New to reefing and aspecialy zoas

[ShesEasy]

Im currently in the process of making a 7.5 gal cube. My plan is to have a bunch of really interesting zoas in it covering alor of the rock scape

What I'm intrested to know is :

-how do zoas work in terms of water parameters
-To skim or not to skim
-are they going to be okay with the one or two fish/shrimp I plan on having aswell
-How are they mixed with LPS and or softies


If you have any questions...I'll try and awnser

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[kichimark]

Hello and welcome .

1. Zoas do not work"¦.i keep telling them to get a job but all they do is sit there and show me there colors"¦.I guess that is their job after all haha. On a serious note, zoanthids are at times a forgiving coral and do not need perfect (its okay to have some nitrates) water conditions. My tank is currently in the 5-10ppm nitrate at 1.024 salinity with 9 for alk, 450 on calcium and magnesium is around 1200 mark and everything is growing fine. I tend to find the lighting and water current more important.

2. I run a skimmer on mine and run it more on the wet side but its because I have lots of fish and they can be a little messy.

3. Depends on the fish and shrimp you plan on having. If they are going to be small gobies it should not be a problem. If you are planning on putting a tang or small angel then there are going to be other problems. What type of fish are you planning on getting for a better response?

4. My reef is a mixed reef with a little bit of everything and I have not noticed any ill affects from the other tank inhabitants if you are worried of chemical warfare. My zoanthids will not grow next to my mushroom corals at all and will not go next to the anemones either. Many LPS corals will have sweeper tentacles so keep a distance away between the two types. Softies do grow fast at times so keep this in mind.

Im currently in the process of making a 7.5 gal cube. My plan is to have a bunch of really interesting zoas in it covering alor of the rock scape

What I'm intrested to know is :

-how do zoas work in terms of water parameters
-To skim or not to skim
-are they going to be okay with the one or two fish/shrimp I plan on having aswell
-How are they mixed with LPS and or softies


If you have any questions...I'll try and awnser

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[ShesEasy]

That's awesome info thank you

Do they tend to like a higher nitrate level, I run my 180 at 0ppm

As for fish I was planing on maybe two or three sexy shrimp, a yasha goby, and a kurdens cardinal

 

[kichimark]

That's awesome info thank you

Do they tend to like a higher nitrate level, I run my 180 at 0ppm

As for fish I was planing on maybe two or three sexy shrimp, a yasha goby, and a kurdens cardinal

From my experience they seem to grow better in higher levels BUT I have also seen them growing when I ran my system at 0ppm as well. As long as they have the proper lighting and decent flow they will be ok. The shrimp and fish you listed should not be a problem.

 

[ShesEasy]

Thanks