Zero is not always BETTER

[Marchingbandjs]

Reading an article today, found out that Nitrates and phosphates are essential to coral health and growth.

the tern nutrients commonly refers to all dissolved organic compounds measurable in a given sample and a given location, but for the purpose of this article [we] will refer to dissolved organic compounds that can easily be measure and are familiar to aquarists --- mainly ions such as nitrates and organic phosphates. Both of these organic compounds are absolutely essential to life, and coral and other reef inverts are no exception. Minute readings of nitrates and phosphates are vastly preferable to 0 in terms of coral health and growth.

The articles goes on to talk about the needs of corals and this guy [who i think has poor gramar] exp. Basically the gist is over feeding. feed as much as you can, use a overrated skimmer, and do weekly water changes. that will get you the best growth. In my exp. I feed 3-4 times per day. Have 5 fish in a 38g aquarium. My death purple palys have 5 new buds in a week and a half. i know they are fast growers but that is fast.

Talks about disadvantages and advantages to phyto, and why its mainly good for Softies and bivalves.



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you thoughts...


If everyone could post;

feeding habits, and what you feed?

Current zoa corals?

growth you get out of those corals?

Im going to try to look at some statistics im pretty sure that more is better. I mean think about it the ocean is endleslly filled with all the dissolved organics corals would need, i see not downside to over feeding if you can keep up with it.

So if everyone could input some information it would really help:love1:, thanks.
I know its a little work for you guys and this might fail, but i just wanna collect some data, makes some graphs and look at the analysis of it. It will help me with my AP stat course.

THANKS all, please dont blow this thread off. THANKS:fun2:

 

[Fcamdog]

Here's one for you. I lived in Hawaii for three years and during that time was in the ocean snorkling/swimming/surfing 4-5 days of the week. I collected mantis shrimp for sale and stocked my own aquarium with whatever caught my eye.

With that said, 95% of the zoo's/paly's were found in less than 5 feet of water. In fact, many would be exposed to the air/sun during low tide.

I took home buckets of ocean water home to do my water changes. For no reason, other than curiousity, I decided to test my water parameters one day. Keep in mind tht at this point my aquarium had been up and running for about a year with no problems and doing exceptional.

SG was 1.028, phosphates were high and nitrates were at something like 50ppm. The zoo's/palys were thriving in these natural conditions. BTW, this water was out of Kaneohe Bay.

Fcamdog

 

[Marchingbandjs]

Thanks, do you know what kinds you had.

 

[SIR PATRICK]

Zero is definitly not always better. That is for sure. You need some nitrates and phosphates in the water for your corals to survive and prosper.

On the other hand- too much is also an issue. High no3 and po4 can affect zoa growth and color, although this can vary from zoa to zoa, depending on where they are from and what conditions they are used to.

I am looking into heavy skimming, very low no3 and po4- very close to 0 but not 0, bacteria/carbon dosing and heavy feeding myself. Looking forward to seeing how my zoanthids react.

It has been proven that zoanthids dont do well in ULNS, but have a feeling that heavy feeding and carbon/bacteria dosing is gonna give ULNS a new reputation for us zoanthid keepers.

At least that is what I am thinking.....gonna find out really soon.

 

[Marchingbandjs]

Ya, i have been conversing with a lot of people. It seems where they come from has a big difference on the amount of Nitrate and Phosphate they like/can handle. i feed a variety of things from rods, to home made, flakes, and others. And i cycle every time. I have actully seen some paly polyps and zoa actually catching the food in their tiny mouths. Cool sight.

I was expecting a lot more input on this.

 

[SIR PATRICK]

Its a great topic- I am also hoping others will reply with their experiances.

 

[SIR PATRICK]

Just realized- I missed the end of your post. You are making a graph? I will contribute.

I have made some drastic changes, so I will post what the tank used to be like-

feeding habits, and what you feed? I feed flake, and once in a great while cyclopeze. Try to keep my nutrients down- but doesnt work. My nitrates were very high and phos was slightly elevated.

Current zoa corals? A lot of different varieties of zoas/plays. Mixed bag.

growth you get out of those corals? Very little compared to other peoples tanks that housed frags gotten from me, that practice better tank husbandry. Would have to say, on average, double up from 5 polyps to 10 polyps every 4 months.

I would suggest adding average nitrates and phosphates to the graph, if you can, along with high, moderate, and low lighting. All these things come into play along with the above info where it comes to zoanthid growth.