Scrapped Zoas off in tank

dnprall · Mar 31, 2023

Newbie here.

I wanted to get rid of some zoas on some of my rocks in my tank. I also wanted to move some polyps around. I saw a video on Youtube of a person using a razor blade to scrap them off when fragging.

When I was scraping them off, there was what appeared to be a lot of mucus. I think I removed about 10 polyps. These guys were just a dark green color that really didn't fluoresce under blue light. Almost like a green/brownish color.

I think fragged a couple of polyps of a different colony to another rock out of the tank.

I got curious about the mucus and did an internet search and lo and behold, learned about palytoxin. There was some mucus floating around the tank. I have a 43 gallon DT with sump.

I figure time will tell if I nuked my tank. I'm worried about the other coral and fish. I don't have any carbon to go get at this point of night.

If the tank looks ok in the morning, do you think it'll be ok long term? I don't know how long palytoxin takes to harm the other organisms.

Pretty ticked at myself.

blaxsun · Apr 1, 2023

Rule #1: Take everything you see on YouTube with a grain of salt. Zoas/palys can be (and are occasionally) very toxic. Not so much to the tank - but to the human coming into contact with them (read: paly toxin poisoning, trip to the ER).

Rule #2: Not every paly/zoa is toxic, but you should always treat them as they are. This means protective gear (goggles, gloves and mask) and no open wounds that could come into contact with anything.

Rule #3: When in doubt, apply the 24-hour rule. Take a breath, step back, do some more research and wait.

dnprall · Apr 1, 2023

blaxsun said:
Rule #1: Take everything you see on YouTube with a grain of salt. Zoas/palys can be (and are occasionally) very toxic. Not so much to the tank - but to the human coming into contact with them (read: paly toxin poisoning, trip to the ER).

Rule #2: Not every paly/zoa is toxic, but you should always treat them as they are. This means protective gear (goggles, gloves and mask) and no open wounds that could come into contact with anything.

Rule #3: When in doubt, apply the 24-hour rule. Take a breath, step back, do some more research and wait.

Thanks much for your reply. I'm monitoring myself and I feel normal still (no open wounds). Next time I mess with the zoas I'll for sure be using protective gear. I'll sleep on it and see how the tank looks in the morning. Hope I didn't nuke it.

dnprall · Apr 1, 2023

Not nuked this morning.

Trixter227 · Apr 1, 2023

Use common sense safety practices with reef tanks. I do manual labor and have many cuts and scrapes up and down my arms and hand. I also frag zoa/palys recreationaly. Chop them up, glue down, and back into the tank. Wouldn't hurt to run a bit if carbon after.

Cover your hands, eyes and cuts when working with anything potentially toxic.

dnprall · Apr 1, 2023

trixter227 said:
Use common sense safety practices with reef tanks. I do manual labor and have many cuts and scrapes up and down my arms and hand. I also frag zoa/palys recreationaly. Chop them up, glue down, and back into the tank. Wouldn't hurt to run a bit if carbon after.

Cover your hands, eyes and cuts when working with anything potentially toxic.

Thanks!

calypsos15 · Apr 7, 2023

I would also like to know how long palytoxins stay in the tank, particularly after chopping down overgrown zoas. I have a small tank and anticipate it'll be overgrown by zoas. Thank you

ReefEco · Apr 28, 2023

Here is a great way to still display zoas/palys - but isolate them from the rest of your rockwork : )

Borat · Apr 28, 2023

ReefEco said:
Here is a great way to still display zoas/palys - but isolate them from the rest of your rockwork : )

Everyone try to copy Borat's inventions in one way or another..

DIY Marine Christmas Tree

..show me how excited you are about the topic!

ultimatereef.net

ReefEco · Apr 28, 2023

Borat said:
Everyone try to copy Borat's inventions in one way or another..

DIY Marine Christmas Tree

..show me how excited you are about the topic!

ultimatereef.net

LOL. People have been growing corals on vertical surfaces for decades - lots of ways to do it : )

Borat · Apr 28, 2023

ReefEco said:
LOL. People have been growing corals on vertical surfaces for decades - lots of ways to do it : )

Are you going to tell me that it's not ingenious Kazak people who invented the wheel?

ReefEco · Apr 28, 2023

Borat said:
Are you going to tell me that it's not Kazakistan ingenious people who invented the wheel?

LOL. They totally did! I forgot about that. Credit where credit is due!

Derrick0580 · Apr 28, 2023

Love how they say the magnets are guaranteed to not leak EVER! Pretty ballsy claim imo, if that were possible half of my frag racks wouldn’t have went in the trash due to leaking magnet casings!

ReefEco · Apr 28, 2023

It is ballsy, I admit. I put a lot of effort into trying to solve that issue, since rusting magnets seems to be a perpetual problem. You can learn more about our magnets here: https://reefeco.com/pages/our-magnets We created a clear acrylic joint that disappears when solvent welded - so we can visually verify the joint as a solid piece of acrylic. This differs from most manufacturers who use black acrylic or plastic - which makes the seal impossible to verify. Plus, the magnets themselves are epoxy coated, for an extra barrier of protection.