Zoas and lighting

MyOwnGrowOp

MyOwnGrowOp

Zoa Addict
Hey guys. Our little 6 gallon zoa nano has been up like 4 months now and we are seeing great growth on all the zoas. It is deffinitly over lit with a 150w HQI over it... Everything is doing great but I did notice 2 frags that we bought that are not as bright as they were when we got em... Is it possible that this is just too much light? Or is there something else behind this? All levels are good, and the 26 or so other frags/colonys are doing great
 
Yeah with that much light you can bleach out the zoas. I am not surprised at all that they have lightened up. However, also be advised that zoas can naturally morph as well, but in this instance I would say light.
 
Ok. We are considering going the rapidLED par38 route. Do you think this would be better suited For a 13" deep tank?
 
Depends on the distance of the fixture, type of fixture, bulb PAR, and the zoa adaptation to the light.

Either way you will need to adapt them to new light. That's the key!
If you change for the LEDs you'll still need to watch out!

There is a waste of the electric bill when you really don't need that much light, but the zoas, after proper adaptation, will be happy. A 150W MH on a 6gal. can sound overkill to many, but if you use it properly it will work, as you've seen. The problem there is the heat and that also could be the reason for bleaching, if so. You don't really need a 150WMH over that tank to keep their colors/health, but...

It's true that if you give them relatively hi PAR light for too many hours a day they could react negatively to that and bleach/die. That's not the case, right?

Of course you won't try to put a 400W, or a 1000W Mh over your little 6gal. That's overkill because of the proportions. Non sense... No need for that too. Too much heat. Way above the natural environment abilities for proper metabolism in an artificial set up.

I don't think the MH is doing it, unless it's very close to them and they didn't have time to adapt (new to the system), or they don't tolerate great PAR. Also, because there are other zoas doing well...

Some species of zoas have to really change their color (not necessarily bleach, but "morph" after a while) to be able to deal with brighter light over a period of time. Most of the shallow water zoas can adapt with caution in the long run. One can see that when the same species from same wild colony goes to the same system and they will look very different after a while when placed in different depth (close to surface/on the sand). The one on the top will show lighter color or some spots without color, while the other one will normally keep the normal uniform original vivid wild color. Some others will produce more protect pigments when close to the surface.

There is more to it and mostly is water chemistry, but I still can't figure out that part. I've tried many changes for years to figure out a way to keep some zoas without changing their natural wild colors without success. Those that change with artificial light will always do to some degree, depending on where they are collected and the light they need to adapt to.

The less you touch them, the happier they will be and reproduce...

Just my .02 of observations.

I would watch them for a while and try to kove them to another place, if they continue to change like that.

Pictures?

Good luck.
Grandis.
 
A. Grandis said:
Depends on the distance of the fixture, type of fixture, bulb PAR, and the zoa adaptation to the light.

Either way you will need to adapt them to new light. That's the key!
If you change for the LEDs you'll still need to watch out!

There is a waste of the electric bill when you really don't need that much light, but the zoas, after proper adaptation, will be happy. A 150W MH on a 6gal. can sound overkill to many, but if you use it properly it will work, as you've seen. The problem there is the heat and that also could be the reason for bleaching, if so. You don't really need a 150WMH over that tank to keep their colors/health, but...

It's true that if you give them relatively hi PAR light for too many hours a day they could react negatively to that and bleach/die. That's not the case, right?

Of course you won't try to put a 400W, or a 1000W Mh over your little 6gal. That's overkill because of the proportions. Non sense... No need for that too. Too much heat. Way above the natural environment abilities for proper metabolism in an artificial set up.

I don't think the MH is doing it, unless it's very close to them and they didn't have time to adapt (new to the system), or they don't tolerate great PAR. Also, because there are other zoas doing well...

Some species of zoas have to really change their color (not necessarily bleach, but "morph" after a while) to be able to deal with brighter light over a period of time. Most of the shallow water zoas can adapt with caution in the long run. One can see that when the same species from same wild colony goes to the same system and they will look very different after a while when placed in different depth (close to surface/on the sand). The one on the top will show lighter color or some spots without color, while the other one will normally keep the normal uniform original vivid wild color. Some others will produce more protect pigments when close to the surface.

There is more to it and mostly is water chemistry, but I still can't figure out that part. I've tried many changes for years to figure out a way to keep some zoas without changing their natural wild colors without success. Those that change with artificial light will always do to some degree, depending on where they are collected and the light they need to adapt to.

The less you touch them, the happier they will be and reproduce...

Just my .02 of observations.

I would watch them for a while and try to kove them to another place, if they continue to change like that.

Pictures?

Good luck.
Grandis.
Click to expand...

Brilliant and exactly on the ball as always! When you publishing a book on Zoas Grandis, count me in for a copy :D!
 
i2as kass said:
Brilliant and exactly on the ball as always! When you publishing a book on Zoas Grandis, count me in for a copy :D!
Click to expand...

Sorry to disappoint you i2as kass, but I still get a loooooong way to write a zoa book, loooog way... :) LOL
I'll keep that in mind though.:thumbsup:
At least one copy will be sold. That's a good beginning.:bounce3:

I'm glad you agreed with my post.

Cheers,
Grandis.
 
A. Grandis said:
Depends on the distance of the fixture, type of fixture, bulb PAR, and the zoa adaptation to the light.

Either way you will need to adapt them to new light. That's the key!
If you change for the LEDs you'll still need to watch out!

There is a waste of the electric bill when you really don't need that much light, but the zoas, after proper adaptation, will be happy. A 150W MH on a 6gal. can sound overkill to many, but if you use it properly it will work, as you've seen. The problem there is the heat and that also could be the reason for bleaching, if so. You don't really need a 150WMH over that tank to keep their colors/health, but...

It's true that if you give them relatively hi PAR light for too many hours a day they could react negatively to that and bleach/die. That's not the case, right?

Of course you won't try to put a 400W, or a 1000W Mh over your little 6gal. That's overkill because of the proportions. Non sense... No need for that too. Too much heat. Way above the natural environment abilities for proper metabolism in an artificial set up.

I don't think the MH is doing it, unless it's very close to them and they didn't have time to adapt (new to the system), or they don't tolerate great PAR. Also, because there are other zoas doing well...

Some species of zoas have to really change their color (not necessarily bleach, but "morph" after a while) to be able to deal with brighter light over a period of time. Most of the shallow water zoas can adapt with caution in the long run. One can see that when the same species from same wild colony goes to the same system and they will look very different after a while when placed in different depth (close to surface/on the sand). The one on the top will show lighter color or some spots without color, while the other one will normally keep the normal uniform original vivid wild color. Some others will produce more protect pigments when close to the surface.

There is more to it and mostly is water chemistry, but I still can't figure out that part. I've tried many changes for years to figure out a way to keep some zoas without changing their natural wild colors without success. Those that change with artificial light will always do to some degree, depending on where they are collected and the light they need to adapt to.

The less you touch them, the happier they will be and reproduce...

Just my .02 of observations.

I would watch them for a while and try to kove them to another place, if they continue to change like that.

Pictures?

Good luck.
Grandis.
Click to expand...

Wow! Great read! Mark me down for one of those books when you get to it! Lol. The light is about 10" off the water and most of the zoas are at least under 4" or so of water. Like I said, most of the zoas have great color. One of my favorite frags were dull with a light blue ring in the center. Now after a few months in the tank, the ring is a vibrant teal blue/green.. Out of all the zoas I have, you can't possibly pick one frag in the tank that doesn't have at LEAST 4 polyps more than when we got them. Even the one frag that has lost a lot of color (knock off blue hornets) has 5 new polyps in the last month! When i got them they were dark blue with the bright green ring. Now they are more like a powder purple with light green ring. So what should I do? Just move it in the tank? Should I maybe raise up te light another few inches? Thanks a lot for the help, you have been more than informative. I will try to snap some pics this weekend
 
MyOwnGrowOp said:
Wow! Great read! Mark me down for one of those books when you get to it! Lol. The light is about 10" off the water and most of the zoas are at least under 4" or so of water. Like I said, most of the zoas have great color. One of my favorite frags were dull with a light blue ring in the center. Now after a few months in the tank, the ring is a vibrant teal blue/green.. Out of all the zoas I have, you can't possibly pick one frag in the tank that doesn't have at LEAST 4 polyps more than when we got them. Even the one frag that has lost a lot of color (knock off blue hornets) has 5 new polyps in the last month! When i got them they were dark blue with the bright green ring. Now they are more like a powder purple with light green ring. So what should I do? Just move it in the tank? Should I maybe raise up te light another few inches? Thanks a lot for the help, you have been more than informative. I will try to snap some pics this weekend
Click to expand...


You're welcome!
LOL!!! one more for the book.:spin2:

Yeah, I would raise the fixture 2 or 3 inches for now, and wait.
Much better to raise the fixture than move the zoas around.

Let's see what others will post...

Grandis.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

JeannineC
Zoa came off base
Replies
6
Views
396
Dustin07
D
H
Purposeful zoa infestation?
Replies
5
Views
316
harriehack
H
G
Zoa question
Replies
2
Views
318
Dustin07
D
griss
Don’t Neglect Your Tank Kids
Replies
9
Views
377
griss
griss
Broken reefer
Sit on Top lighting
Replies
6
Views
146
wvned
wvned
Back
Top