I’m using another dosing system; how do I move into Z-Complete?
 

There are many different dosing systems and each one using different chemical compounds at different concentrations. Z-Complete supplies around 10,000 dKH of alkalinity and almost 72,000 mg of calcium per litre. Making Z-Complete around 3.6x more concentrated than the original H W Balling method to which we will call the “reference system”.

As a note we recommend maintaining an Alkalinity of 7-8dKH a Calcium level of 380-400ppm a Magnesium 1380-1400ppm and a Potassium level of 400-440ppm.

Moving from a system with concentration similar to the reference system:

Moving from a method that offers the same concentration as the reference system is easy, just stop all supplements of such dosing system and divide the dose of Alkalinity by 3.6, the result will be the volume of Z-Complete Part 1 to dose. To start with you should dose the same amount of Part 2, as consumption changes you should closely measure Ca/Mg and adjust the dosing volumes according to the elements consumption.

During the adoption period and until consumption levels have been “found”, we recommend checking Alkalinity levels daily and the Calcium/Magnesium levels weekly to ensure the elements are kept at ideal levels.

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Moving from a similar concentration dosing system:

Moving from a method that offers the same concentration as Z-Complete is easy, just stop all supplements of such dosing system and dose the same volume as you were dosing previously.

During the adoption period and until consumption levels have been “found”, we recommend checking Alkalinity levels daily and the Calcium/Magnesium levels weekly to ensure the elements are kept at ideal levels.

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Moving from 2-Part, 5 times more concentrated than the reference system:

Moving this dosing system to Z-Complete is as easy as moving from a similar concentration system, just stop all supplements of such dosing system and for each 1ml dosed of each parts of such system dose 1.3 ml of Z-Complete Part 1 and Part 2.

During the adoption period and until consumption levels have been “found”, we recommend checking Alkalinity levels daily and the Calcium/Magnesium levels weekly to ensure the elements are kept at ideal levels.

Moving from 4-Part, 7 times more concentrated than the reference system:

In the case you are using a 4-part dosing system, moving into Z-Complete will mean that, if you are using a doing pump you will be able to release 2 dosing channels for other purposes, or alternatively keep them to dose Z-Complete.
In this scenario you can replace all components of the other system and start dosing around 19 ml of Z-Complete Part 1 and 19 ml of Z-Complete Part 2 for every 10 ml dosed of each part of the 4-part dosing system.

What this means is that under the same circumstances you will be dosing less Z-Complete than the sum of all parts of the other supplement.

Please note that during the adoption period and until consumption levels have been “found”, we recommend checking Alkalinity levels daily and the Calcium/Magnesium levels weekly to ensure the elements are kept at ideal levels.

During the use and adoption of Z-Complete:

For optimal results we recommend doing an ICP test at the start of using Z-Complete and using our Macro, Micro and Trace Zlements to correct any elements that are below the desired levels.

On the other hand, if there are elevated elements, we recommend a series of water changes and potentially using absorption medias to bring those elements to the desired levels.

Extensive research has been conducted to develop Z-Complete, however due to many variables in our aquariums a “one fits all” dosing system is impossible to achieve, as such, ideally around a month after starting Z-Complete an ICP test will be performed to check consumption levels and if necessary, correct any deviations from the desired levels with our Macro, Micro and Trace elements.

For more information and any additional questions please send us a message or go to our Facebook supporting group. We are there to help!​

Does Reef Zlements Z-Complete support refugium growth?

 

Z-Complete was designed to be used in aquariums with or without refugium, meaning that if you are using a refugium, you are likely to be using more of some macro and trace elements than if you didn’t had a refugium.

In this case, we recommend that you perform an ICP test at the start of using Z-Complete and another ICP test after a month of using Z-Complete. You will likely find that Iodine, Iron and other trace elements may need to be replenished. You can use our concentrated Macro, Micro and Trace Zlements to correct the higher consumption required by the refugium in your system.​

Do I still need water changes with Z-Complete?
 

Z-Complete is a complete, inorganic, balanced 2 part dosing system, meaning that not only adds the necessary Macro and Trace elements that your corals and other animals or plants need to thrive but, also when dosed on a 1 to 1 ratio between part #1 and part #2 it was formulated not to create any imbalances.​

This means that if you don’t want to make water changes you don’t need to, however with that said, our tanks sometimes get polluted with different elements (e.g. heavy metals, etc.) one of the ways to deal effectively with such pollution is through water changes and as such we will recommend water changes is such events.

How do I store Reef Zlements Dosing products?
 

We recommend you to store our products in a warm and protected from direct sunlight place (like your aquarium cabinet).

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Winter and Cold Weather Important Note:

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During cold weather some crystalisation may occur on part 1 - make sure not to dose the product whilst crystallised. Nonetheless, such crystallisation doesn't affect the product which after warming it up (by placing the container in hot water in the sink for 15-30 min giving it a good shake), will return to normal.

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A suggested approach is to keep Part 1 container in the same cabinet as the sump and not in direct contact with the house floor or cabinet, this will keep Part 1 warm and will avoid crystallisation. Another option is to use a 5 watt reptile heating mat or a polystyrene board underneath Part 1 container.

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When dosing Z-Complete do I need to remove water and why?
 

When you dose Z-Complete salinity can potentially increase as you are dosing a concentrated “form of saltwater” as such, there might be the need to remove some of the aquarium saltwater and replace it by reverse osmosis water.

The amount of water that you will have to replace will depend on the elements consumption levels you experience on your aquarium as such Reef Zlements cannot provide an 100% accurate “recipe” for this. However, you can start by removing 8.0-8.5l of water per every litre of dosed Z-Complete.

You will need to check salinity during the adoption period and until you are confident that salinity has stabilised.

Z-Complete is inorganic, so what nutrients do I dose?
 

Look into our nutrient management line and Z-AminoPlus that has every everything your corals will ever need.

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For more info join our Reef Zlements Support Group on Facebook or send us a message.

 Does Reef Zlements provide an ICP analysis service?
 

Reef Zlements SPECTROGREEN DSOI unique radial dual side-on interface provides twice the sensitivity of
conventional radial views and it equals the sensitivity of newer vertical-torch dual-view systems.
 

Our ICP-OES machine uses a newer, truly unique approach. Its two optical interfaces capture emitted light from both sides of a vertical plasma — with only a single extra reflection, for added sensitivity. This avoids problems presented by some recent vertical-torch dual-view models, such as significant light loss, interferences, contamination, and thermal stressing of interface components. It also provides best-in-class performance for UV elements.

Averaging twice the sensitivity of a conventional radial-view model across the whole spectral range.
 

Our state of the art machine coupled with high quality chemical analysis methods and standards will allow Reef Zlements to provide reefers and customers the highest quality analysis in the industry.

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Our reports will offer you all the guidance and information you need to maintain a successful reef tank.

Nonetheless, if you have used a 3rd party ICP you can still use our elements by taking advantage of our simple to use calculator. Just go the calculator page here use the calculator with your analysis results.

An easy and simple way of taking advantage of our high quality and very cost-effective elements.
 

What makes Reef Zlements better than the rest?

 

Instead of making comparisons, we would like to point out a few aspects that may indeed in a way answer this question.

Reef Zlements is a 100% British, family run and owned business set up by a family of reefers to help other like-minded hobbyists provide the best conditions for their tanks. Our supply chain is 100% British.

We have a strong academic and professional background in Industrial Chemistry, including vital experience and knowledge in quality control and chemical compounds formulation which allowed the company to develop the products now being offered.

Part of our high-quality pledge, our products are quality assured through strict controlled and UKAS accredited UK laboratories using multiple analysis methods, thus giving everyone the confidence and reassurance of what they put into their aquariums is uncompromised. We believe however, that quality doesn’t need to affect our product prices and indeed our value for money is likely the best on the market currently.

Being a new business, we are highly dependent on how the community and potential partners receive us. Nevertheless, Reef Zlements as a company was created to help the UK aquarium hobby and trade.

Our mission is to bring state of the art research and product development in this area into the UK, creating new job opportunities, new and innovative products that will be more accessible to the UK hobbyists and allow them to rely on UK developed products to produce world class marine aquariums.

With this being said, we can only achieve this with the UK community support. However, we believe in giving before receiving and by putting our effort and our hearts and minds into Reef Zlementss we aim to contribute and give to the UK aquarist community.

We are commited to provide the best price/quality/value to the UK market on our product range along with, in the near future, quality services and additional products not currently available in the UK.​

Can I expect increased growth when moving from other dosing systems?
 

Depending on individual conditions you might expect up to 2x as much growth as with other dosing brands. Nonetheless, the increased growth will be preceded by increased consumption to your previous brand equivalent dosing volume (1.5x to 2x is to be expected).

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Nonetheless, we do back or products 100%, so if you are not happy for some reason, get in touch and we will make everything to support you.

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I have done an ICP test after using Z-Complete for a while and I can see that there are a few elements below the reference level. Is this normal, why and how can I correct this?
 

It is absolutely normal and in fact can be expected (as with any other dosing method). The reason for this is that, every aquarium will have different consumption rates for the majority of the elements (some will be consumed faster, others slower), being impossible to determine the ratio of consumption for all aquariums. Therefore, there isn't a single dosing method that can cover 100% the elemental need of all different aquariums.

So, we are very transparent to say that it is likely that you will need to "top up" some of the elements’ levels, to ensure your aquarium elements stay within the levels you desire. Nonetheless, we are continuously looking to improve our products and as such always looking at ways to minimise this need.

The good news is that, it is very easy to correct the levels and Reef Zlements offers a full range of Macro and Trace elements that you may need to ensure the best levels across the different elements. You just need to perform one of our ICP tests and follow the recommendations on the report provided.

It is also likely the brand in the UK that offers the best value/cost to easily do this, i.e. our Macro elements come with high concentration in 1 Litre bottles at an RRP of £14.99 and our Micro/Trace elements also with very high concentration in 150ml bottles with an RRP of £13.99.

These points, guarantee that when you need to top-up any element, you can do it in an easy and affordable way.​

Can I use Z-Complete with other 3rd Party products containing other mineral elements?
 

We don't recommend using any other 3rd Party products containing mineral elements that you cannot quantify. This may lead to overdosing Macro and Trace elements and subsequent unknown results or the loss of animals.

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In doubt don't use those product with Z-Complete and get in touch with us or join our Facebook Support Group.