Getting back into some zoa/palys...

[RokleM]

But for now you guys get LPS shots, so deal with it! :lol:

I haven't actively kept zoa's for quite a number of years, but had good success when I did.

This picture is a little aged, but it gives you an idea of what I'm working with. I'm going to be moving in the next 2-3 months with any luck, so I don't know how much I'll get done before or after the move. In short, the front part of the tank where LPS are on the sand and rocks is going to be cleaned out. I'm working to acquire some specific rock pieces for that area including some branching sections. Basically the front 1/3 of the tank, at the bottom, will be dedicated to zoa/paly.

Lighting is a 250w radium on a 30x30x27 tank, so the light is good, but not excessive at that depth.

I'll post some pictures of the few frags I've acquired already, and working with the local club guys to get more. I'll see what I can acquire there first before hitting up other sources.

So this will be my mini-build thread for the zoa/paly section going forward.

 

[heidi.i]

Beautiful tank Eric! (almost the same as mine in shape 36x36x27) I have me a big ol' cube!! Looks like you have had pretty good success with your acans, beautiful! Can't wait to follow along and see where your zoa's take you!
Heidi

 

[650-IS350]

I likes, radiums best bulbs out there.too bad they don't have em in DE's for 250s

 

[kichimark]

very nice :beer:

 

[KafudaFish]

Dealing with the beauty.

 

[Friday Night]

Eric i was wondering if you had any acans?.. Killer tank clean and posh very nice. :smokin:

 

[SIR PATRICK]

And the zoa bug bites again.

Nice tank to toss some nice polyps in!

 

[RokleM]

Yup, I've always liked Acans, so when I redid my various tanks and collapsed a year or so ago, I made them the focus. All grown out from polyp or two and probably 100-200 frags easy distributed.

Here's what I've acquired this far from various locals. More on the way.

 

[RokleM]

Rock came in. I'll likely throw it in some water and light for a bit with a piece of liverock. Cardboard is 25x10 or so, roughly the area up front I'm working with. Have some extra rock, and not 100% sold on how exactly I want it to look yet.

 

[j.p. harrington]

thats a beautiful looking tank! the z/p's on the branching rocks will look very very cool in front of your existing rock work. ive got one branch in my 75 about 6" long cover in various types of z's and it looks good where ever i put it in the tank. can wait to see what you come up with

 

[RokleM]

Might be modifying my strategy a bit and having two zoa areas. I had some scrap from old projects and was bored after work yesterday for an hour or so...

 

[KafudaFish]

Boredom can be a good thing.

 

[RokleM]

 

[RokleM]

I salvaged a old clip on light, ripping all the unnecessary parts off and hanging it via a rafter. I am quite impressed by the coverage. Absolutely nothing fancy, but it works for the temporary setup for now.

And anyone that says dry rock absolutely can not stink... LIES! Just a few pieces of this tonga branch have this whole area of the basement stinking.

Color looks great, very nice shimmer.

 

[~RuSh~]

Sweet.

 

[RokleM]

I acquired four more frags from a club member locally yesterday. I'll wait till they open to see what I have


I picked up a couple pieces of the Florida maricultured rock (dry rock that's put down in the ocean around Florida to go "live") to get a cycle, some coralline into the tank, etc. The skimmer is temporary, and obviously this is not the final layout of the rock.

I have some of the rock also recirculating in RO/DI for the main tank (so I'll have the zoa's in two tanks). This is why, regardless of what dry rock vendors tell you, dry rock should be soaked/cycled.

I rinsed this under the faucet and shook it vigorously in a bucket of water. Little to no debris came off, making you THINK it's clean.

This is what the water looks like 12 hours later with just RO/DI, the rock, and a pump. And it smells something fierce. Again, see what's in this bucket, and realize many say that there is zero cycle or impact for throwing dry rock into your tank... You make the call

 

[DEEC77]

Lookin good!

~Dee~

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Any updates? BTW, how deep is your sandbed?

Mucho Reef

 

[RokleM]

Frags I got from one of the local members looked slightly stressed, but they're recovering well.

Small tank is going well, but I want to ensure any cycle or anything is gone before introducing a couple frags.

Sandbed on the main tank is 2-4". I like leopard wrasses

 

[Scopus Tang]

Looks like you're off to a good start. What mode(s) are you running the powerhead on? Looking forward to following along.