optimal Zoa/paly parameters

[manoverboard]

Ive been trying to get the perfect parameters for my mixed reef aimed at zoa growth.
Ive been wondering if i should try to keep my nitrates at 1 or 2 instead of .2 which they are at now.Is it essential for a less than .03 phosphate for zoa.
Ive been thinking about dosing vodka to keep bacteria numbers up in case of fish death ect will that help keep my po4 down or just nitrates?I think that somethings ammater with my ro system (new filters 5 months and new membrane 3 months)because i cannot keep my calcium under 500 tested the r.o. water and its calcium level is 100.So, id geuss my topoff r.o. water is adding calcium all the time.
Id be thankful for any help or hypothesis on these maters.

 

[Wy Renegade]

My thoughts, hopefully some others will chime in. IME, zoas/palys grow best under the same conditions as other types of corals. I always strive to keep both my nitrates and phosphates at zero. I've seen a number of times on the various boards that those who are dosing vodka have issues with keeping zoas. As for your RO system, do you have RO/DI or just RO? If its just RO that may account for higher levels of calcium although I don't believe it should be allowing the calcium to come through. I'd talk to the manufactorer of the system myself.

 

[Dave3112]

+1^^ to what WY Renegade said. Just to add my personal experience with zoas/palys, mine seem to do MUCH better with high amounts of random flow.

 

[Dave3112]

OH, Welcome to R2R also!!

 

[manoverboard]

Oh thanks for the input guys. I will keep striving to reduce the pollution in my reef.

 

[daniella3d]

Since Vitamine C is a form of carbon dosing, just as vodka dosing it, then why are zoanthids do bad with the vodka dosing and do so well with the vitamin C dosing? I have been dosing vitamin C for a week and half now and my nitrates and phosphates are now at 0, or undetectible. Zoanthids seem to be improving and the shrinking have stopped.

My thoughts, hopefully some others will chime in. IME, zoas/palys grow best under the same conditions as other types of corals. I always strive to keep both my nitrates and phosphates at zero. I've seen a number of times on the various boards that those who are dosing vodka have issues with keeping zoas. As for your RO system, do you have RO/DI or just RO? If its just RO that may account for higher levels of calcium although I don't believe it should be allowing the calcium to come through. I'd talk to the manufactorer of the system myself.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Since Vitamine C is a form of carbon dosing, just as vodka dosing it, then why are zoanthids do bad with the vodka dosing and do so well with the vitamin C dosing? I have been dosing vitamin C for a week and half now and my nitrates and phosphates are now at 0, or undetectible. Zoanthids seem to be improving and the shrinking have stopped.

you asked, so you get my honest opinion. I've seen nothing to prove that Vitamin C dosing does anything to improve zoa growth long term. For every guy you get who says it works you find another who will tell you it don't and give you a horror story about an entire tank having issues to back it up. By the same token, I've seen guys who carbon dose who swear that they get massive zoa/paly growth with carbon-dosing.

I've personally done neither. However, I've talked to long term zoa/paly people (people who have been doing this for years), who have tried both. They tell me that long term, Vit. C dosing did not work for them, and that only certain colors/types of zoas do well in a carbon-dosed tank. Now it may be that those same polyps that thrive in a carbon-dosed tank are the same ones that will thrive in a Vit. C dosed tank. Or it may simply be a case of what works for you, doesn't work for me. I do know for a fact that zoas/palys will thrive in a normal SPS dominated tank with zero nitrate and undetecable phosphates, so long as the tank parameters remain constant.

IMHO, I think that zoas/palys for the most part are a pretty hardy coral that will adjust to most conditions, so long as the environment remains stable. Its when the environment is allowed to fluctate that we start seeing issues. IME lighting and water flow are far more important considerations in zoa/paly growth than specific ideal water parameters. Again, just my $.02 worth - take it for what its worth.

 

[euphoricgear]

I personally love zoas and have grown them for years, I've had about 20+ tanks that I have setup and brought down in over a 10year span. I never dosed anything or quarantined anything. All I did was eye quarantine and acclimate and throw them in my tanks. If there are zoa eating nudis or spiders, which I have caught a lot of, would just be hand-picked and killed or fw dipped.

Anyways, my tanks were pretty unstable with s.g., I don't have an ato and would manually dose when I see that I need to or when I remember.

What I noticed is that people add this, add that, fix this, move this and that makes their tank unstable.
My secret is just to leave the tank alone and have your live rock and live sand become established and do their thing. With all those tanks, I used the same sand in everyone of them and pretty much all the same rocks too. Oh yeah, and I didn't use a skimmer.

The only thing that killed my zoas was then I didn't put a chiller in there and the temp went up to 90+ degrees at one time, and that didn't kill all of them.

Just leave your tank alone and let it mature and water change every 2 weeks. That's all I did.
My tank was mostly zoas and LPS. I never dealt with sps cause I don't like the way they more. lol

So basically I'm saying is, have your tank mature for a few years and you shouldn't have a problem.
My friend does the same thing and grows crazy sps. I think it's all in the sand and rocks since his tank is over 10years old too. He doesn't even acclimate.

Maybe we're just lucky. hahaha

 

[Dowtish]

I personally love zoas and have grown them for years, I've had about 20+ tanks that I have setup and brought down in over a 10year span. I never dosed anything or quarantined anything. All I did was eye quarantine and acclimate and throw them in my tanks. If there are zoa eating nudis or spiders, which I have caught a lot of, would just be hand-picked and killed or fw dipped.

Anyways, my tanks were pretty unstable with s.g., I don't have an ato and would manually dose when I see that I need to or when I remember.

What I noticed is that people add this, add that, fix this, move this and that makes their tank unstable.
My secret is just to leave the tank alone and have your live rock and live sand become established and do their thing. With all those tanks, I used the same sand in everyone of them and pretty much all the same rocks too. Oh yeah, and I didn't use a skimmer.

The only thing that killed my zoas was then I didn't put a chiller in there and the temp went up to 90+ degrees at one time, and that didn't kill all of them.

Just leave your tank alone and let it mature and water change every 2 weeks. That's all I did.
My tank was mostly zoas and LPS. I never dealt with sps cause I don't like the way they more. lol

So basically I'm saying is, have your tank mature for a few years and you shouldn't have a problem.
My friend does the same thing and grows crazy sps. I think it's all in the sand and rocks since his tank is over 10years old too. He doesn't even acclimate.

Maybe we're just lucky. hahaha

This is the answer we have all been looking for! Don't use a skimmer and don't dose anything and don't top off....Perfect!:wink:

 

[euphoricgear]

I never said don't. I was just saying my experience with growing zoanthids.

I've had lots of success with it and have grown for many years. The fastest I've grown was doubling "tubbs blues" in less than 2 weeks time. The green zoas grow faster than the rest. I forgot to say that I've found food that they really like, which I think made them grow faster.

It's either you were being really sarcastic or just didn't really read and comprehend what I was stating.

 

[JDK]

I forgot to say that I've found food that they really like, which I think made them grow faster.

Which food do you recomend??

 

[intricate_reefer]

Which food do you recomend??

I use a mixture of dry food and have had pretty good results. I mix together equal parts dry Ultimate Coral Food, EVS dry phytoplankton, and dry cyclop eeze. I feed my 28g NC about twice a week.

Also as far as light I'm running on 96w PC that are like 18 months old and get great growth in my zoos and LPS. I know it's time for a bulb change but was hoping to get a new tank up instead. I run my light anywhere from 10-12 hours a day.

www.flickr.com/photos/vaporcountry

Rob

 

[euphoricgear]

I fed twice a week with coral frenzy and mysis shrimp (on palys that would eat them, like nuke green and purple deaths and other big palys) I spot fed and be careful of the coral frenzy, don't over dose.
I would mix in a cup with tank water and just maybe 1/20th of a teaspoon of coral frenzy. It will get your water real dirty and make your skimmer go wild so turn off that skimmer for a day.

The next day turn on the skimmer and do a partial water change. I had no skimmer so I just did a water change.

VaporCountry - they will grow fast under PC or any old light since there seem to be more yellow on the lights or something. But did you notice or have your zoas turn brown on you with those lights?

 

[redemer123]

I let a 15g zoo tank I had go for like 4 months without a WC, never cleaned the glass or anything...the zoanthids flurished. and they all high end zoos too like pink zippers, blue rhinos, darth mauls, all that good stuff so uhh they def. like water thats not to pristine.

 

[intricate_reefer]

No never had them turn brown or melt on me unless it was a fresh cut. Every once in a while maybe a little algae. Then I just do a hydrogen peroxide dip.

As far as water changes I do 15% every two weeks. I have a Euro Reef skimmer and it does a pretty good job. I also run GFO, Purigen, and carbon.

I normally feed about a half hour before lights out. Then I turn everything off except for one power head in the tank. I also have a pretty heavy clean up crew so they get a lot of leftovers. Then the skimmer gets the rest when I turn it back on a few hours later.