Leathers, zoas and sps, oh my... (who does it?)

[FlamesFan]

I have no leathers, but do have a mix of everything else including many SPS. The SPS have great extention.

I currently dose:

Twopart cal/alk/map
ZEObak
ZEOfood
ZEOstart2
Phol's Xtra
ZEO K-Balance
ZEOspur2
ZEOvit Amino Acid Concentrate

I do not run the Zeovit reactor atm. Other than the twopart which i've dosed from the start of my reef, I've dosed Phol's Xtra for a few months and the rest is a recent addition which i've noticed good results. Phol's Xtra and ZEOspur2 are pretty much "must dose" IMHO even if you aren't dosing the whole package.

[reeferious]

i must be quite a few steps behind everybody here who absolutely give their best to maintain their tanks in tiptop shape. for me i only keep my alk, cal, mag within reasonable range and keeping nitrate, phosphate barely detectable. polyp expansions happen hugely after light off while barely peeping out when light on. i don't overskim my tanks as i run a pipsqueak coralife 125 while keeping massive amount of macroalgae blooming. most of my corals don't show massive growth spurt but they aren't dying either. since my intention of keepling reef tank is solely for enjoyment i'm absolutely happy to keep things as simple as can be.

[Whatigot]

Originally Posted by FlamesFan

I have no leathers, but do have a mix of everything else including many SPS. The SPS have great extention.

I currently dose:

Twopart cal/alk/map
ZEObak
ZEOfood
ZEOstart2
Phol's Xtra
ZEO K-Balance
ZEOspur2
ZEOvit Amino Acid Concentrate

I do not run the Zeovit reactor atm. Other than the twopart which i've dosed from the start of my reef, I've dosed Phol's Xtra for a few months and the rest is a recent addition which i've noticed good results. Phol's Xtra and ZEOspur2 are pretty much "must dose" IMHO even if you aren't dosing the whole package.

uh, thanks?
while I do appreciate your input, I am afraid it's not really relevant since were looking for experiences with sps AND leathers...lol
I am sure your regiment is great, but as title of thread states, looking for input in keeping leather, zoas and sps TOGETHER, as in in the same tank.

[brutus187]

I just pulled 2 huge leathers out of my tank yesterday. I've had VERY slow SPS growth (if any at all!) with the leathers (which grew no matter what I did to them) so I can't wait to see if there is any change.... time will tell i guess

[Whatigot]

what do you have for lighting and supplements?
what salt do you use brutus?

[brutus187]

I have 2 150w 14k phoenix bulbs and use instant ocean salt (i think i would have to double check)

[wickedfrags]

I maintain all three in my display. Do not run carbon. No issues.

[Whatigot]

well well wicked.
I think your display says it all...

What do you supplement?
what salt?

Brutus, I used to have 2x150MH and used I/O...
My growth was super slow...
Switching to Kent Tropic Marine made a HUGE difference and then bumping up to 250 de made even more of a diff...

If you use I/O salt, I think you need to add magnesium...

[BlueAbyss]

Originally Posted by Whatigot

So you think that between my non zeo tank and your zeo tank that we can realistically compare results of our methods?

I'm not educated enough in zeo to know.
just want to make sure any advice I consider is of course applicable to me.

Zeo is, in many ways, similar to other denitrifiers. They all do the same thing ie: remove nitrogen-based nutrients from the water, though Zeo is a system of removing nutrients and then adding different ones back in. So, you could potentially use a different method of removing nitrates (deep sand bed, algae filter, etc.) with the additives from the Zeo line and get some of the benefit of Zeo...

Sorry this isn't the discussion here I don't think there would be any difference between the two if you tried to compare keeping leathers, SPS, and zoas in tanks with or without Zeo. Either way, you have a low nutrient environment which is good for all saltwater creatures... and I would just run some carbon to be safe, and go ahead and put them together! I'm sure they live together in the wild.

And I'll probably be trying this at some point also, if I can find some nice leathers that are colorful and don't get too big for a 20 gallon. I saw something called a green finger leather somewhere that didn't look too big in the pic