Another Try

[UprightJoe]

I've had a reef tank now for a little over 3 years. I started with the original nano cube. It started leaking after about 2 years so I replaced it with the 24 gallon nano cube. A little over a month ago, I moved and the 24 gallon cube shattered enroute, so I switched to a 30 gallon AGA setup.

I've been very dilligent about researching before stocking and I've stuck to hardy, easy to care for livestock. As a result, virtually everything I've ever put into my tank has thrived with one exception. In my nano cubes, I never managed to keep zoanthids alive despite their reputation for being hardy corals.

I tried 3 different colonies. They all seemed to be growing in early months. I'd see new polyps budding and it would look like they were spreading. However, eventually they would always close at some point and never open back up again.

There are two differences between my current setup and my nano cubes.

1) I've virtually doubled the wattage on my PC lighting (7 watts per gallon now).
2) I now have a skimmer (though I only run it during the day)

So, I've ordered a sample pak of assorted zoanthids to try again. Are there any tips from people who have kept them successfully over long periods of time?

Are there any people out there who have colonies that are 3-5 years old? If so, what do your setups look like? Any tips?

 

[familyreefer]

skimmer

skimmer

Just wondering... Why do you only run the skimmer part of the time?

 

[UprightJoe]

The short answer:
I read a lot of Eric Borneman.

The mid-length answer:
1) I have lots of soft coral that may get a significant portion of their nutrition through direct absorption of nutrients from the water.
2) My aquarium is in my bedroom and my skimmer is loud.
3) I've started feeding DT's phyto and oyster eggs at night and don't want them to be sucked out of the water column by the skimmer before critters have a chance to eat them.
4) I spot feed some corals mysis and/or cyclopeeze at night and don't want it sucked up into the skimmer.
5) Running only during the day seems to give me the results I'm looking for (clear water and no surface scum)

I could go on but those are probably my top five reasons. I don't want to turn this thread into a skim vs. no skim debate though. I'm competely convinced that it's possible to have successful tanks where you skim the hell out of the water and successful tanks where you don't skim at all. Many people feel strongly about one side or the other. I don't.