Ultra Clean SPS'ers, can you keep zoas or ricordea?

[Fliger]

I've never really bought the "my tank is too clean for zoas" but I'm beginning to wonder. I've been looking thru a bunch of tanks online - lots of tanks outside of the U.S. (many are zeo) that are pristine. Deep SPS colors, almost flawless tanks - but I rarely see any zoas or ricordea.

Just wondering because my new tank is doing extremely well, but I don't think my zoas or rics are liking life as much as when I had a sandbed, or when I wasn't as diligent on siphoning out detritus.

I keep coming across tanks like this, with very few if any zoa/rics.

more pix here

Or kidboys zeo tank

G.Alexander's zeo tank

And of course Iwan

 

[Horace]

GQJeff has both Ricordia and Zoos in with his Zeo SPS tank. His tank is not a far cry from any of the tanks above. He even has a softy or two in there and they do fine as well. With Zeovit your feeding the corals with bacteria rather than adding a bunch of crap to the tank, so the nutrients still stay low. Perhaps with Zeo it makes it more likely to keep them successfully...I really dont know. All the tanks above use some sort of bacterial filtration be it Zeo or Prodibio or a combo of the two.

 

[Fliger]

True, but if I remember correctly GQJeff also has a crapload of tangs. I could be getting him mixed up though.

What about other non-zeo, very low nutrient tanks (mostly barebottom). Clkwrk, can you keep zoas in your 180?

 

[clkwrk]

:lol: How did you know I was going to pop in :lol:

Yes I can but not all types .I have found it to be hit or miss. However all 4 of the recent paly colonies I got do extreamly well and grow quick . I also have 3 types of normal zoos 2 blues and some greens that do well but are smaller that they would be in a nutrient rich tank.

BTW I counted fish and I am upto 14 in the 180 with 2 of those large tangs that poop everytime I walk by the tank Poop=are you going to feed me I am hungry :lol:

 

[Fliger]

OMG Jeff's tank is amazing. Too bad he's not around here any longer

Tons of great pix!

 

[Fliger]

LOL Chris. I'll give you two Tubs blues, put one in the SPS reef and one in the other.

 

[Arik]

It isn't about the water quality, it's a cultural difference. Most Europeans cringe at the thought of zoa's in their tanks. The "zoo" craze is mainly in the States.

 

[MiddletonMark]

Good point.

It's an interesting question. I feel like my Zoa's [and to a smaller extent, my Rics] have grown slower since getting fairly low nutrient conditions. Growing, but slowly and totally unlike the fast growth I had a few years ago.
Could be other things [placement, BB] in my case ... though in the end, I'm OK my rics/zoanthids aren't taking over my rock, threatening my stonies.

 

[AcroSteve]

I do not think my tank is "ultra clean", but I try. But I have not checked anything at all except CA, Alk and MG for 3 years. :lol: I have not idea if I have any nitrate problems, although I do have my suspicions.

I have zoos and ricordia that are just hanging on. Definitely not growing like they did when I 1st setup the tank. However, I have some yellow polyps and xenia that grow like gangbusters.


Go figure.

 

[AcroSteve]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=731375&highlight=Low+nutrient

 

[samsfishnchips]

in my tank low nutrient, and softies just "hang in there"

got a particular one that is the same size after a 1yr,

now on no softies frags for me, only full size soft 1corals

sam

 

[Razzagas]

check out this tank...lots of rics
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/totm/index.php

 

[Horace]

I must admit, I run Zeovit and have pretty low nutrients though I dont run BB so they are probably not super low, however, my softies/leathers dont grow like they used to either. Infact I have had a major recession in my zoos in the last months

 

[SunnyX]

I keep Zoo's just fine in my tank. They are growing and fully extended at all times. The owners of the tanks listed most likely do not want to keep zoo's. Just because they have none doesn't mean they cant have them.

 

[Racenrich]

Heres is my 55g SPS dominant setup....yet it has a bunch of everything else as well....seems some people like just the SPS or they dont...i do enjoy the mix.....even a GBTA in the middle!

Lots of everything! SPS, zoos, rics, leathers, LPS, clams, etc.....2.7yrs running!

Link to tank....http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/4/aquarium

 

[Horace]

Im with you man, I like a mix too.....I see you even have some shrooms in there

 

[eastcoaster1]

It's always been my understanding that no matter how 'clean' we get our tanks, they are still pretty 'dirty' compared to the ocean.
If that's the case, then the soft coral should be happy in a low nutirent SPS tank, as the water conditions are close to what they would experience in the wild.
I think other factors that go long with SPS tanks, like intense lighting and lots of water movement, are probably what the softies don't care for.

 

[clkwrk]

yeah I don't know many softies that would like the 5x250de's and 2x6200 ,3x6100 and a wavebox in a 180.

I know 1 that would though Xenia :lol: I have that crap in my 90g dirrectly under 250de 14kphx and they are @ the surface ,if they could climb out to get closer they would :lol:

 

[eastcoaster1]

yeah, when ever I clean out Xenia and dump it down the drain, I always wonder if it's growing in the pipes!

 

[Fatboy]

I just started with SPS a couple of month ago and now that my tank is running very slow in nutrients, I haven't seen my softies suffering to much. Maybe they don't multiply as fast as the used to.......