Zoa garden....without Vitamin C

arctictwist · 12/10/2008, 01:36 AM

so i was reading through the Vitamin C thread. I noticed alot of ppl saying how they couldnt keep Zoas alive for a long time until they used VC. I was wondering what the reason for suddenly starting to lose Zoas would be and if its possible to keep them long term without? I had one colony in my tank that i just tore down and it spread like crazy. I didnt dose. I will be gettin a new tank in the near future and would like a portion of it to be a zoa garden. I would like to dose as little as possible so i was wondering if its possible to keep them without dosing?

650-IS350 · 12/10/2008, 07:29 AM

I had a thriving zoa garden before and didn't dose to the amount folks in the vitaC thread do.

I only dosed vitaC as addition to the fish food and selcon/zoe.

DOTZ · 12/10/2008, 07:33 AM

I have had zoas for two years and they're still doing great. I do plan to try the C though. I just have to finish reading the thread tomake sure I'm not missing anything. The reason I plan to try it is to get better growth and everyone has reported they plump up too.

jprince58 · 12/10/2008, 08:39 AM

My zoas are thriving without having added a single drop or grain of Vitamin C. That's not to say it wouldn't be good for them, but just that my experience is that I don't need to add it to achieve success.

650-IS350 · 12/10/2008, 08:43 AM

My opinion is that as long as you keep up with water changes and keep all Tank parameters up to specs.... ALL corals should do well. Be it having good lighting and good flow to boot.

Pufferpunk · 12/10/2008, 08:51 AM

There are many folk's tanks where zoas grow like weeds & no VC is necessary. The reason for my starting to dose it in the 1st place is... I'm not one of those folks! For some reason totally unbeknownst to me, I just can't keep zoas alive for long in my tanks. This has always been the case, as I started keeping them in a totally dofferent tank & they'd melt in there too. Sometimes they'd grow into nice colonies & then for no reason they'd melt away with colonies right next to them that were fine. Then a month or so later another colony would vanish. Eventually I'd find myself replacing them over & over. It was recommended to dip--I tried them all. Also, many of my colonies are growing directly on the rockwork, so no chance of dipping--it did nothing for them anyway. The only solution I found to this was the vitamin C. Suddenly, they stopped melting & grew. There were zoas popping up where there was empty rock. Polyps not melting (yet), were growing larger & seemed more colorful & were more polupated. To my surprise, my LPS, SPS & softies were larger &b more colorful too & my nitrate dropped to 0 (it was usuallly hovering ~ 5)! I dose it in my other non-zoa tanks, just to keep the nitrate in check. I now feel confident to buy some of the more expensive colors that I like, without feeling like I'm throwing my $$$ away. I will never stop dosing VC--it it such a little cost for what it does for my entire tank.

jprince58 · 12/10/2008, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 650-IS350
My opinion is that as long as you keep up with water changes and keep all Tank parameters up to specs.... ALL corals should do well. Be it having good lighting and good flow to boot.

I completely agree with Charles on this. Of course, there's a complete sub-culture lurking (ok...so they're actually pretty vocal) that insist they have perfect systems and have never changed a drop of water. That's another argument for another day and forum. I'll add that I'm not against using Vitamin C and may even look into it deeper at some point in the future. Using garlic additives was a new concept for me, once upon a time, that eventually won me over. As with our forum friend MUCHO, I am however, a little leery of adding something for which I cannot accurately test.

650-IS350 · 12/10/2008, 09:06 AM

I'm with Prince as well. I still lurk on the VitaC thread ( here and there ) and just watch for now. Currently there's not enough time out there to see how VitaC really affects polyps and what over all long time effects it has in the reef system, especially with the amounts being dosed. There are no studies to see what benifits and downfalls it has against SPS/LPS/Polyps, Inverts and especially what they over all effects it has to the reef chemistry/System.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for folks to find better ways to keep our polyps thriving and showing better colors. If folks are having sucess with it right now ( I'm all for it ). I'm not ready to join the band wagon as of yet, due to issues' that I've had previously with my tanks and losing a$$$$$$$ of corals when I tore down my 100gal.

Pufferpunk · 12/10/2008, 09:08 AM

So far I've been dosing for over a year at fairly high doses (23ppm) with no adverse affects--only good results!

650-IS350 · 12/10/2008, 09:10 AM

Puff. the tank looks sweet. I wish I could get mine back to glory days again.

I just finished moving my 37cube and finally had fish in there with only 3 chalices for now.

I lost 60 % of my corals to a spike in my system while tearing it down the 100 gal. Wiped out more than 50% of my Tyree and Limited Edition SPS's. Also lost 40% or more of my polyps as well, one of those hard to get types and some I have never seen around polyps too.

Pufferpunk · 12/10/2008, 09:18 AM

That's so sad...

I can guarantee you, VC won't wipe out your tank--only enhance it.

arctictwist · 12/10/2008, 10:04 PM

Wow. Alot replies. Well good to know its not definately necessary. Not to say i would be against it. If i ran into problems i would def be open to trying it. Thanks for all the input guys!

PBFinest · 12/11/2008, 09:24 PM

wow looks amazing

12/10/2008, 01:36 AM	#1
arctictwist Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CT Posts: 808	Zoa garden....without Vitamin C so i was reading through the Vitamin C thread. I noticed alot of ppl saying how they couldnt keep Zoas alive for a long time until they used VC. I was wondering what the reason for suddenly starting to lose Zoas would be and if its possible to keep them long term without? I had one colony in my tank that i just tore down and it spread like crazy. I didnt dose. I will be gettin a new tank in the near future and would like a portion of it to be a zoa garden. I would like to dose as little as possible so i was wondering if its possible to keep them without dosing?

12/10/2008, 07:29 AM	#2
650-IS350 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, Bay Area Posts: 13,293	I had a thriving zoa garden before and didn't dose to the amount folks in the vitaC thread do. I only dosed vitaC as addition to the fish food and selcon/zoe. __________________ Charles , AKA " DELSOL650 "

12/10/2008, 08:39 AM	#4
jprince58 Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Jenks, OK, USA Posts: 744	My zoas are thriving without having added a single drop or grain of Vitamin C. That's not to say it wouldn't be good for them, but just that my experience is that I don't need to add it to achieve success. __________________ 'I refuse to discount another man's opinion -- until he opens his mouth to speak.' -- Anonymous Jeff Prince Current Tank Info: 72g bow mixed reef; 40g frag

12/10/2008, 08:43 AM	#5
650-IS350 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, Bay Area Posts: 13,293	My opinion is that as long as you keep up with water changes and keep all Tank parameters up to specs.... ALL corals should do well. Be it having good lighting and good flow to boot. __________________ Charles , AKA " DELSOL650 "

12/10/2008, 09:06 AM	#8
650-IS350 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, Bay Area Posts: 13,293	I'm with Prince as well. I still lurk on the VitaC thread ( here and there ) and just watch for now. Currently there's not enough time out there to see how VitaC really affects polyps and what over all long time effects it has in the reef system, especially with the amounts being dosed. There are no studies to see what benifits and downfalls it has against SPS/LPS/Polyps, Inverts and especially what they over all effects it has to the reef chemistry/System. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for folks to find better ways to keep our polyps thriving and showing better colors. If folks are having sucess with it right now ( I'm all for it ). I'm not ready to join the band wagon as of yet, due to issues' that I've had previously with my tanks and losing a$$$$$$$ of corals when I tore down my 100gal. __________________ Charles , AKA " DELSOL650 "

12/10/2008, 07:33 AM	#3
DOTZ Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Benton, Il Posts: 1,768	I have had zoas for two years and they're still doing great. I do plan to try the C though. I just have to finish reading the thread tomake sure I'm not missing anything. The reason I plan to try it is to get better growth and everyone has reported they plump up too.

12/10/2008, 08:51 AM	#6
Pufferpunk Moved On Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Franklin Park, IL Posts: 21,050	There are many folk's tanks where zoas grow like weeds & no VC is necessary. The reason for my starting to dose it in the 1st place is... I'm not one of those folks! For some reason totally unbeknownst to me, I just can't keep zoas alive for long in my tanks. This has always been the case, as I started keeping them in a totally dofferent tank & they'd melt in there too. Sometimes they'd grow into nice colonies & then for no reason they'd melt away with colonies right next to them that were fine. Then a month or so later another colony would vanish. Eventually I'd find myself replacing them over & over. It was recommended to dip--I tried them all. Also, many of my colonies are growing directly on the rockwork, so no chance of dipping--it did nothing for them anyway. The only solution I found to this was the vitamin C. Suddenly, they stopped melting & grew. There were zoas popping up where there was empty rock. Polyps not melting (yet), were growing larger & seemed more colorful & were more polupated. To my surprise, my LPS, SPS & softies were larger &b more colorful too & my nitrate dropped to 0 (it was usuallly hovering ~ 5)! I dose it in my other non-zoa tanks, just to keep the nitrate in check. I now feel confident to buy some of the more expensive colors that I like, without feeling like I'm throwing my $$$ away. I will never stop dosing VC--it it such a little cost for what it does for my entire tank.

12/10/2008, 09:08 AM	#9
Pufferpunk Moved On Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Franklin Park, IL Posts: 21,050	So far I've been dosing for over a year at fairly high doses (23ppm) with no adverse affects--only good results!

12/10/2008, 09:10 AM	#10
650-IS350 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Brisbane, Bay Area Posts: 13,293	Puff. the tank looks sweet. I wish I could get mine back to glory days again. I just finished moving my 37cube and finally had fish in there with only 3 chalices for now. I lost 60 % of my corals to a spike in my system while tearing it down the 100 gal. Wiped out more than 50% of my Tyree and Limited Edition SPS's. Also lost 40% or more of my polyps as well, one of those hard to get types and some I have never seen around polyps too. __________________ Charles , AKA " DELSOL650 "

12/10/2008, 09:18 AM	#11
Pufferpunk Moved On Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Franklin Park, IL Posts: 21,050	That's so sad... I can guarantee you, VC won't wipe out your tank--only enhance it.

12/10/2008, 10:04 PM	#12
arctictwist Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: CT Posts: 808	Wow. Alot replies. Well good to know its not definately necessary. Not to say i would be against it. If i ran into problems i would def be open to trying it. Thanks for all the input guys!

12/11/2008, 09:24 PM	#13
PBFinest Moved On Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 46	wow looks amazing