Zoanthid

[cody2cannon]

Ok so I'm a ways away from purchasing corals but would like to know what to shoot for. I'm planning on buying zoanthids for my first, what should my goals be in a testing sense? Currently I'm at
pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Calcium - 360
KH - 196.9
Phosphates - 0

 

[CodyRVA]

Ok so I'm a ways away from purchasing corals but would like to know what to shoot for. I'm planning on buying zoanthids for my first, what should my goals be in a testing sense? Currently I'm at
pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Calcium - 360
KH - 196.9
Phosphates - 0

Hopefully you'll start hearing experienced reefers tell you to shoot for stability over a specific value for your tests. In my opinion, your CA could come up a bit and your ALK is on the high side (also i'm guessing that value is in PPM?), but it's much more beneficial to keep them consistent vs chasing a number.

As far as zoanthids, I think thats a good choice. I would personally avoid other easy to keep corals that most new reefers flock to like xenia, green star polyps (GSP), fingers, etc. Mushrooms "can" be a good choice; at the end of the day nothing is going to take over your tank unless you let it do so over time.

For softies, such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc focus on ALK, PH, Salinity and temp. CA doesn't really affect them, it would be beneficial to test your MG, just to be safe. Buy some mid priced zoas, if they live... you end up with some decent stuff which you can always sell off if need be and if they die theres no great loss.

 

[cody2cannon]

Hopefully you'll start hearing experienced reefers tell you to shoot for stability over a specific value for your tests. In my opinion, your CA could come up a bit and your ALK is on the high side (also i'm guessing that value is in PPM?), but it's much more beneficial to keep them consistent vs chasing a number.

As far as zoanthids, I think thats a good choice. I would personally avoid other easy to keep corals that most new reefers flock to like xenia, green star polyps (GSP), fingers, etc. Mushrooms "can" be a good choice; at the end of the day nothing is going to take over your tank unless you let it do so over time.

For softies, such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc focus on ALK, PH, Salinity and temp. CA doesn't really affect them, it would be beneficial to test your MG, just to be safe. Buy some mid priced zoas, if they live... you end up with some decent stuff which you can always sell off if need be and if they die theres no great loss.

Sounds good man appreciate the post! So when you say cheaper what kind of money are you talking? Like 15$ I saw some frags at the LFS had 4 heads for 15 looked nice! And ok I'll definitely buy the MG test.

 

[CodyRVA]

Sounds good man appreciate the post! So when you say cheaper what kind of money are you talking? Like 15$ I saw some frags at the LFS had 4 heads for 15 looked nice! And ok I'll definitely buy the MG test.

Whatever your comfortable with in regards to your budget, but yea I would spend maybe $15-$20 on a single frag or $20-$25 on a few to try different placements in your system for lighting and flow.

 

[cody2cannon]

Cool man appreciate it!
Should I put them on a rock the is kind of separate from my main structure? I hear these guys spread pretty quickly

 

[cody2cannon]

I'm still going to wait a while I have 2 clowns in there now and will be buying 1 or 2 more fish in about 3 weeks then I'll go from there

 

[CodyRVA]

I'm still going to wait a while I have 2 clowns in there now and will be buying 1 or 2 more fish in about 3 weeks then I'll go from there

Good deal, remember stability. My tests rarely ever come back at those "magic numbers," but they're stable every day.

How large is your system? Keep your bio load in mind. I was very patient with corals early on by waiting for a while and it paid off in the long run.

 

[cody2cannon]

I have a 20 gallon and I have 2 clowns and I think I'm going to add a clown goby and maybe a diamond goby to stir up the sandbed. How often do you test your water? Daily?

 

[CodyRVA]

I have a 20 gallon and I have 2 clowns and I think I'm going to add a clown goby and maybe a diamond goby to stir up the sandbed. How often do you test your water? Daily?

Early on it was daily, then every other day, now once a week. Although, many SPS dominant tank owners always test ALK daily.

 

[cody2cannon]

I I'm very interested in SPS dominant tank but not ready for that lol and ok I've been testing daily and everything is stable for now but still going to wait a bit, where do you find zoas do well higher or lower?

 

[CodyRVA]

I I'm very interested in SPS dominant tank but not ready for that lol and ok I've been testing daily and everything is stable for now but still going to wait a bit, where do you find zoas do well higher or lower?

Depends, you can acclimate many to more or less light. I have some on the sand bed, others up high. If you buy anything, typically you'll wanna leave it on the sand bed for a few days to adjust, then move it accordingly. You can leave your zoas on the sand for a while and gradually move them up or where ever you want. One tip to remember is when you get a colony to grow, it's good practice to use a turkey basterd and blast them once a week to free up detritus. Don't give them too much heavy constant flow or they'll melt.

 

[cody2cannon]

I'm thinking of moving the lower right rock away from the main structure and putting them there

 

[cody2cannon]

Hopefully you'll start hearing experienced reefers tell you to shoot for stability over a specific value for your tests. In my opinion, your CA could come up a bit and your ALK is on the high side (also i'm guessing that value is in PPM?), but it's much more beneficial to keep them consistent vs chasing a number.

As far as zoanthids, I think thats a good choice. I would personally avoid other easy to keep corals that most new reefers flock to like xenia, green star polyps (GSP), fingers, etc. Mushrooms "can" be a good choice; at the end of the day nothing is going to take over your tank unless you let it do so over time.

For softies, such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, etc focus on ALK, PH, Salinity and temp. CA doesn't really affect them, it would be beneficial to test your MG, just to be safe. Buy some mid priced zoas, if they live... you end up with some decent stuff which you can always sell off if need be and if they die theres no great loss.

The api test kit I used 11 drops and that converts to 196.9 ppm

 

[Bunnee911]

DKH 11

 

[cody2cannon]

DKH 11

??

 

[CodyRVA]

??

DKH is the most commonly accepted unit for ALK. Look online for a conversion, just be careful with API test kits. They can very inaccurate. Placement looks fine, I would still put them on the sand bed for a week and move them to the desired locations.

 

[cody2cannon]

DKH is the most commonly accepted unit for ALK. Look online for a conversion, just be careful with API test kits. They can very inaccurate. Placement looks fine, I would still put them on the sand bed for a week and move them to the desired locations.

Which kits do you use?

 

[CodyRVA]

Which kits do you use?

Salifert

 

[cody2cannon]

Ok thanks