acrylic plugs

[gindobuck]

i saw that some hobbiest use acrylic tubes as plugs for sps and lps. and they seem to encrust on them just fine.

i was wondering has anyone ever tried growing zoanthids on acrylic sheets. do they grow on them faster since its smoother and flatter than natural rocks?
any pictures?

 

[650-IS350]

I don't think it would be an issue , don't know to the extent of having a smoother surface would help speed up propagation.

 

[lbaldrey]

Heaps of Zoanthids in the wild grow on clam/mussel shells...I dont know why or how they attach to the clams in the 1st place...anyway...

I just collect / save clam shells, theyre easy to glue Zoa's on & look natural.

Speed of growth is probably dependent on Zoa species and water parameters. My Kedds Reds frag went from 5 polyps to 80 odd in 6 months on a clam shell...

 

[AJSTITAN14]

I have read that Zoas and palys absorb nutrients from the subsrate so if you are looking for good growth any substrate that did not provide those nutrients would probably slow them down.

 

[mfinn]

A friend made a bunch of acrylic frag plugs and they seemed to work pretty good, but I have alot of flow in my zoanthid tank and they had a tendency to flip out of the frag racks, because of the weight, or the lack of weight.
I don't think there would be any growth issues.

 

[impur]

My local club does grow out competitions, and one of the members has access to a laser cutting machine, so we have him cut up a bunch of acrylic plugs and everyone gets their frag glued to that.

Its just like with anything else, some people had great success others had slower growth. I don't think the plugs had anything to do with it. Especially since they get covered with coralline very quickly.

 

[Scott-CapeCoral]

I glued some to an acrylic sheet approx. 6x4 inches and they grew fine. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of it I have sold that sheet of zoanthids since then.

Impur, what are the name of those paly's ? I have some and havn't got an Id yet.

 

[impur]

Sorry i don't really know. I grew em from 3 to 15 in 2m, won 2nd place, then they all melted

 

[gindobuck]

My local club does grow out competitions, and one of the members has access to a laser cutting machine, so we have him cut up a bunch of acrylic plugs and everyone gets their frag glued to that.

Its just like with anything else, some people had great success others had slower growth. I don't think the plugs had anything to do with it. Especially since they get covered with coralline very quickly.

i have these exact same pe, they grow kinda slow and it seems like mine likes low lighting for some reason.
sorry i dont know the name of those either.

 

[gindobuck]

so overall from what im reading it sounds like acrylic plugs will work just fine for zoanthids.
im going to try some hardy zoas and one difficult one on acrylic plugs and ill let you guys know how it is

 

[fishoutofwater]

i am not sure about growth rate but I cant stand the fact that they float. I have a strong current in my tank and they get kicked out of the frag racks. I have since switched back to ceramic. JMHO

 

[ddwbeagles]

I have a love/hate relationship with these. I like the smaller head size as it allows for much tighter packing on frag racks, but dislake the small head for growout space and having to tranfer the frag or mini colony to a larger plug months later.

 

[Scopus Tang]

I glued some to an acrylic sheet approx. 6x4 inches and they grew fine. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of it I have sold that sheet of zoanthids since then.

Impur, what are the name of those paly's ? I have some and havn't got an Id yet.

I believe those are Jolly Green Giant PEs

http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=3405

I think that these are also the same or very similar morph
http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=8652