Zoa and paly care

[Lionhead]

I have gotten mixed information about how much lighting and whats the proper placement in the tank the zoas and palys should have... What should it be?

Lighting... SHould it be LOTS, MEDIUM or LOW
FLOW..... Should it be STRONG, MEDIUM, LIGHT
Placement. Should it be High, middle or bottom

For Zoas and Palys... On some articles they differ in the care...

 

[returnofsid]

Placement doesn't really matter much, as long as lighting and flow needs are being met. I would suggest moderate to high lighting and moderate flow. As long as water quality is good, and no predators or pests are present, everything else should take care of itself. I believe most people keep their Zoanthids low for better viewing purposes, not so much for the needs of the Zoanthids.

 

[reef18ster]

Yup, my zoas and palys are placed all over my tank and they all do fine just as long as they get some light and flow.

 

[Myteemouse]

reef18ster and I do the same thing!
I have "prized" zoos in front on top of rocks and "collor filler palys and zoos on bottom in the corners
all do well!

 

[mfinn]

I believe that zoanthids and palythoa polyps will do good in lighting that goes from power compacts to mh lighting. Although I think they look better under 14k to 20 k mh.
I also believe they like good water movement. They more the better.
I have stuff all over, but like returnofsid said I have them in a good viewing spot, down low and in front.
You can't say enough about making sure they are pest free.

So ditto to everything that's been said already

 

[reef18ster]

reef18ster and I do the same thing!
I have "prized" zoos in front on top of rocks and "collor filler palys and zoos on bottom in the corners
all do well!

Hey Adam, great minds think a like. lol. Oh, btw thanks for your post on the tubs blue zoas. I never knew that Dang had them and have always wanted them again for my current tank.

Ricky

 

[Lionhead]

Ive read in one article that if you put them in high flow, they will develop longer skirts.. And in better lighting, better color.. And changes in lighting, flow and placement could cause it to morph..

Im just forgot which article I saw it on. Ive been looking for it and havent had luck finding it. I think I was sleepy when I read it

 

[Lionhead]

And oh, In some articles, they say Paly require a lot more lighting than zoas.. Thus placing them up high is recommended.. Zoas on the other hand middle to bottom. But then again, I have read other articles saying opposite...

 

[mfinn]

Ive read in one article that if you put them in high flow, they will develop longer skirts.. And in better lighting, better color.. And changes in lighting, flow and placement could cause it to morph..

Im just forgot which article I saw it on. Ive been looking for it and havent had luck finding it. I think I was sleepy when I read it

There has been several threads with all those subjects here and RC and R2R ( club-zoa).
I don't know if anything has really been proven, more just general tendecies.

 

[mfinn]

And oh, In some articles, they say Paly require a lot more lighting than zoas.. Thus placing them up high is recommended.. Zoas on the other hand middle to bottom. But then again, I have read other articles saying opposite...

I haven't heard that one.

But I think it's just what happens in different peoples tanks. And we all know, what works for one, may not work for another.

 

[returnofsid]

I believe Palys are typically on the sand bed in nature, or closer to the sand. The reason I think this is because Palys incorporate bits of sand and substrate into the building of their mat. Zoanthids don't do this. Because of this, if there is a difference in needed light, I'd say Palys would need less light. Other than that, I think they'll both do great in moderate to high lighting.

As for lighting causing morphs, I've read several times that intense high lighting can cause speckles on a lot of Zoanthids.

 

[Myteemouse]

I DO know if you put too much flow on zoos they pop loose sometimes.
I found this out from one of my single armor of god polyps came loose and I've been chaseing it around the tank for weeks!LOL

 

[Myteemouse]

Hey Adam, great minds think a like. lol. Oh, btw thanks for your post on the tubs blue zoas. I never knew that Dang had them and have always wanted them again for my current tank.

Ricky

Well I just posted wher I got them to give credit were credit is due!
And BTW those 6 tub blue polyps are now 10 already!

 

[Lionhead]

I DO know if you put too much flow on zoos they pop loose sometimes.
I found this out from one of my single armor of god polyps came loose and I've been chaseing it around the tank for weeks!LOL

You can say that again. I had two polyps under medium to low flow. They're gone... I dont expect to find them anymore but who knows. they might just be somewhere growing. But I doubt it.


Do you guys think it would matter whether theyre under 175 watts of lighting, 250w or 400w? I'm thinking about setting up a zoa dominated tank and I have the 175w MH and the 250W mh to choose from as its lighting.

 

[Lionhead]

Tubs

Well I just posted wher I got them to give credit were credit is due!
And BTW those 6 tub blue polyps are now 10 already!

Those Tubs once they get acclimated really do grow fast. I noticed that on mine too.

 

[returnofsid]

Lionhead, the amount of lighting would totally depend on your tank's depth. Unless a very deep tank, I really think 400W would be overkill for a Zoanthid dominated tank.

 

[morgan]

when i have collected zoas they are normally in high current areas in fairly shallow waters on reef crest when ever i get new zoas they go in strong flow for a week or so which helps prevent them from getting sick

 

[Lionhead]

when i have collected zoas they are normally in high current areas in fairly shallow waters on reef crest when ever i get new zoas they go in strong flow for a week or so which helps prevent them from getting sick

Thats what I thought. Some articles Ive mentioned that at low tides, they sometimes get exposed out there without being under water for hours. So I assumed they are in shallow areas meaning lots of light. What wattage can beat the sun right?

 

[Myteemouse]

I have a 250 MH 20k XM over me standard 29 gallon!!!
They love it!
BTW I caught my armor of god polyp this morning!

 

[Lionhead]

I have a 250 MH 20k XM over me standard 29 gallon!!!
They love it!
BTW I caught my armor of god polyp this morning!

LOL! Good for you man!