Zoas and nutrients
- Thread starter 121
- Start date
Reefing21715
New member
too much what can you be more specific to much zoas or to much nutrients
121
Member
I was referring to general nutrients. If your denitrification system can deal with whatever you throw at it, is it best to feed as much as possible?
I don't feed or skim in a bb tank. I also have to siphon detritus every week from my sump. I believe the detritus comes from snail poop that feed off of biofilm on the glass.
Most zoas can't catch food and slowly filter tiny particles in the water column. By not skimming I'm assuming I'm leaving protozoa and other microscopic life available for the zoas to eat. I'm not getting any growth from my zoas and I'm considering feeding again. I know they can eat autotrophically and thought they are also eating heterotrophically by not skimming.
I don't feed or skim in a bb tank. I also have to siphon detritus every week from my sump. I believe the detritus comes from snail poop that feed off of biofilm on the glass.
Most zoas can't catch food and slowly filter tiny particles in the water column. By not skimming I'm assuming I'm leaving protozoa and other microscopic life available for the zoas to eat. I'm not getting any growth from my zoas and I'm considering feeding again. I know they can eat autotrophically and thought they are also eating heterotrophically by not skimming.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
Zoas are taking over in our high nutrient tank. This is the tank full of softies that I feed my mysis thaw water. We do skim or it would probably be a disaster otherwise LOL. It does also take time. We have no growth for a few months, then barely noticeable growth, then one day you notice the frag is covered, then you get excited because one zoa has attached to the rock, then you enjoy how you can't see the plug anymore, and finally one day you have zoas growing over everything around them including other corals, the overflow, the glass, and the tubing to your battery -powered airstone! :lmao: Almost 3 years in our case.
Our low nutrient tank they grow very slowly (except the palys I feed directly). That tank is 1.5 years old.
Our low nutrient tank they grow very slowly (except the palys I feed directly). That tank is 1.5 years old.
Josh40996
New member
My system is as follows:-
- 30 gallon
- 24w 14000K + Actinic T5HO + 18w UVA + Actinic T8
- Weekly WC
- 0 Nitrate and Phosphate in the water column but a ton of HA on the back pane of glass.
- pH is a solid 8.4
- Salinity is 1.027/8
- Skimmer is on but it removes nothing but about 10ml a week of skimmate
I have 2 clowns, a yellow tail damsel and a firefish fed every other day.
Zoanthid growth is as follows:-
- Eagle Eyes throw out about 5 polyps a fortnight.
- Radioactive Zoas throw out one new polyp for every 2 polyps on the plug per fortnight.
- A 25 head frag of Broken Sky was fraged into a 10 and a 15 and the 15 grew back to 20 in a week. Generally throws out about 1 per week-fortnight.
- rest thrown out about 1 a fortnight.
I have only ever target fed my Broken sky's once (a bit of krill mush) after I fragged them and that is when it threw out 5 new polyps.
My system is a high nutrient system but it is not in the water column as algae soaks it up and I harvest it out each week.
- 30 gallon
- 24w 14000K + Actinic T5HO + 18w UVA + Actinic T8
- Weekly WC
- 0 Nitrate and Phosphate in the water column but a ton of HA on the back pane of glass.
- pH is a solid 8.4
- Salinity is 1.027/8
- Skimmer is on but it removes nothing but about 10ml a week of skimmate
I have 2 clowns, a yellow tail damsel and a firefish fed every other day.
Zoanthid growth is as follows:-
- Eagle Eyes throw out about 5 polyps a fortnight.
- Radioactive Zoas throw out one new polyp for every 2 polyps on the plug per fortnight.
- A 25 head frag of Broken Sky was fraged into a 10 and a 15 and the 15 grew back to 20 in a week. Generally throws out about 1 per week-fortnight.
- rest thrown out about 1 a fortnight.
I have only ever target fed my Broken sky's once (a bit of krill mush) after I fragged them and that is when it threw out 5 new polyps.
My system is a high nutrient system but it is not in the water column as algae soaks it up and I harvest it out each week.
SushiGirl
Premium Member
That sounds like decent growth, Josh. I once read on here that they'll grow faster if they're close together. I put my frags next to each other after that & it actually seemed to work. Growing for survival, competition. My smaller frags have grown a lot after putting them next to other zoas that were growing quickly.
