Fast-growing zoas? (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

What are the fastest growing zoas you have ever seen, and how fast did they spread?

I'm in the planning stages of removing my DSB and going with a bare bottom tank. Instead of using starboard I would like to grow something over the bottom, and I think zoas would look the coolest, but I haven't had any that grow that quickly. I could sure cover it with anthellia quick, but I don't think that would look as good.

I also thought about GSP's, but that would look too weird I think.

 

[rxonco]

Just interested, why are you getting rid of your sand bed?

 

[Guest]

The more I read about it, the more I believe the people who say DSBs are nutrient sinks that will fill up and start releasing nutrients after a couple of years.

Plus, I can't get enough flow to the bottom of my tank without blowing the sand around, and because of that I've been having problems with cyano and other crud on the sandbed.

Plus, I don't like the look - it takes up the bottom 20% of my tank.

I may go with a very shallow bed of coarser grained sand, but I am leaning towards bare-bottom, especially if I can eventually cover it with something nice.

 

[rxonco]

I'm sure you'll keep us posted on your results. A bottom covered in zoas sounds pretty cool to me.

 

[Cakepro]

They'll trap detritus though. You'll need to vacuum your zoa bed. When I blow the turkey baster over my zoanthid colonies I'm always amazed at how much crap settles in them.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I'll keep you posted. It's still in the early planning stages now, and figuring out exactly what I want to do for a substrate is one of the steps.

To remove the DSB requires basically dismantling the tank and is a weekend-long project, and while I'm at it, I am probably going to replace the tank itself with an acrylic tank of the same dimensions. So, there is a lot of planning to do - hopefully I'll be ready to do this in a month or two, depending on how soon I come across a good deal on a used acrylic 75g.

 

[Niko5]

I think zoa's would take to long to cover it....

 

[Guest]

I think zoa's would take to long to cover it....

That's what I'm afraid of. I'm not as worried about detritus, because with no sandbed, I'll aim some flow right at the bottom to keep anything from settling. Then again, if the flow is too strong, it might irritate the zoas and keep them from opening. So maybe starboard is the answer.

 

[Guest]

Mike

With only a few more things to do, to fine tune your tank.
This sure does seem like a pretty big one. LOL
Good Luck!!

Robert

 

[Guest]

Mike

With only a few more things to do, to fine tune your tank.
This sure does seem like a pretty big one. LOL
Good Luck!!

Robert

Yeah, yeah - are we ever REALLY done tweaking our tanks?

Now I'm just waiting for Tom to comment on how I've replaced every piece of equipment, including the tank.

 

[Guest]

Have you checked into the price to do starboard in a 75g
Where do you purchase this stuff HD?

 

[ScubaMedic]

http://www.cuttingboardcompany.com/custom.asp

http://www.kingstarboard.com/

 

[Guest]

I have some Midnight blue w/ brown skirts, electric green w/ brown skirts, and some grey pinstriped zoas that I would consider very fast growers for zoanthids. I think with a little patience it would look awesome.

 

[Niko5]

mrlimpet, are you offering up frags? If mikester wouldent be interested in the Midnite Blue i would like those...

 

[Guest]

hehe-I have some, but honestly, my wife is due in 3 weeks, so between taking care of her and my 2yr old twin boys, I haven't had time for my hobby.

 

[Guest]

how fast does an avg set of zoas grow?

 

[Guest]

IMO. A polyp or two a week is pretty fast. A polyp every two weeks is moderate, one polyp every 3-4 weeks is slow.

 

[Guest]

they need flow to increase growth right?

 

[Guest]

Flow and good lighting helps, but some are just slow growers. they will change colors under different lighting- you'll get better colors with strong lighting.

 

[cparka23]

Sorry if this is a newbie question, but.... did I miss something with those cutting boards? I'm interested in knowing what application they have in a tank. Thanks in advance.