Myths & Myth Busting !!! [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community

Peter Eichler

03/05/2009, 01:16 AM

Hey, what's this forum?!?! :p

I think the biggest myth with zoanthids is that they will all do well in the type of conditions. They are a very diverse bunch, some will do best with more moderate lighting, some being blasted with light, some like higher nutrient water, others do not, etc. etc. Zoanthids are know to grow in areas closely related with sewage runoff, in tide pools, directly on the reef, in turbid water, in deeper water, you name it... Many zoanthids will certainly do well in a wide range of conditions, but there do seem to be some that favor fairly specific conditions. For some that seems to include "dirty" water or water with fair amounts of dissolved organic content if you prefer.

MUCHO REEF

03/05/2009, 07:26 AM

Bam !!!! I knew I would lure you out Peter E. I had several myths I wanted to share and this is one of them. I shake my head when I hear the adamant responses of this particular polyps grows very slow and that is why it is so expensive. People, IT AIN'T TRUE. Why so cocky Mooch ? Not cocky at all on the contrary. If we spent as much time talking about reef and tank diversity, half of the issues we experienced here would be put to rest. Now I hate names and I hate to use them, so I won't, LOL, GOTCHA, but this purple paly which everyone says grow very slow is pure Oscar Mayer Bologna. The polyp grows slower for one reefer and faster for another for one reason and one reason alone, tank parameter, environment including lighting, just as Peter said. I had them and they grew like crazy. My buddy Jim who sold an entire large colony of them grew them for years and sold them to everybody here in Michigan. Some polyps prefer less light depending on the region of origin, others prefer more intense lighting. Many confuse light adaptability to light necessity. If one is experiencing slow group, one needs to do nothing more than to research where the polyp was collected and make marginal changes and document those changes to see the growth that is desired.

Mucho Reef

LexSkizzle

03/05/2009, 09:02 AM

Zoanthids and Paly's are great beginer corals..Myth!
I have spent the most $$$ on these corals and have had more casualties than I would like to admit. IMO I think its b/c of what was mentioned above by Mucho and Peter. Their is definitely not one set of good living conditions for these guys. They are soooo diverse its incredible. Also, they seem to be susceptible to lots of different issues, ie: bacterial infections, predators, diseases, etc. when compared to other corals I have kept in the past. I am by no means an expert, but this has just been my expeirience.

650-IS350

03/05/2009, 10:20 AM

Nice to see you posting again Peter. AWOL ?

IridescentLily

03/05/2009, 11:31 AM

I'm glad to see Peter posting also.
Peter, if you're still here, I always learned alot from reading your posts. And I must admit to trying to get you over here that one time. :p

Peter Eichler

03/05/2009, 11:32 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14541307#post14541307 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 650-IS350
Nice to see you posting again Peter. AWOL ?

Decided it was best for my sanity to stay out of the zoanthid forum for a bit :p Nice to see you, and you Lily, still around.

650-IS350

03/05/2009, 11:47 AM

Yeah I hear you peter, I actually contemplated a couple of times of doing some AWOL my self or actually completely getting out after my last tank crash.

MUCHO REEF

03/05/2009, 09:15 PM

LE, which means Limited Edition. I chuckle every time I hear it. There's no such thing as Limited Edition, it's a myth, a marketing tool if you will. I've yet to read in any of my journals that the ocean is only producing X number of polyps this year. LE should be replaced with LS, Limited Supply, because that is what they have, a limited supply. When someone says, "I'm only releasing 10 of these, or Joe Reef Rock's Paris Hilton Powder Pink Palythoas have just gone LE....you need to run.

LE is a myth.

Mucho

E.intheC

03/06/2009, 08:29 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14545990#post14545990 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MUCHO REEF
"I'm only releasing 10 of these, or Joe Reef Rock's Paris Hilton Powder Pink Palythoas have just gone LE....you need to run.

LE is a myth.

Mucho

:lol:

MUCHO REEF

03/06/2009, 01:51 PM

LOL, not sure if you're laughing with me or at me, LOL. It's ok either way. :)

Mucho Reef

E.intheC

03/06/2009, 02:28 PM

definitely with you. absolutely. my humor for sure

SIR PATRICK

03/06/2009, 11:14 PM

I know ther are more myths out there than this!

Lets here some more!

jprince58

03/07/2009, 07:43 AM

Perhaps we need to compile a "Top 10" list of zoanthid myths and submit it to RC for their monthly publication.

jadeguppy

03/07/2009, 08:02 AM

Zoanthids and palythoaes cannot be fed.

jadeguppy

03/07/2009, 08:02 AM

Zoanthids and palythoas cannot be fed.

2.slowduo

03/09/2009, 08:21 PM

:smokin: yes,what do you feed these buggers???

kawicivic

03/09/2009, 09:31 PM

zoas and palys are the same

Fishindude88

03/10/2009, 07:38 AM

Fragging makes them grow faster.

MUCHO REEF

03/18/2009, 07:55 AM

Good one Fisnindude88 :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

Fishindude88

03/18/2009, 08:00 AM

Thanks, I actually have fragged a colony that did seem to grow faster in a spurt... from like 3-50 in monthS and from 25-50 in A month before it slowed down to the normal rate. I have read conflicting reports saying that they grow slower after fragging as well, anyone have any experience to share?

memorisa

03/18/2009, 08:18 AM

the only logical explanation I have read about how fragging makes them grow faster is when you frag the middle parts of the colony. this way when before those in the middle had no space to grow, now they do and will reproduce faster relatively 'inwards' while the ones on the outside grow outwards.
perhaps in a dense colony this may still hold true given the room for growth argument; but I would like to hear more about this issue as well... (not to mention more about myths)

MUCHO REEF

03/18/2009, 08:22 AM

Maybe it's relative to tank conditions. I have never witnessed it in any of my systems, not saying it isn't true, I have never seen, heard locally or witnessed it.

Moving or repetitive moving is stressful in and of itself, which only causes a delay in growth and short term expansion. This is widely known and excepted. If you take two frags of 10 polyps and attach them to two separete rocks, then place one rock on the reef in a sweet spot and place the other rock next to it for one week. Then move rock A every 3 days to a new place in the tank, I will bet my most prized palys that rock B which remained stationary will have a better growth rate than rock A. If you did the same and fragged a polyp off of one of those rocks every week, the growth rate of the fragged stationary rock would exceed that of the fragged and constantly relocated rock. My experience, and I'm only speaking of me, is constantly moved rocks slows growth and repetitive premature fragging slows growth. Premature fragging can, will and has killed an awful lot of polyps. High prices has caused the death of many polyps as some reefers will immediately chop off a polyp to sale it when it appears. This constant chopping can cause mortality. Not trying to go there with this discussion, it was just a relative comment as it relates to growth, movement and fragging.

Mucho Reef

memorisa

03/18/2009, 08:25 AM

i agree with you completely, mucho -- i have witnessed that first hand as well.

oh I think I got one, I had read in one place that zoas grow better under actinics only **** that's gotta be a myth right?

Fishindude88

03/18/2009, 08:28 AM

25-50 was cut from the middle (where the frag disk was) and it didn't grow back in the middle, it actually grew outward instead. If anything, it melted on the inside a little.

I agree that premature fragging can be very harmful and will slow growth and kill more polyps. I just did a giant fragging (getting ready for a big upgrade this summer) and will have to take you up on that bet for most prized palys Mucho as I have a ton of frags to experiment with :)

MUCHO REEF

03/18/2009, 04:27 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14636639#post14636639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by memorial
i agree with you completely, mucho -- i have witnessed that first hand as well.

oh I think I got one, I had read in one place that zoas grow better under actinics only **** that's gotta be a myth right?

I have heard this a few times. The reefer swore it was true. I simply find it hard to believe, not saying it is or isn't true. Maybe someone else can share if they have been successful with it. I dunno. I gotta try it one day and see.

Mucho Reef

MUCHO REEF

04/02/2009, 06:26 AM

Last call for MYTHS :wavehand:

msman825

04/02/2009, 07:15 AM

I'm beginning to thank its a myth for me to keep these new deep water zoa's. they should be called melting pot

MUCHO REEF

04/02/2009, 09:28 AM

Are you having some issues with them?

650-IS350

04/02/2009, 09:45 AM

They're more sensitive than other polyps. temp acclimate them, and if your anal about it. slowly pour some tank water in the bag while your temp acclimating them. I havnen't had issues except for 1 large frag that didn't look good coming to me.

msman825

04/03/2009, 07:29 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14745787#post14745787 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MUCHO REEF
Are you having some issues with them? yah they melted away on me. they were in ruff shape when i recieved them

Creetin

04/03/2009, 08:39 AM

They are more touchy than most. They will get white bak infections. IMO When that happens they melt away.
When getting frags of these they should be cut a decent amt of time ahead. Mine are doing great they love flow and light!
I have had mine for about 3 mos.

msman825

04/03/2009, 08:56 AM

the ones i had looked to be just fragged, and the place i got them from had just gotten them also. next time i'll find someone that i know. that was the fastest $$$ i ever blew on zoas. never saw them even open

MUCHO REEF

04/26/2009, 07:43 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14636639#post14636639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by memorisa
i agree with you completely, mucho -- i have witnessed that first hand as well.

oh I think I got one, I had read in one place that zoas grow better under actinics only **** that's gotta be a myth right?

I'm going to explore this.

MUCHO REEF

08/13/2010, 06:10 AM

Any more myths to share?

Guygettnby

08/13/2010, 06:25 AM

E.intheC

08/13/2010, 07:05 AM

E.intheC

08/13/2010, 07:08 AM

To add to my above post, I realise that there would be variables.. I would be willing to help contribute and organize this list if anyone else is interested.

MUCHO REEF

08/13/2010, 07:13 AM

Mucho, did you have any luck with the actinics myth? It doesn't make sense to me, other than it might have to do with light intensity and less PAR. But that would depend on the zoa and its specific requirements.

Speaking of that; I think itd be very helpful to have a centralised list of zoos and their general care requirements. (we would probably have to include names). I think it'd be helpful for people who aren't too experienced or who have a certain, specific tank with parameters that can't be changed easily.

I can't say for sure, but there are some T5 bulbs putting out near equal levels of PAR as some T5 daylight bulbs. I think there might be some merit to this. I'm gonna do so web searches to see. Hmmm, we learn something new everyday. What are your thoughts on this?

Guygettnby

08/13/2010, 08:02 AM

I can't say for sure, but there are some T5 bulbs putting out near equal levels of PAR as some T5 daylight bulbs. I think there might be some merit to this. I'm gonna do so web searches to see. Hmmm, we learn something new everyday. What are your thoughts on this?

this is very possible. there are so many bulb combos out there that put out the same amount of par that day light bulbs do. i get great growth of some frags that are directly under 2 blue + bulbs and they dont get any light from my halide at all. i have also seen a few tanks that run nothing but blue HO T5 bulbs and they get very decent growth as well as great polyp extension.

on the other hand i dont thing this is possible with PC bulbs though... VHO's i also think is very possible. would need some testing done but i think growing zoas or any other corals under various blue and atinic bulbs is very possible. now wether that growth is better thehn daylight bulbs??? i think that in itself is a myth. i think they would grow the same, niether better then the other.

Timanator

08/13/2010, 08:15 AM

Zoas are easy to grow and propagate.

MUCHO REEF

08/14/2010, 11:49 AM

I know im gonna catch hell on this one, but... i gotta put this out there. VIT C.... been there, tried it, tried it again, again and again with different kinds of VIT C and different amounts each time. never once did it actually do anything for me, if anything i had negative reactions everytime i tried it.

i say this is a myth and all in peoples heads :lol:

I have never tried it and don't know of anyone personally who has. Some speak positive of it and have seen improvements, some haven't. If you think it's a myth, you're free to speak your mind. What do you base your opinions on, just curious, not debating it?

Guygettnby

08/14/2010, 01:31 PM

I have never tried it and don't know of anyone personally who has. Some speak positive of it and have seen improvements, some haven't. If you think it's a myth, you're free to speak your mind. What do you base your opinions on, just curious, not debating it?

ok, when the VIT C thing very first started i figured hey, why not? i jumped on board and ran to my local GNC store to buy some. i started in very low doses and started very slow. i ended up getting an unusual amount of algea growth. at first i couldnt get it, so i did testing, changed filters and even changed bulbs. none of this helped me out.... at this point i started asking more questions on the forums trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with my tank. i found nothing out and i decided to stop dosing the VIT C just to try and pin point my problem, about 3-4 days later the algea started to go away. was this because the VIT C dosing?? i still wasnt sure and it couldnt be proven. so i tried it again and of course the algea started coming back. so now i knew for a fact it was the VIT C causing the problem and i started asking myself why are all the people saying they are having all this good luck with dosing this stuff if i am not??

so after more talking and asking questions i came to the conclusion maybe i bought the wrong VIT C and that was probably the problem. so i went out yet again and this time i went to a wholesome nutrition store were everything is 100% natural. i bought a bottle of there VIT C powder wich on the label said 100% pure VIT C... i thought to myself cool! i think it will work this time :dance: ehhh nope!! after a week of dosing my tank was super cloudy, my skimmer was going crazy and my zoas/palys were almost all closed up with little streamers coming off of them. i quickly stoped dosing and did seceral water changes. at this point i said this crap doesnt work and all but wrote it off as another internet wonder drug.

a few months later i see more and more people saying how wonderful this stuff is and how great there tanks are looking.... now at this point im saying WTH!! i just dont get it:hmm2: so back to reading the thread i went. i saw a few post with people saying exactly what kind of VIT C they were buying and where they were buying it from. so being as i have reread this entire long thread again and now have seen so many more people swearing by this stuff i decided to give it one more shot. i ordered the exact same stuff from the exact same place and even used the exact same coupon they all used. i started dosing yet again and this time i made sure to go very slow and be very aware of what was going on in my tank. i dosed for probably 3-4 weeks this time. no cloudy tank, no unhappy zoas so far. i saw absolutely no advantage to the dosing so far.... i kept dosing for a few more weeks and even upped the dosage... still nothing.... if anything i noticed slightly less polyp extension in some of my colonies. i decided to give it up and yet again have nothing to show for all the money and time spent.

now here is the kicker. a week or two later after i stoped dosing my tank the polyp extension came back and some of my zoas started to brighten up even more. was this from the dosing or from me stop dosing the tank?? never figured it out, but i never tried again and my tank looked great until i did something extremely stupid that crashed my tank. i hope that pretty much sums it up for ya mucho:thumbsup: i honestly cant remember much more about it all

blasterman789

08/14/2010, 02:52 PM

The way I frag my Zoas is put a small rock next to a healthy cluster, and just let them grow up on it. After two or three babies walk up on the rock or plug I gently cut them apart from the main cluster.

Never had a problem with this. It's trying to fuss with single polyp fragging that causes issues.

Again, the only nutrients I'm 100% convinced grow zoas well is nitrate/fish poop.

Since most Zoas are deeper water critters they will likely just need far blue light given nothing else is down there. I would tend to doubt they grow faster under just actinic.

MUCHO REEF

08/14/2010, 03:25 PM

Good reading here and I'm not ready to rule it out.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602664&highlight=iridescentlily

Friday Night

08/15/2010, 07:58 PM

Fragging makes them grow faster.

Um... i have had results in my growth after fragging so your right thx ;)

scuba guy ron

08/15/2010, 08:57 PM

I believe that when you place zoas in a tank in close proximity to others they grow faster as a sort of competition for space takes place. I believe this to not be a myth but the opposite infact.

noobtothereef

08/15/2010, 10:19 PM

Zoas are easy to grow and propagate.

ive been in to reefing for 4 months now, im a noob and am growing and propagating zoa's..... but they are all fast growers, hardest part is handling the frags before glueing to the plug i think....... im sure when your fragging a $100+pp zoa it might not be so easy, my hands ould be shakin like crazy... especially handling a larger colony of them

noobtothereef

08/15/2010, 10:20 PM

Um... i have had results in my growth after fragging so your right thx ;) me too, if the plug is full of zoas and i frag half of them off the plug it gives them more room to grow!

noobtothereef

08/15/2010, 10:25 PM

I believe that when you place zoas in a tank in close proximity to others they grow faster as a sort of competition for space takes place. I believe this to not be a myth but the opposite infact.

i have recently witnessed this in my tank, i took a rock out of my tank and placed mutliple types of zoas on this rock, they grew at normal speed until the mats and polyps became close and the mats spread out wide as if they were trying to circle the other mat and the growth was 3x-5x faster in the area where they were interacting, but on the other side of the mat the growth was normal speed

scuba guy ron

08/16/2010, 02:48 PM

i have recently witnessed this in my tank, i took a rock out of my tank and placed mutliple types of zoas on this rock, they grew at normal speed until the mats and polyps became close and the mats spread out wide as if they were trying to circle the other mat and the growth was 3x-5x faster in the area where they were interacting, but on the other side of the mat the growth was normal speed

my entire tank is an experiment of this and i am getting unbelievable growth results.

organism

02/27/2011, 03:42 PM

XSharkboyX

02/27/2011, 10:57 PM

There are such things as "high end" zoas or palys, or any coral for that matter!
"High end" means high price tag. The only reason they are called "high end" is because they have a designer name, and are the latest and greatest fad with the price gougers.

kichimark

02/28/2011, 12:41 AM

I have been using Vit C as per pufferPunks instructions and use it really as a carbon dosing method rather than specifically for zoanthids. I have been having 0 nitrates on a consistant basis since using it.

XSharkboyX

02/28/2011, 01:10 AM

Couldn't resist... :fun2:
Having zero nitrates in a mature reef tank...

"low nitrates is good...but zero is bad. Once you learn, you can see it immediately when you view any aquarium. The coral colors are "flat" dull or pale. Hobbyists often make the mistake of thinking that corals get enough food from light. That is not the case at all. Having a heavy fish load where the fishes are frequently fed is a very good way to feed corals such as sps that we cannot easily target feed."
Anthony Calfo

kichimark

02/28/2011, 01:12 AM

Couldn't resist... :fun2:
Having zero nitrates in a mature reef tank...

i feed heavy with fish and with tons of sun corals...use a cannister as well :). No matter what it couldnt go below 15-20ppm till I used Vit C.

MUCHO REEF

02/28/2011, 09:43 AM

"Japanese" deepwaters come to mind, although any "deepwater" or "rare" zoanthids are just a marketing myth...

I always found the argument that they look good under pc's to be a myth too, I mean, they grow, but the colors always fade really quickly under pc's.

Mine grew well under PC for some reason, but didn't look that great unless I added more actinics when I photographed them.

Mucho

kichimark

02/28/2011, 10:43 AM

"low nitrates is good...but zero is bad. Once you learn, you can see it immediately when you view any aquarium. The coral colors are "flat" dull or pale. Hobbyists often make the mistake of thinking that corals get enough food from light. That is not the case at all. Having a heavy fish load where the fishes are frequently fed is a very good way to feed corals such as sps that we cannot easily target feed."
Anthony Calfo

I see you added something afterwards. It is a 0 reading on an API test kit (new kit...test twice each time) and ofcourse all grade tests will show error. Some will show more than others. As long as fish are present and fed there will be the nitrogen cycle. It is as saying 0 ammonia is in my tank but that would be false since there is still ammonia present but not enough to register on a hobby grade kit.

As you quoted, light plays a big role but corals still need other nutrients and minerals to complete growth and reproduction. Just as a plant needs light but still needs water and nutrients/minerals.

I am excited I have been able to control my nitrates since I have many fish and only clean my cannister once a month. I see excellent growth on my zoanthids (some more than others). Vit C has been used in my tank for multiple months without seeing any detrimental effects. My tank is mostly softy/lps dominated with a few sps pieces. I also think Vit C MAY be indirectly feeding some coral too since it does increase bacteria concentrations which MAY be finding their way to some corals mouth. Can't prove it but its just a theory of mine.

XSharkboyX

02/28/2011, 01:09 PM

I see you added something afterwards. It is a 0 reading on an API test kit (new kit...test twice each time) and ofcourse all grade tests will show error. Some will show more than others. As long as fish are present and fed there will be the nitrogen cycle. It is as saying 0 ammonia is in my tank but that would be false since there is still ammonia present but not enough to register on a hobby grade kit.

As you quoted, light plays a big role but corals still need other nutrients and minerals to complete growth and reproduction. Just as a plant needs light but still needs water and nutrients/minerals.

I am excited I have been able to control my nitrates since I have many fish and only clean my cannister once a month. I see excellent growth on my zoanthids (some more than others). Vit C has been used in my tank for multiple months without seeing any detrimental effects. My tank is mostly softy/lps dominated with a few sps pieces. I also think Vit C MAY be indirectly feeding some coral too since it does increase bacteria concentrations which MAY be finding their way to some corals mouth. Can't prove it but its just a theory of mine.

Glad it worked out for you man. :beer:

mallorieGgator

02/28/2011, 01:52 PM

You know, I could kind of see how maybe zoas could grow faster after fragging. For example, with orchids which I also have, you must simulate wild conditions to induce flowering. So, some plants must go through dryness or a stressful condition to flower. This flowering is sometimes a last ditch effort to reproduce. Possibly, it is also the same with zoas? Maybe in the wild, a colony will go through a hurricane or whatever and become accidentally fragged and reproduce quickly to insure survival? Just a thought.

Scopus Tang

02/28/2011, 02:27 PM

I'm going to explore this.

this is very possible. there are so many bulb combos out there that put out the same amount of par that day light bulbs do. i get great growth of some frags that are directly under 2 blue + bulbs and they dont get any light from my halide at all. i have also seen a few tanks that run nothing but blue HO T5 bulbs and they get very decent growth as well as great polyp extension.

on the other hand i dont thing this is possible with PC bulbs though... VHO's i also think is very possible. would need some testing done but i think growing zoas or any other corals under various blue and atinic bulbs is very possible. now wether that growth is better thehn daylight bulbs??? i think that in itself is a myth. i think they would grow the same, niether better then the other.

My very first colony of zoanthids was grown out at the top of a tank under two blue PC 65watt actinici bulbs, gotta call busted on that one. As Mooch said, colors were not that great, but they did indeed grow.

h20player101

03/04/2011, 03:02 PM

+1 to JAPANESE deepwater zoas

Unless you are prepared to pay a fine for breaking the law, you should probably hope they are not Japanese.

A. Grandis

03/04/2011, 05:29 PM

Here is my contribution to te topic:

IMO deep water zoas are not deep water at all. And not Japanese!

Please don't waste you time to try the actinic only for zoas. That's bad!
It will grow, yes, but the colony/polyp will loose it's ability to receive the regular PAR that we offer. You'll need lots of time and patience when you want to adapt it to the regular light again. I'm sure you won't keep the "actinic only" forever, right? If you do, you'll change the zoas' natural metabolism to adapt to that, and in a medium to long therm it will probably die, after grow for a while. The growth is like a fight back (response with the energy it has at the moment) to be able to survive. That's crazy stuff. Excuse my french!

The victamin C thing is another bad!!
I've tried and could see my system changing in less than a week!!
Tried again. Same thing! Good brand, bad concept.
Yes, algae, weird algae, by the way!!! Some coralline died also. BAD!

I noticed also the placement of different species of zoas close to each other to help multiplication of polyps. The show better colors too.

Grandis.

SnapDragon

03/04/2011, 06:02 PM

A. Grandis

When you are saying close to eachother, do you mean touching, 1" away or how close?

Thanks

organism

03/04/2011, 06:25 PM

IMO deep water zoas are not deep water at all. And not Japanese!

Exactly, they're from Vietnam, Indonesia, and some come in from the Solomon Islands. None of them are "deepwater".

Please don't waste you time to try the actinic only for zoas. That's bad!
It will grow, yes, but the colony/polyp will loose it's ability to receive the regular PAR that we offer. You'll need lots of time and patience when you want to adapt it to the regular light again

Actually that's a myth, there's some t5 actinic bulbs that have higher PAR than t5 daylight bulbs. I used to farm out zoanthids under 6 actinic bulbs, 1 pure actinic (purple), and 1 daylight bulb. Colors and growth were fantastic :)

A. Grandis

03/04/2011, 06:39 PM

A. Grandis

When you are saying close to eachother, do you mean touching, 1" away or how close?

Thanks

Both. I don't think it matters that much. They will know the other is placed close, even if not touching. Most of the time I place them close (about an inch a part), but they will touch soon.

Grandis.

A. Grandis

03/04/2011, 06:51 PM

Exactly, they're from Vietnam, Indonesia, and some come in from the Solomon Islands. None of them are "deepwater".

Actually that's a myth, there's some t5 actinic bulbs that have higher PAR than t5 daylight bulbs. I used to farm out zoanthids under 6 actinic bulbs, 1 pure actinic (purple), and 1 daylight bulb. Colors and growth were fantastic :)

I can do that with 3 Blue plus + 2 actinic + one 10.000K.
Colors are great.
We're talking about all actinic only, like actinic 03 and pure actinic.
If you try to bring them back to the daylight or similar you'll need to go slow.

Well, I gues it all depends on how many bulbs you're playing with also.
That's a fact.
Grandis.

organism

03/04/2011, 08:33 PM

I can do that with 3 Blue plus + 2 actinic + one 10.000K.
Colors are great.
We're talking about all actinic only, like actinic 03 and pure actinic.
If you try to bring them back to the daylight or similar you'll need to go slow.

Well, I gues it all depends on how many bulbs you're playing with also.
That's a fact.

I'm talking about actinic only, with one aquablue 14k. Actually I think at the end it was all actinic with one KZ fiji purple. It let me put the fixture a lot closer to the zoanthids, they'd color up and grow like crazy. Never had any issues acclimating to other lights since they were getting blasted with the equivalent of a 400w halide :)

SushiGirl

03/04/2011, 08:58 PM

I've seen several posts lately where someone asks what the difference is between zoas and palys. Inevitably someone says "palys have mouths and zoas don't."

XSharkboyX

03/05/2011, 01:35 PM

A. Grandis

03/05/2011, 09:46 PM

I'm talking about actinic only, with one aquablue 14k. Actually I think at the end it was all actinic with one KZ fiji purple. It let me put the fixture a lot closer to the zoanthids, they'd color up and grow like crazy. Never had any issues acclimating to other lights since they were getting blasted with the equivalent of a 400w halide :)

Well, I've used actinics and blue plus bulbs in the past and I didn't think I would need to be very careful if I added, say a daylight or a aquablue, for example.
I've lost some zoas in the past with that experience. They bleached hard in a 24hr period. I've lost an anemone also. I don't recommend the test of using of only actinics without slowly bringing back some white. Sorry, that's my experience.

They also grow much faster and healthier with the balanced bulbs (about 14K) than with mostly actinic types. That's my experience.
Aquablue bulbs are good! I like the 75/25 also.

Perhaps there is more to look for in order to determinate the growth fact (differences between our systems).

Grandis.

NyReefNoob

03/06/2011, 08:16 AM

zoa collector are more sensitive then sps keeper's ? myth or fact :)

organism

03/06/2011, 11:45 AM

I've lost some zoas in the past with that experience. They bleached hard in a 24hr period. I've lost an anemone also. I don't recommend the test of using of only actinics without slowly bringing back some white.

How long was your light cycle?

SIR PATRICK

03/07/2011, 12:18 AM

zoa collector are more sensitive then sps keeper's ? myth or fact :)

LOL!!! Good one!

Might need to make a poll for that one.....:spin1:

A. Grandis

03/07/2011, 01:00 AM

How long was your light cycle?

Normal. Didn't change the cycle, only bulbs. 10hrs.

organism

03/08/2011, 11:18 PM

Normal. Didn't change the cycle, only bulbs. 10hrs.

10 hours with all of the bulbs on?

Friday Night

03/09/2011, 11:38 AM

zoa collector are more sensitive then sps keeper's ? myth or fact :)

Now thats a thinker... :lol2:

XSharkboyX

03/09/2011, 12:51 PM

This may be a little bit too old, but.... Undergravel filters and crushed coral are the keys to success in keeping a thriving reef...

A. Grandis

09/06/2011, 07:38 PM

10 hours with all of the bulbs on?

Sorry for the late reply, organism!
No, 2 bulbs for 8 hours and 2 bulbs for 10 hours.
My current system has 4 bulbs for 8 hours and 2 bulbs for 10.

They love it!!

Grandis.

Gravesj1s

09/15/2011, 07:16 PM

I've seen several posts lately where someone asks what the difference is between zoas and palys. Inevitably someone says "palys have mouths and zoas don't."

Yes, there are alot of posts floating around where people mislabel zoas and palys alike.
My favorite ones are: "The skirts are longer, they are palys..." ~ "The polyps are the size of a dime, they are clearly palys..." ~ and "Only palys feed, zoas don't..."
:lolspin:

I agree.I know plenty of people that think they can distiquish zoanthids down to protopalythoa ,palythoa and zoanthus.I think to a degree...somewhat.The truth is its extremely difficult to do.Its a guess at best ,beyond that it would take something along the lines of DNA analysis to give any certainty.

Also , some zoas that have been studied show around 90% of their energy requirements can be met from photosynthesis alone,some far less ,60% or thereabouts., others anywhere inbetween and only 1 sp.of coral has ever been shown to be 100% autotrophic and it was a zoa.Thats the clear part.

Identifying down below the familly name "zoanthid" and how they meet the remaining energy requirement is ,in fact ,a guess.So is knowing weather they feed or what they feed on.