Hi, new to this forum, so please forgive me if I'm breaking any protocols by posting this. :hmm2:
I have a 20 gallon that has been setup for about 5 - 6 months and I wanted to see if anyone local might be doing zoa frags. I currently have 1 loose polyp (not sure of the type, it has a green center and purple arms/stalk) that I was gifted with from a LFS and it has been happy for the past couple of weeks it's been in the tank. No growth (not surprising considering I only a a 15-watt florescent bulb right now - soon to be replaced), but I have it at the top of the tank and it always opens right up when I turn the lights on, and its colors are nice (at least under the 15-watt actinic bulb I swap in periodically).
I'm not looking for any huge frags, just a 2 or 3 polyps from a few different varieties (hopefully hardy & attractive varities - doesn't have to be rare). I'm very patient and am willing to start small and let them spread on their own over the years. I just don't have a ton of money (hence the converted 20 gallon), shipping costs for nice small frags are brutal, and the LFS' zoas are pretty expensive as well (and don't seem to be as attractive as private collectors' zoas either).
Anyways, if anyone might be able to help me out, that would be great. I'd be willing to pay similar prices as frag packs on some of the sites (i.e. zoamania, mr coral, Master Mind's frag packs on Reef411, etc), but obviously less would be great (of course).
Thanks very much for your time and help! :thumbsup:
John
If anyone is curious, this new tank is setup with about 10 lbs live rock, 20 lbs dead rock (gradually becoming "live") a deep sand bed (mixed up sand, crushed aragonite gravel, garf grunge, some donations from a few other tanks) and I will be replacing my current ZooMed Reef Sun 50/50 lamp (15 watts) with T5 lights (1 - 20k, 1 - actinic) for the zoas (very good price from FishNeedIt.com - should be here in a few days). It's doing well with a rapidly growing clump of chaeto macro (despite the current lights), decent coraline growth on the dead rock, about 10 hermits (3 types), about 12 small snails (nassarius, nerite, tegula - kinds that can flip themselves back over if they fall), strombus grazers - tiny white snails that come out at night in groups (pulled from my other salterwater tank), lots and lots of pods (small, medium & large), several types of mini-brittle stars, some asterina stars, several types of worms, and 1 zoa polyp. No fish yet, but will probably add a firefish sooner or later (after I get a screen made for the top to keep it in the tank). Ran tests (pH, Alk, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) on the water before the last water change and everything looked very good.
As for a skimmer, I used one on my other 20 gallon (FO w/LR & Inverts) but it didn't really pick up much after then initial cycle as I do a 25 - 35% water change every week (religiously), so I yanked it (after 2 years, the powerhead wasn't working very well) with no ill effects for any of the inhabitants. These days I just run an air pump hose in between one of the rocks in the back (for more O2 and water movement), and use Hagen Aquaclear filters on all of my tanks (use a size 2-3x the rated tank size) with 3 foam filter inserts, squeezing the filter inserts out in the old tank water during the weekly water change (to preserve the bacteria in the inserts). Doing this has been very economical and all of my fish and inverts look good (I haven't lost a single fish to disease in 10+ years). Also, the Hagen filters come apart very nicely and are very easy to clean. Cheap solution (I know), but it has worked very, very well, even in my saltwater tanks.
If I find that the new zoas don't seem to be happy, I'll try setting up the skimmer on the new 20 gallon tank, but my current zoa polyp seems to be pretty content so far.
Any other questions about tank parameters/setup, please let me know. Also, sorry for the low quality picture, my camera is pretty old.
I have a 20 gallon that has been setup for about 5 - 6 months and I wanted to see if anyone local might be doing zoa frags. I currently have 1 loose polyp (not sure of the type, it has a green center and purple arms/stalk) that I was gifted with from a LFS and it has been happy for the past couple of weeks it's been in the tank. No growth (not surprising considering I only a a 15-watt florescent bulb right now - soon to be replaced), but I have it at the top of the tank and it always opens right up when I turn the lights on, and its colors are nice (at least under the 15-watt actinic bulb I swap in periodically).
I'm not looking for any huge frags, just a 2 or 3 polyps from a few different varieties (hopefully hardy & attractive varities - doesn't have to be rare). I'm very patient and am willing to start small and let them spread on their own over the years. I just don't have a ton of money (hence the converted 20 gallon), shipping costs for nice small frags are brutal, and the LFS' zoas are pretty expensive as well (and don't seem to be as attractive as private collectors' zoas either).
Anyways, if anyone might be able to help me out, that would be great. I'd be willing to pay similar prices as frag packs on some of the sites (i.e. zoamania, mr coral, Master Mind's frag packs on Reef411, etc), but obviously less would be great (of course).
Thanks very much for your time and help! :thumbsup:
John
If anyone is curious, this new tank is setup with about 10 lbs live rock, 20 lbs dead rock (gradually becoming "live") a deep sand bed (mixed up sand, crushed aragonite gravel, garf grunge, some donations from a few other tanks) and I will be replacing my current ZooMed Reef Sun 50/50 lamp (15 watts) with T5 lights (1 - 20k, 1 - actinic) for the zoas (very good price from FishNeedIt.com - should be here in a few days). It's doing well with a rapidly growing clump of chaeto macro (despite the current lights), decent coraline growth on the dead rock, about 10 hermits (3 types), about 12 small snails (nassarius, nerite, tegula - kinds that can flip themselves back over if they fall), strombus grazers - tiny white snails that come out at night in groups (pulled from my other salterwater tank), lots and lots of pods (small, medium & large), several types of mini-brittle stars, some asterina stars, several types of worms, and 1 zoa polyp. No fish yet, but will probably add a firefish sooner or later (after I get a screen made for the top to keep it in the tank). Ran tests (pH, Alk, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) on the water before the last water change and everything looked very good.
As for a skimmer, I used one on my other 20 gallon (FO w/LR & Inverts) but it didn't really pick up much after then initial cycle as I do a 25 - 35% water change every week (religiously), so I yanked it (after 2 years, the powerhead wasn't working very well) with no ill effects for any of the inhabitants. These days I just run an air pump hose in between one of the rocks in the back (for more O2 and water movement), and use Hagen Aquaclear filters on all of my tanks (use a size 2-3x the rated tank size) with 3 foam filter inserts, squeezing the filter inserts out in the old tank water during the weekly water change (to preserve the bacteria in the inserts). Doing this has been very economical and all of my fish and inverts look good (I haven't lost a single fish to disease in 10+ years). Also, the Hagen filters come apart very nicely and are very easy to clean. Cheap solution (I know), but it has worked very, very well, even in my saltwater tanks.
If I find that the new zoas don't seem to be happy, I'll try setting up the skimmer on the new 20 gallon tank, but my current zoa polyp seems to be pretty content so far.
Any other questions about tank parameters/setup, please let me know. Also, sorry for the low quality picture, my camera is pretty old.
