Zoa / Paly studies

zoafarm said:
I have about 40 or 50 something different types in my tank. When I first started in the hobby, zoas/palys really caught my attention. I have since started moving more towards SPS, but I still maintain interested in zoas/palys. I'm currently setting up a frag system which will solely be used for zoas, and have been doing a lot of searching for even more information to make the system even more productive than my DT.

I've been very fortunate to be able to acquire some great zoas/paly at little to no cost. My real goal is to share the experience with those new to the hobby. So farming...yes...profit...no. Most, not all, stuff I share pretty freely to help others start up, and grow for me in case I have a system crash (cross my fingers it doesn't happen). If it does, hopefully some of those people will share it back. :)
Click to expand...

That's awesome! It's great that you're able to have a system set up and dedicated to zoas.

I could help with research... send me one of everything and I'll see how it does in my system! LOL! :lol2:
 
zoafarm said:
I have about 40 or 50 something different types in my tank. When I first started in the hobby, zoas/palys really caught my attention. I have since started moving more towards SPS, but I still maintain interested in zoas/palys. I'm currently setting up a frag system which will solely be used for zoas, and have been doing a lot of searching for even more information to make the system even more productive than my DT.

I've been very fortunate to be able to acquire some great zoas/paly at little to no cost. My real goal is to share the experience with those new to the hobby. So farming...yes...profit...no. Most, not all, stuff I share pretty freely to help others start up, and grow for me in case I have a system crash (cross my fingers it doesn't happen). If it does, hopefully some of those people will share it back. :)
Click to expand...

Alright, that's good to hear!
I would love to see what info you have to share. :thumbsup:
Would be great if you could start posting your observations about the growth/reproductive rates of your zoas.
We're all here to learn.
Thanks very much and please feel free to make this thread informative and possibly colorful with pictures of your systems, if you wish...

Grandis.
 
debincalif said:
That's awesome! It's great that you're able to have a system set up and dedicated to zoas.

I could help with research... send me one of everything and I'll see how it does in my system! LOL! :lol2:
Click to expand...

If so, there will be a line soon here to get some free samples.

Grandis.
 
im not sure but i could probably help you out , i collect,sell and propagate and currently have over 150 different types of zoanthids.

ive been doing zoanthids for almost 10yrs now, i work alot on how they grow,feed and color up.

i use a very high nutrient system and very high lighting(leds,mh and t5's)and my main focus is growth and color.

i am a hobbysts first and foremost with no scientific background just personal experience.

i experiment alot with feedings and pests as well.


what is it you would like to know exactly???
 
Again thanks to everyone that had input! When I get my frag system completely set up, I will try to document my observations, and follow up this post. I was kind of hoping others had thought the same thing, and recorded their findings.

Thanks Again, and Happy Reefing
 
reefwars said:
im not sure but i could probably help you out , i collect,sell and propagate and currently have over 150 different types of zoanthids.

ive been doing zoanthids for almost 10yrs now, i work alot on how they grow,feed and color up.

i use a very high nutrient system and very high lighting(leds,mh and t5's)and my main focus is growth and color.

i am a hobbysts first and foremost with no scientific background just personal experience.

i experiment alot with feedings and pests as well.


what is it you would like to know exactly???
Click to expand...

I assume the question is not addressed to me, but please let me know if I could ask you some questions.
Or perhaps you should open a thread yourself to display some of your pictures and have a nice chat about the experiences and such?
Thanks very much in advance!

Grandis.
 
Last edited:
A. Grandis said:
I assume the question is not addressed to me, but please let me know if I could ask you some questions.
Or perhaps you should open a thread yourself to display some of your pictures and have a nice chat about the experiences and such?
Thanks very much in advance!

Grandis.
Click to expand...

IME in anyway you look at it people are always going to assume what works for them is all you need , theres not much to say that hasnt been said before for years in regards to keeping them.....theres always going to be a debate on what works best.

for me:

i run a high nutrient system that sees alot of meaty foods daily and alot of particulate foods fed all day and all evening.foods that are not cunsumed are filtered. i didnt always do this type of system , just the last few years.

you would be surpised how many " low light " zoanthids can be weaned onto strong lighting easily over time.

pests are always one of the biggest things to consider if going dedicated zoanthids is your goal.


strict qt should be done on all zoanthids(all coral really) for a few weeks.

no cuc here;)


i do not run a high bioload , i only keep the fish i need to protect my collection and benefit the tanks.

if you would like to see some pics of one of my tanks check out my bonsai display it is 25g zoanthid dominated high nutrient system.



just type in reefwars 25g bonsai in the search bar youll see it:)
cheers
 
Reefwars - are there certain zoas/palys that have similar likes and dislikes as they relate to growth. For example, do all zoas respond equally to the same light combinations? What about flow...do they all like turbulent flow? In my tank, certain zoas/palys accept meaty foods, while others do not. IMO, the one's that accept meaty foods seem to grow faster.
Are there some foods that seem very effective, where other do not.

Anything you might have learned in your experiences, would be greatly appreciated. Should I divide zoas/palys by certain types into different tanks based on similarities?

Thank you for your help!
 
reefwars said:
IME in anyway you look at it people are always going to assume what works for them is all you need , theres not much to say that hasnt been said before for years in regards to keeping them.....theres always going to be a debate on what works best.

Yep, that's it.

for me:

i run a high nutrient system that sees alot of meaty foods daily and alot of particulate foods fed all day and all evening.foods that are not cunsumed are filtered. i didnt always do this type of system , just the last few years.

How do you do that?
How often do you change water?
What are the best meaty and particulate foods IYE?

you would be surpised how many " low light " zoanthids can be weaned onto strong lighting easily over time.

I already know that part. I'm glad you found that out! Not too many people believe in that and they'll think you're crazy! LOL!!

pests are always one of the biggest things to consider if going dedicated zoanthids is your goal.

Yep!

strict qt should be done on all zoanthids(all coral really) for a few weeks.

Yep!

no cuc here;)


i do not run a high bioload , i only keep the fish i need to protect my collection and benefit the tanks.

Please tell us some advice about fishes you keep and their purposes.

if you would like to see some pics of one of my tanks check out my bonsai display it is 25g zoanthid dominated high nutrient system.


just type in reefwars 25g bonsai in the search bar youll see it:)
cheers
I'll try! Thanks for the feedback!
Click to expand...
Some of my questions:
What temperature you run?
How often you do water changes and how much?
What's the S.G. you prefer?

Thanks again!

Grandis.
 
zoafarm said:
Reefwars - are there certain zoas/palys that have similar likes and dislikes as they relate to growth. For example, do all zoas respond equally to the same light combinations? in regards to growth no i dont think so , maybe in the same tank if you were to split a colonie into 2 and place them side by side they would average out roughly the same , tank to tank will vary though for alot of reasons.


an example.

if 2 systems are tied in together , running the same sump,food,lights,flow and no bio load etc, growth will be similiar as the two pieces share the same everything always

take the same colonie and split in 2 into seperated tanks and they are going to share minor differences no matter how hard you try to copy eac
h tank.




What about flow...do they all like turbulent flow? zoanthids are very forgiving in regards to flow , as long as its not too muc or to little they will accept any type of flow you can give them, what works best would be impossible to actually tell, so its always safe to go with med to high flow.low flow presents its own issues.



In my tank, certain zoas/palys accept meaty foods, while others do not. IMO, the one's that accept meaty foods seem to grow faster.
Are there some foods that seem very effective, where other do not.oh now thats a good one , well for starters i feed anything that takes large foods usually mysis or cyclopeeze or whatever else is mixed up for the day and target fed.i also feed a variety of fauna marin products like ultraclam,seafan,min s also some freezdried cycloppeze , nls microreef this gets mixed up in a large jug refirdgereated and fed all week to the tanks.i dose phyto and zooplankton daily in high flow areas and the return chamber.

Anything you might have learned in your experiences, would be greatly appreciated. Should I divide zoas/palys by certain types into different tanks based on similarities?

start with a qt tank thats used only for qt , if your content on collecting your going to have to protect your investment, its alot easier with a small qt tank.

if you really want to be successfull in growng zoanthids then read all you can about diseases, pests. learn how to keep clean water and experiment to find what works for you and your system.

Thank you for your help!
Click to expand...
cheers!
 
A. Grandis said:
Some of my questions:
What temperature you run?
How often you do water changes and how much?
What's the S.G. you prefer?

Thanks again!

Grandis.
Click to expand...

i run a high temp i should have noted that my temp sits at 79-80 overnight and up to 82-84 in the day.


i do very large water changes , average about 40% weekly , its a must in order to keep water quality from polluting(i also do nps corals) ive done my plumbing so water changes take about 2 mins tops via a valve;)

i stay at about 1.024 -1.025


my water parameters :


cal 440
alk 8-9
mg 1260
phos -nil(i no longer test for this)
nitrates -10ppm


i do not dose any trace elements just water changes , i do run a large aount of gfo aggressively and over powered skimmers that get cleaned every 2-3 days.

preferred lighting so far is 250w halide at 20000k


for fish in regards to dominated zoanthids i like and use:

yellow corris wrasse
melanarus wrasse
leopard wrasses
mandarins

these guys hunt all day and never accet a paycheque lol
 
A. Grandis said:
The point here isn't about how people are using those cartoon names, but how and with what intention those names were generated in the first place. Specifically talking about the "Japanese deep water" zoas.

I don't think KafudaFish was judging you in any way. I'm sure he will post if I'm wrong.

Grandis.
Click to expand...

Correct I was simply pointing out that a person could get a "deepwater" zoa frag, think the lighting requirement was minimal and they melt on the reefer.



A. Grandis said:
Perhaps you would like to take a look at this very interesting thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1867538

Have fun!

Grandis.
Click to expand...

Man I was expecting an interesting thread and that one popped up! That guy has been rambling on for over two years now and is as clueless as the day water hit that tank.
 
reefwars said:
i run a high temp i should have noted that my temp sits at 79-80 overnight and up to 82-84 in the day.


i do very large water changes , average about 40% weekly , its a must in order to keep water quality from polluting(i also do nps corals) ive done my plumbing so water changes take about 2 mins tops via a valve;)

i stay at about 1.024 -1.025


my water parameters :


cal 440
alk 8-9
mg 1260
phos -nil(i no longer test for this)
nitrates -10ppm


i do not dose any trace elements just water changes , i do run a large aount of gfo aggressively and over powered skimmers that get cleaned every 2-3 days.

preferred lighting so far is 250w halide at 20000k


for fish in regards to dominated zoanthids i like and use:

yellow corris wrasse
melanarus wrasse
leopard wrasses
mandarins

these guys hunt all day and never accet a paycheque lol
Click to expand...


Thanks very much for the answers!
MH are my favorite lights too!
Have you ever had any problems because of the GFO?
Some have reported mild bleaching after adding some GFO in the past.

Do you target feed?
Please list some of the best dry coral foods you've tried.
Do you use carbon? If so, what brand?

Thanks again,

Grandis.
 
This may not help much ,but in my tank(high nutrient,stable PH at 8.3,and T-5 lighting)lighter centered zoos,gold, pinks, etc.like higher flow and light,Darker centers,reds blues and greens the opposite.works for me ,so I'll stick with it.This is not advice just an observation:)
 
A. Grandis said:
Thanks very much for the answers!
MH are my favorite lights too!
Have you ever had any problems because of the GFO?
Some have reported mild bleaching after adding some GFO in the past.

Do you target feed? yes , daily as im target feeding corals anyways, i also broadcast feed but thats more for other corals as well.
Please list some of the best dry coral foods you've tried.the best ive tried is what im using now which is fauna marin , they have alot of different things to experiment with.freeze dried cyclopeeze also gets its use as well with me.
Do you use carbon? If so, what brand?no i run large amounts of gfo, i use to run carbon but i gave up on it a few years ago, basically i dont trust it and do not find the need for it.....maybe in an sps dominant. i started the systems on gfo so cant compare it to corals that i have now but i can say for sure too much too fast is not good, and no sense running more gfo than your system needs.



Thanks again,

Grandis.
Click to expand...
 
11purewater said:
This may not help much ,but in my tank(high nutrient,stable PH at 8.3,and T-5 lighting)lighter centered zoos,gold, pinks, etc.like higher flow and light,Darker centers,reds blues and greens the opposite.works for me ,so I'll stick with it.This is not advice just an observation:)
Click to expand...


starting to sound like i should come see your tank maybe do some tradin ;PP
 
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