Butchy21 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 I'm very curious to get some advice on how best to get Zoanthids acclimated in your tank with consistent growth. I know that each Zoo type varies in how much light / flow they like, etc but overall I've seen pretty poor growth of multiple frags in my tank. I've tried some them on the sand, 1/4 of the way up, mid-tank and close to the surface with poor results overall! When I've purchased a large colony- wherever I have placed it in my tank, the polyps remain healthy and happy. However, when I try to start a small frag with 3-5 polyps, I rarely get good growth even after I've tried various places in my tank and tracking growth for 6-9 months. The only exception is an orange type zoo- I bought as a frag of 5 polyps. I glued it down about 12 inches from the surface (mid-tank) and they remained at 5 polyps for probably 6-9 months. It finally started to grow upwards and is now at least 100 polyps over the last 6 months. Any suggestions? I would love to get a zoo garden going and that is my next adjustment in my tank. I would remove the green pavona in the top left of the image and make a rock shelf. Quote Link to comment
FlytheWMark Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Following along. I can't figure it out either. I had some zoa's in my 10 gallon that did ok but when I switched to my 20 gallon with a bit more light they took off (10+ heads in 2 months). On that very same rock some green ones I brought over from the 10 gallon look beautiful but have not put a single additional head. Quote Link to comment
Butchy21 Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Just now, Mark L. said: Following along. I can't figure it out either. I had some zoa's in my 10 gallon that did ok but when I switched to my 20 gallon with a bit more light they took off (10+ heads in 2 months). On that very same rock some green ones I brought over from the 10 gallon look beautiful but have not put a single additional head. I hear ya- it's been a thorn in my side for years now. All these amazing zoo gardens on Nano-reef... makes me jealous. I think a huge solution for my setup is upgrade the lighting since I'm still running my initial marine orbit LEDS which are not super powerfull. I had good growth on a few easier SPS corals (birdsnest, montipora, green slimer) in the past though so light should be sufficient but just lacking better coloration) I would love to get a nanobox duo in the near future but I want to see how one looks in person before I pull the trigger! Quote Link to comment
pgrVII Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Zoas like some dirt in the water, spot feed em whatever your choice is and they should do fine. Zoas like some good turbulent flow too,in my experience that is. Radioactive dragons eyes are usually a fast growing one and pretty common. Quote Link to comment
Butchy21 Posted February 15, 2019 Author Share Posted February 15, 2019 19 hours ago, pgrVII said: Zoas like some dirt in the water, spot feed em whatever your choice is and they should do fine. Zoas like some good turbulent flow too,in my experience that is. Radioactive dragons eyes are usually a fast growing one and pretty common. Do you spot feed with frozen food or use some other smaller food (reef roids / reef chili)? I always have a hard time deciding if the polyps close up because they are actually feeding or just pissed because im blowing water at them ha. I've tried to keep away from feeding corals frequently because of adding extra nutrients to the tank but I'm sure my emerald crab and coral banded shrimp will clean up any extras- maybe it's time to try. 1 Quote Link to comment
pgrVII Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 24 minutes ago, Butchy21 said: Do you spot feed with frozen food or use some other smaller food (reef roids / reef chili)? I always have a hard time deciding if the polyps close up because they are actually feeding or just pissed because im blowing water at them ha. I've tried to keep away from feeding corals frequently because of adding extra nutrients to the tank but I'm sure my emerald crab and coral banded shrimp will clean up any extras- maybe it's time to try. Honestly I just grind flake food up really really fine is all,i dont get into putting a bunch extra in the tanks just messes the water up usually. Quote Link to comment
JurisReefer Posted February 15, 2019 Share Posted February 15, 2019 I'm currently trying to get a zoa garden off the ground as well. I learned a lot from the zoanthid portion of this video. Starts around the 5-6 minute mark. 2 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Current NO3 and PO4 levels? Quote Link to comment
Butchy21 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/16/2019 at 8:44 AM, mcarroll said: Current NO3 and PO4 levels? Haven't measured lately but my tank usually runs at low nutrient levels- undetectable NO3 and <0.03 PO4.. Quote Link to comment
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