Mushrooms and Zoas

[ucflumberjack]

Hello,
I haven't been on here much but have been reading alot..... A friend of mine talked me into setting my old freshwater tank as a salwater tank when I moved. I was unsure at first but now I'm pretty much sold on saltwater. Here are the only stats that I can test for so far and the specs of the tank:

ammonia, nitrite, nitrate: 0
alkalinity: 300
ph: 7.8

tank: 72gallon bowfront from AllGlass
sump: roughly 30 gallons, kept between half and 3/4 full, it has a bunch of blue bioballs in it
flow: magdrive 9.5
skimmer: not sure exactly, but from the pictures it looks like ASM, its my friends and he said it was advertised at 90 gallons when he bought it.
Lights: nova extreme, 1xactinic, 1x10000k, total 108 watts

the tank has about 1.5 inches of sand in it with around 1/6 to 1/3 of the tank full of liverock.

livestock:
6 chromis
1 black and white damsel
1 sandsifter goby
1 emerald crab

I would like to get some corals in there but I know I need more lighting first and more flow. I have been topping off with tap water, but am going to RO next week. I get a pretty steady algae growth but I think that will subside with the use of ROand the addition of another emerald crab and a bunch of hermits. I plan to add a couple more fish but am not sure what exactly just yet. I know I'll need to get more testing supplies and am working on that next week.

My question is:
1. how much more lighting do I need to keep zoas and mushrooms? Ive been looking at VHO and also at just adding more T5.

Any more suggestions?

[Fish_wiz2]

Those corals don't need much, what you have will suffice but if you want them to thrive and be open to a wider variety of corals then add 2 or 4 more T-5 bulbs, VHO is not necessary and very expensive to operate. also for your tank, a good pump for the price are hydor koralia's, which you would need 2 #4's i also suggest removing the damsel while you can because they can get aggressive and be a PITA in the future. good luck, Wiz ;)

[ucflumberjack]

Well thanks alot. I was thinking I was going to have to go to around 400 watts. I'm glad to hear that I dont have to do that. Is half actinic and half 10k ok for the shrooms and zoas?

[crvz]

If you want anything more than sofites, I'd recommend getting a T5 fixture with individual reflectors. That should be plenty. Regarding the algae, hermits alone won't solve the problem, I'd look at getting a good skimmer (or making certain it's running as well as it can) and making sure to continue with water changes. You'll want to eliminate the fuel the algae's using for growth, and the hermits will only attack the algae itself. Good luck!

[Dave & Monica]

There are a lot of awsome low light reefs so lookinto it. GARF has info. Your system could definetely hold zoos and shrooms.

[saltwaterjames]

I agree w/crvz its best to cure the algae problem with a skimmer than to treat the problem with another emerald crab and a bunch of hermits. Though it can't hurt your system by adding a few more.

[chuggy]

i ran this tank for months with a 4 bulb t5 fixture
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq292/chuggy1969/DSC00001-1.jpg

i have since added another fixture with 3 more bulbs so im currently running 2 10000 daytimes 2 10000 actinics original fixture 54 watts each the new fixture has 1 10000 actinic and 2 18000 daylights but besides the noticable difference between the colors and brightness my corals and anenomes were all quite happy with the 4 bulb setup

[ucflumberjack]

So, just to be clear...
1. Use Ro water.
2. Get some more light, 2 more should be sufficient, 4 would be great.
3. Make sure the skimmer is good enough and make sure its working correctly.
4. Get a few powerheads, 2xkoralia#4's will do the job.
5. Crabs are a good idea, but #3 is a better one.

[tmz]

Both the mushrooms (except ricordea needs more light)) and Zoanthidae can survive in a range of lighting conditions. The zoanthus do much better in higher lighitng and flow since they are higher reef animals. Palythoas, and Protopalythoas like at least moderate ight but will do well in lower lighting,in my esperience.

[Rae C.]

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp151/raeciciora/100_7673.jpg

Been running mine with six VHO's for more than a year, and the guy who had it before me ran it for more than 5 years on VHO's. Shrooms should be fine.

Are zoas and polyps the same thing?

[tmz]

Vhos are good lighing. ARe you running 10k,actinic or both?

The term zoos, polyps, zoanthids, zoanthus are often used interchangeably and that get's confusing. The family Zoanthidae(zoanthids) have at least 4 major species that I know of which come from different natural environments: Palythoa some of which come from more turbid (cloudy) water and can do well in moderate to low lighting( they like to eat zooxplankton), Protopalythoa(larger palythoa( from similar waters , they like to eat too). Snake polyps which so quite well in lower lighting and zonathus. Zoanthus are smaller and inhabit higher reef areas often taking over montioproa skeletons. In my experience, although they will survive in lower lighting and flow, they do much better in high light turbulent reef conditions( they don't eat very much if at all).