Zoa not spreading.

[Tangster]

so i have had these zoos for about 4 or 5 months, and they are growing very well. i got them as 3 small polyps on a rock and now they have grown to 18. they were bought at aquarium village from a small frag basket thing for 5 bucks. they are on a shard of rock, but won't grow off the rock onto another larger rock or surface where they can rapidly expand. any idea of how i should get them to extend off the rock?

i can't figure out how to upload photos sorry

 

[Tangster]

Here r some pictures of what I am talking about:

 

[lnevo]

Whats your parameters. I'm sure the algae all over that rock not helping. They also closed up...so lets see what your water quality looks like.

 

[Tangster]

The zoanthids are closed because i touched them when taking the picture. I also just scrubbed the rock.

Parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 10ppt
Nitrites 0
Ph 8.1

 

[Exotic Reef]

There are not spreading because the have not grown on that small rock itself to grow on the bigger rock give it time

 

[Rob&Gab]

give it some time dont worry they will Reach out onto that rock in no time. Also what type of lighting do you have? cause those are Radioactive dragon eyes. When they are under MH lights i put them very high up and they gro like weeds. But under LED's we keep them from the bottom of the tank to the middle/high. they grow pretty fast.


once they take off and get used to your tank they will cover that frag and rock with in about ide say 2more months youll have a full rock.

 

[Tangster]

well they have reached the point they are at now about 2 or 3 months ago, and haven't gone anywhere since. i have decent lighting, ecoxotic panorama marine LEDs. they are good for softies which are pretty much my favorite corals.
link- http://www.ecoxotic.com/panorama-marine-led-system.html

let me know if you think these are any good, and i would like to add supplemental lighting like par38s which are on their website. this would provide strong lighting for one given area where i could place corals with high lighting requirements. i am looking in the range of 100-150 dollars so please give me recommendations.

 

[Tangster]

okay i was looking on ebay and just found these lights. they are perfect for what i want, but will they supply enough par for corals with high lighting requirements like an anemone?

Link
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-LE...K-White-W-Clamp-Mount-Gooseneck-/281155672091

 

[Moneymaks24]

Would alk and calcium levels play a role in zoa not spreading? Whats your dkh cal and mag levels? Do u dose? Also phosphate levels? Looks like u got some since algae on rocks.

 

[Tangster]

i do not dose and cannot measure cal or mag levels. i don't think it would do anything, and i don't know the benefits. i will look into it though. thanks for the recommendation.

Anyone have any thoughts on the lighting?

 

[Rob&Gab]

Tao-Tronics its a Chines fixture my girl has hadd them for 2years and has had amazing growth and color. You would be surprised with it. What size tank do you have?

here is the link. there amazing lights for this price and well worth it.

this is the fixture we have right now Bought it for way more then this 2 years ago. But this is a great price and free shipping. They also keep in contact with you from time to time to make sure everything is okay with the lights.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0092LXQRM/?tag=reefs04-20

 

[Ledreef]

Dose magnesium. Zoanthid love the grow like weed fast you see in two weeks

 

[Moneymaks24]

It also depends on which zoa i think, i had blue hornets for over 6 months still not even 1 new head. Rasta zoas however grew 17 new heads in 2 months.

 

[Dimitrios91]

i do not dose and cannot measure cal or mag levels. i don't think it would do anything, and i don't know the benefits. i will look into it though. thanks for the recommendation.

Anyone have any thoughts on the lighting?

Lighting is a hit and miss with all the different types rolling out. They look okay but I don't care much for the clamp on style, one wrong move and hitting that could spell tank crack. Doing regular water changes will keep zoa's happy with good salt like Reef Crystals or better. Dosing really isn't a big thing until you start getting into the higher LPS and SPS category in my opinion. I had 0 issues with zoa's growing using regular stock T5 bulbs in an odyssea fixture. I have since upgraded due to the LPS and SPS of course. Look around the zoa's and make sure you don't have any nudibranches bothering them. They resemble snails without a shell, just my .02, hope it helps a bit

 

[Moneymaks24]

My zoas also dont spread as fast as i like them to. Magnesium is at 1125. I will bring that up to 1350 in 3 days see if that helps.

I also heard once if you place them together like a garden they will grow faster to "compete" for room. Not sure if thats true though.

 

[dacaptain78]

Don't dose anything you are not going to test for. Yes calcium, alkalinity and magnesium all play a role in coral growth. You should know where they stand if you have concerns about the growth or health of your corals. Considering that you have mostly/all zoas and softies your alk, cal, and mag should be kept at acceptable levels through water changes with a quality salt mix.

So if you have a frequent water change schedule you probably won't need to dose anything. That said, you can only know that if you test. If you don't want to buy the test kits see if you LFS will test your water for you.

 

[Moneymaks24]

Alk and Mag test kit is like$30 (seachem)
Calcium test kit is $10

$40 is a small price to pay for a piece of mind before spending hundreds on coral n fish.

If ur levels are low just get brs 2 part for $30 and problem solved.

 

[Ledreef]

the one came from 1 ply , 9 months old

 

[Ledreef]

fruit loops came from 1 ply 8 months old

 

[Moneymaks24]

What kind of light u have ledreef? How much par is hiting those Zoas?