Grandis. I'm not questioning u. Why salt at 1.023? I'm at .026 with mostly zoas and palys. I'm just curious do u get better extension with a little liter gravity? I myself never tried that. So this is the reason for this question.
No problem.
No, nothing to do with extension of the polyps alone.
I'm talking about the whole prospect of keeping a healthy zoa system for long periods of time.
I've tried a range of S.G. through the years and the best of all was around 1.023 with ATO.
I aways had Palythoa and Zoanthus spp. in those systems I've tried.
I can got up to 1.024 without any problems, but I feel they do BEST at around 1.023.
Now, this subject is really touchy because it really doesn't make a huge difference alone. Specially in short periods of time. Only if you are crazy about it you could try to compare through the years and kinda figure out.
S.G. fluctuations in nature do occur. Sometimes a lot!!! Some areas where zoanthids are found have a tremendous range, with changes on the daily basis. Unfortunately the story is different in closed systems!!! Stability is the key, as most of us already know. It doesn't matter much what species are in the tank.
I can tell you that after about 18 years keeping different zoanthids in the same systems, generally speaking, I would prefer to have them at 1.023 than 1.026. That's for sure.
I just try to recommend the best I know to others. That's not a rule, please.
It is very important to keep in mind that S.G. alone isn't the way to look at it. Zoa keeping is focused on stability, maintenance schedule, best artificial reef light you can provide, right water movement, and optimal reef water parameters. Each species could have it's own preferences and that plays a lot!!! We always need to search and look for that common denominator for the right conditions in order to find what you could choose to keep what you want. Nutrition (coral foods) and additives are great, when at the right amount and with good quality.
I've also had systems in the past that didn't have ATO and daily fluctuations of S.G. was a normal thing. Again, keeping the full at 1.023 was the best. I'm sure that the fluctuation had up to less than S.G. 1.024 when there was less water in the system due to daily evaporation, before it was corrected. There was no major concerns too. Zoas were doing great!! I had MHs and NO actinics back then. I also had HO T5s at one point with no ATO for many years.
I don't mean to still the thread, but would be interesting to hear from others as well in regards to the subject, please.
Grandis.
