Hey guys. After watching Corys video about Algae problems I searched the forum for the keyword "zeolith" and I haven't found anything. Im very surprised by this since ive used zeolith for many years now and im more than satisfied with it.
So what makes zeolites so special and why is it considered an all-round talent for the aquarium? The reason lies in the mineral structure of zeolites. Because of its structure (and more scientific stuff), zeolite allows good ion exchange and has a huge surface area for bacteria. Thus, it can bind phosphate or ammonium and, thanks to the porous material, offers an internal surface area of 4,500 to 5,000 square meters with only one gram of zeolite (!!!!!).
Zeolite can counteract the formation of algae, as it binds not only ammonium, nitrate and nitrite, but also phosphate in the aquarium. Phosphate is an important nutrient for pond plants, but a phosphate concentration of 0.1 milligrams per liter of water is sufficient. If the concentration is higher, algae formation is eventually promoted. Since zeolite binds phosphate, it reduces the nutrient concentration in your tank/pond and counteracts algae formation. In addition, as already mentioned, it offers an enormously large surface for beneficial bacteria.
In summary, zeolite thus has the following effects
- Binding of nitrite and ammonium
- Inhibits the formation of phosphate
- Improvement of water quality due to huge inner surface
Since I use Zeolith in my Aquariums and ponds ive NEVER had any real struggle or problems with algae, not even in the beginning phase(small and healthy amounts excluded).
I really hope that this post gets a lot attention so that less aquarium owner have to struggle with algae. Maybe even Cory sees this post and I can help him out a little bit ( :
Btw feel of course free to share your opinion, thoughts or experiences to this topic below.