Zooanthid growth

[Jblank44]

I know this is talked about a lot... But I have a few zoos in my tank... Lunar eclipse, Texas trash palys (which I hate) , whammin watermelons, radioactive dragon eyes... But none of them seem to produce new polyps... The lunar eclipse I've have for 2 months hasn't got a single new one. My params are pretty good other than nitrate but I know that zoos don't mind some nitrates, they actually like dirty water. I have a 14g BC, soon to be upgrading to some MH 14k. I'm running stock bio cube lights, actinic and 14k pc... I'm pretty sure.

 

[Mathew26]

How old is the tank? You have to give these things time. they will not sprout new heads every night. Also when you say your params are"pretty good" Are they out of the standards by a lot or a little. Water quality is key.

 

[Jblank44]

How old is the tank? You have to give these things time. they will not sprout new heads every night. Also when you say your params are"pretty good" Are they out of the standards by a lot or a little. Water quality is key.

About a year old tank... All params are on except for nitrate. Nitrate is at 10-20ppm. All others are in their range of where they should be.

 

[ReefTron5000]

Zoanthids are kind of hit and miss. In some setups they seem to thrive in others they just live while in others they will straight up just give up and die. Its bizarre.

I would just keep the water relatively clean, give em decent light and have patience.

 

[Jblank44]

Zoanthids are kind of hit and miss. In some setups they seem to thrive in others they just live while in others they will straight up just give up and die. Its bizarre.

I would just keep the water relatively clean, give em decent light and have patience.

Once I upgrade to MH lighting I think they should grow much better but I'm hoping they start growing more period. It makes me sad

 

[Jblank44]

 

[dinwiddie90]

For me it seemed like it took a few months for zoas to "settle" then they take off growing

 

[Pallobi]

I'm gonna disagree with comments concerning zoas "like dirty water"... The better water quality, the better results IMO, and IME... Shoot for the best nitrates you can, I've grown some nice colonies with this in mind...

Good luck either way with your growth rates in the future...

 

[Jblank44]

I'm gonna disagree with comments concerning zoas "like dirty water"... The better water quality, the better results IMO, and IME... Shoot for the best nitrates you can, I've grown some nice colonies with this in mind...

Good luck either way with your growth rates in the future...

Oh I'm definitely trying to eliminate them completely! I'm getting there and once I'm there I am going to start dosing kent 2 part buffer since my alk and calcium are equally on the low end

 

[terrypercula]

I also have lunar eclipses and I went from 2 polyps to 10 in a few months but I also have watermelons and only got maybe 4 new polyps in that same period. Also some colonies with no new buds at all.

 

[Jblank44]

I also have lunar eclipses and I went from 2 polyps to 10 in a few months but I also have watermelons and only got maybe 4 new polyps in that same period. Also some colonies with no new buds at all.

Yeah I guess it is all about what your tank is like, but I have a bit of nitrates due to the sand that I used so once I fix that I think my problem should be cleared up and then things will grow even better!

 

[terrypercula]

Once they start they multiply fast. I'm sure knocking your nitrate level down should help. What specifically are your water parameters.

 

[Jblank44]

Once they start they multiply fast. I'm sure knocking your nitrate level down should help. What specifically are your water parameters.

Sal: 1.0255 ish
Calcium: 410
Mag: 1300
Nitrate: 10-20ppm
pH: 8.0
Phosphate: .1
Alk: 7.7
Temp: 78-80

Lighting sched:
10am-10pm actinic
12-8 10k pc
9pm-11am chaeto light (5k)

Filtration:
50w heater set at 78
Media basket running chemo pure, purigen, and cheato.

 

[terrypercula]

Hmmm. Alk and PH are a tiny tiny bit low but I couldn't imagine that stopping a polyp from growing at all in an extended time period. Knock the nitrate down try and raise your PH to 8.2-8.3 range and bump Alk up to at least 8 no more than 12. Do you have any guesses why your nitrate is so high because everything else seems ok.

 

[Jblank44]

Zooanthid growth

Hmmm. Alk and PH are a tiny tiny bit low but I couldn't imagine that stopping a polyp from growing at all in an extended time period. Knock the nitrate down try and raise your PH to 8.2-8.3 range and bump Alk up to at least 8 no more than 12. Do you have any guesses why your nitrate is so high because everything else seems ok.

That's what I'm working on, I'm trying a different reef mix, Red Sea coral pro, to see how that goes. But the nitrates are high because of my sand/gravel. The first place I went to when I started the hobby was very unexperienced and didn't know a lot about saltwater. They told me this sand would be okay, and on top of that, I put about 2" down, so the black gravel holds so much and just accumulates. I'm moving my tank to school in a few weeks so I'm cleaning the whole tank and I'm putting in live sand, just enough to cover the glass, that should be better.