B: display reef tank (for octocorallians)
90-gallon main tank
35-gallon sump
20-gallon remote deep sand bed
SYSTEM C: grow-out reef pond
330-gallon reef pond
50-gallon sump
25-gallon remote algal scrubber
25-gallon remote deep sand bed
45-gallon remote frag tank system
15-gallon refugium / pod tank