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  ULNS Running and Setup Cost

  Posted: September 17th, 2010, 12:45pm CDT by Manic

  Hey everyone,
  
  Seen as though there has been a lot of interest in ULNS/LNS, I thought I would start a thread to show how much it costs to run one of these systems. I'm going to use the NeoZeo as an example as that is the one I am most familiar with.
  
  Initial Costs:
  
  Reef Octopus / Reeftek ZF-140 Zeolith Filter Reactor: R1733.00
  NeoZeo Zeolite Media: R240.00/Kg
  MB7 500ml: R208.00
  Reef BioFuel 500ml: R208.00 or Bottle of Vodka R70.00
  
  The initial start up cost is then: R2251-2389 depending on which carbon source you decide to use. I use vodka as it is cheaper and lasts longer. This price is regardless of the size of your tank as you have to purchase these products initially
  
  Running Costs:
  
  The following will give a monthly running cost of the system per gallon of system volume.
  
  Zeolite media needs a 25% replacement per month. The recommended amount of zeolite media is 1Kg/100g.
  
  25% Zeolite replacement: R0.6/month/gallon
  
  Carbon source needs to be added twice a day, at the moment I am using 2ml a day.
  
  Carbon Source: R0.04/month/gallon
  
  Bacteria source needs to be added weekly at a rate of 5ml/50 gallons.
  
  Bacteria Source: R0.21/month/gallon
  
  Iodine needs to be dosed weekly or better daily. I dose a ml of Brightwell Iodion Liquid a day.
  
  Iodine Suppliment: R0.07/month/gallon
  
  Potassium needs to be dosed if you are using zeolite media as they remove potassium. I use Brightwell potasium solution.
  
  Potassium: R1.00/month/gallon
  
  Then once low nutrient have been reached you need to dose amino acids to keep your corals alive and happy. I use SeaChem reef plus as it is cheaper than the brightwells amino acids.
  
  Amino Acids: R0.35/month/gallon
  
  This covers the basic supplementation needed for running the NeoZeo method of ULNS. There is still colour enhancing supplements as well as general coral supplements. Whilst running a ULNS it is also vital that alk, calcium and magnesium be kept constant and in the required range.
  
  The total running cost of this system is then: R2.27/month/gallon. This is just a rough estimate though if anyone was interested.