You said and I quote "The reason I asked about NO3 & PO4 is that corals can’t grow at ultra low levels." So, that is why I mentioned misinformation as that is simply not true (I based my answer solely on your reply to PO4/NO3). What you posted above is true on naturally obtained nutrition, I agree 100%. I do not agree with "The reason I asked about NO3 & PO4 is that corals can’t grow at ultra low levels." I get bright pink, bright red, bright blues, and so on, I do know some people have more pastel colors with ZEOvit, as this is the reason they will add other KZ products to their tanks. Nutrients is a broad word and covers a lot, but when most of us talk about that we think only of NO3 and PO4, as to my reply to your reply. ULN is most thought of as probiotic or bacteria-driven systems since we are reducing the level of P04 and NO3's. I know some people argue that isn't true, look at Shane, he likes to run dirty tanks, he only runs a skimmer and will not run anything else mechanical, he likes his tanks less clean, and who can argue with his success, he is one of the best acros guys I know. But if you go by what many think, in increased level SPS tend to show suppressed calcification and/or reduced growth with lower levels it will lower zooxanthellae thus allowing better pigmentation. But, I am not going to argue with some of the amazing tanks I have seen over the last 30 years that run higher levels of PO4 and NO3's, again Shane is an animal and his tanks around some of the best.
I run my PO4 and NO3 around .02-.03 and .02-.05. I run the basic 4 bak/food/start/lith only (mulm is feeding the coral), and I do not run carbon, b/c to do it properly you need to change it far too often as it absorbs everything quickly and then can't absorb any more and that can happen as soon as a day or 2, once it is "full" then its useless, I know I am losing some of the value from carbon i.e. cultivates bacteria. From time to time I will run Coral Snow or Coral Vitalizer but very little. By reefeing standards that is very low, as you mentioned above they can not grow in ultra low levels. There are major issues with those of us that run ULS with swings in alk, etc. it can cause STN pretty quickly, so you have to stay on top of your systems, ULN are not for the "lazy reefer". 7-8KH, 425-450ppm Cal, and 1250-1350 Mag have worked out the best for me in ULS systems.
There are many ways to run ZEOvit, lots of "extras" you can buy to help with colors. I do dose iodine from time to time also, as I find if vital for colors, but again I am still running ULN with very low NO3 and PO4. Many do add aminos and trace elements, I do this by more frequent water changes, so I guess I am "cheating" a little bit, as most ZEOvit users do NOT do a lot of water changes. It is near impossible to test for all trace elements unless you are sending off water samples often and that is a cost I do not like to pay for, and I don't even pay retail for them. I will do it every 6-8 months or if I see something with colors, etc. I will send one off. Aminos tend to darken acros, many think that is due to nitrogen limitations. Since there are well over 100 different types of zeolith's I have only used ZEOvit brand as it has been proven to work. The reason the whole ULS was founded was to mimic the low nutrient conditions found in the more shallow waters where Acros tend to have the best coloration, I heard this directly from Thomas many, many times.
So, I think we are both right in what we are saying, I was replying only to the statement of PO4 and NO3's. There are many ways to have a successful tank, ULN is only 1 of them, but there are a lot more!
Just a few photos from the corals/colors I grow with VERY low PO4 and NO3.
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Happy reefing!
