12G Nano Reef Tank Journey - 100% Zoas Garden Tank :)

[Mr. Tay]

I am starting a new thread to continue from my previous thread of 12G Nano Reef Marine Tanks Journey @ (https://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/topic/178827-12g-nano-reef-marine-tanks-journey-starting-from-15-sept-2020-part-2/?page=3)

As I have decided to make the 12G Nano Reef Tank a 100% Zoas Garden Tank, I will focus on information sharing updates related to Zoas keeping  for this thread

Following are some of the photos which just taken of the Zoas Garden:

In my next post, I will share on more info why I have decided on making the 12G Nano Tank as a 100% Zoas Garden.

I welcome anyone who is interested to Trade those Zoas that I am keeping by contacting me via PM

[Mr. Tay]

Two more photos:

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Mr. Tay

[Dylan.alyd]

Very colourful Zoas!!! 

[Mr. Tay]

13 hours ago, Dylan.alyd said:

Very colourful Zoas!!! 

Thanks  

Still lots to learn about keeping Zoas.

[Mr. Tay]

Following are my thought process in terms of making a decision in keeping a pure 100% Zoas Garden Nano Reef Tank :

1. Key consideration is due to the limited space for a 12G Display Tank
2. Another decision is just to keep LPS Coral
3. LPS which small in size
4. LPS which has many variations in terms of colors and selections
5. LPS does not move around the tank
6. LPS which is easy to keep as this is my 1st Reef Tank

Based on the above considerations, I have decided on a 100% Zoas Garden Tank  

To my understanding, Zoas also has different level of skill in terms of keeping and will allow me to learn and progress for my journey in Zoas Keeping  

Edited October 22, 2021 by Mr. Tay

[alexcyf]

Following are my thought process in terms of making a decision in keeping a pure 100% Zoas Garden Nano Reef Tank :

1. Key consideration is due to the limited space for a 12G Display Tank
2. Another decision is just to keep LPS Coral
3. LPS which small in size
4. LPS which has many variations in terms of colors and selections
5. LPS does not move around the tank
6. LPS which is easy to keep as this is my 1st Reef Tank
Based on the above considerations, I have decided on a 100% Zoas Garden Tank  
To my understanding, Zoas also has different level of skill in terms of keeping and will allow me to learn and progress for my journey in Zoas Keeping  

Love Zoas too!

Anyway, you meant Soft corals instead of LPS?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mr. Tay]

48 minutes ago, alexcyf said:

Love Zoas too!

Anyway, you meant Soft corals instead of LPS?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for pointing out.

Yes, should be Soft Coral instead of LPS.

I am open to exchange my Zoas with other Reefers’ Zoas, so that as a community, we all have good collections of Zoas in our Reef Tank

[Harlequinmania]

Zoas are easy to keep, and they does well in nutrient rich water.. but just becareful of zoa pest like nudibranch if you buy those wild colony.

Looking forward to more photos

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[Steveyee]

Nice colourful zoas


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[Mr. Tay]

To my limited knowledge of Zoas keeping, just to share the following observations:

1. Zoas is sensitive to the following factors which affect their color and growth:
    > Lighting Intensity
    > Water Parameters    
     > Water Flow

2. As such, following could happen when a Zoas is transfer from one tank to another:
     > The Zoas might not display the same color 
     > The Zoas might need some time to acclimate to the new lighting and water in a new tank
     > The Zoas might need some time after settling in the new tank before growing of new Polyps 
    > Worst thing to happen is the Zoas might not be able to survey in a new tank, which is quite unlikely but possible.

3. When a Zoas is doing well in a location in the tank, try not to relocate to another location.

4. When a Zoas is not doing well in a location in the tank, can try to relocate to a new location within the tank which the Zoas might do better in a new location.

5. Size of individual Polyps is very much related to the lighting intensity. As such, same type of Zoas can have smaller in size under high lighting intensity. 

6. Feeding Zoas will help to keep them stay healthy and help on their growth. But, over feeding can impact on the water parameters. Just need to observe and keep a balance.

Enjoy Zoas keeping

Next posting I will touch on Zoas fragging as I will be doing some flagging in the next two / three weeks. 

I hope to have a few frags to exchange / trade on other Zoas that I am looking for / I am not having currently.

[Mr. Tay]

As I have just fragged a Zoas colony, I would like to share on the following information after going through various videos and forum posts on notes when fragging Zoas.

1. Zoas might contain Toxic (Palytoxin) when it is Palythoa species. As such, advise are given that do take some precautionary measure when handling Zoas especially when fragging Zoas.

2. Best is to wear protection gears to minimise exposure to risk in handling Zoas. It is not advisable to handle Zoas without any protection or when you have cutting on your skin.

3. Attached are some of the protection gears that I am using when fragging Zoas just to be on the safe side.

4. I try to submerge the Zoas in water as much as possible during the fragging process. 

I find the following document is a good reference in terms of potential risk of Palytoxin Poisoning :

https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/healthy+living/protecting+your+health/your+home/palytoxin+poisoning+marine+aquarium+safety 

Feel free to PM me if you have any nice / brighter color Zoas to swap  

Do stay safe and enjoy Zoas Keeping

[Mr. Tay]

I would like to share the following info which I have learned during the fragging process:

1. Cut the frag disc rather than cut the base of the polyps. This will minimise any damages to the polyps. And polyps will recover from the fragging process in no time  

2.  Try to use those frag disc or frag plug which can be cut easily to house your Zoas. This will cut down the time and effort required during the fragging process in future. 

3. Certainly having the right tool will make it easier for the fragging process.

Feel free to PM me if you have any Zoas which you are looking to swap / trade with.

I will share my experience when doing frag swap / trade with fellow reefers in my next post.

Do stay safe and enjoy Zoas Keeping 

[puffer_jame]

good sharing

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[Mr. Tay]

Just wanting to share on my personal feeling in this journey of reefing - Zoas keeping:

1. It is a sense of satisfaction and motivated when seeing the Zoas are growing well. 
2. At times feel like giving up as not able to find enough time to carry out the necessary maintenance / upgrade works.
3. Constantly looking and thinking of making slight improvements aiming to achieve a better outcomes / results.
4. Spending lots of time searching for relevant information as well as watching relevant videos in learning and gaining more knowledge for the hobby.
5. Daring to try something different from the norm in order to establish own way(s) of reefing.
6. Enjoying to share / exchange of information on Zoas Keeping. 
7. Happy to meet other reefers to trade / swap Zoas to expand the collections.

Have a wonderful and enjoyable weekend and do enjoy Zoas Keeping  

 

[Mr. Tay]

Like to share on my personal experience / opinion in my two Zoas swap / trade activities with fellow reefers :

1. Enjoy the process. Do not get into any feeling / thinking about whether it is fair / unfair in terms of values of the swap / trade activity.

2. Take it as an opportunities in meeting and knowing fellow reefers who are having the same interest in Zoas keeping

3. Be open minded to find out what is / are available from other fellow reefers has / have to swap / trade and also listen to suggestion / proposal on the swap / trade arrangement. Such as the type and # of Polyps to swap / trade, counter propose if needed and hopefully can establish a common understanding and agreement.

4. Give time and let the frag to be stabilised before the physical swap / trade takes place.

5.  The swapped / traded Zoas from another reefer will need time to stabilise and acclimatise to your tank lighting and water condition(s).
Do note that for whatever reason, the swapped / traded Zoas might not be able to make it (survive) in your tank in a worst case.

6. Through the swap / trade activity, it allows both parties to expand on the Zoas collections.

Hopes the above information is useful.

Feel free to PM me if you are keen to conduct any swap / trade activities  

Will post some updated photos of my collections in my next post.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Mr. Tay

[Mr. Tay]

Finally, I have managed to find time to take photos of Zoas that I have swapped with fellow reefers

I really appreciate for fellow reefers who are willing to swap with me !

Unfortunately not all Zoas are surveyed in my tank. But, I am already very happy with the progress of those Zoas that are able to do well in my tank.

[Mr. Tay]

Just sharing photos of my 100% Zoas Garden Tank for the New Year 2022 !

Wishing all Reefers a Happy New Year and a better year in 2022 ahead

[Mr. Tay]

Just an update on my upgrade of the “sump” (perhaps should call it as Tank Extension, which effectively I am having a 24G setup with 12G for Display and 12G for additional water capacity and more filter media) as per the attached photos.

before upgrade:
I was using two round 6g circular tanks.

after upgrade:
I am now using a 12g tank with threes compartments 

Objectives for the upgrade:
1. nicer and better visual effect
2. eliminate risk of water overflow from the circular tanks in the old setup

Attached are photos of the setup before and after the upgrade.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Mr. Tay

[Mr. Tay]

Just to share on the # of Zoas Identification (easily more than 600) from the following link, which is one of the key decision factors that I have decided to keep a 100% Zoas ONLY tank

https://shop.zoanthids.com/collections/identification-gallery 

One of the key learning points that I have learned over the past 9 months of Zoas keeping and collections is to identify which ID of Zoas to keep and grow them in order to share with fellow Zoas reefers.

I really enjoy Zoas keeping a lot !

 

[Mr. Tay]

Lately I was having Chaeto growing / blooming in my Display Tank (on the rocks and frag plugs) as I was not careful enough by having Chaeto gets into my Display tank.

As a result, I have to spend a good 4-6 hours to remove all my rocks and change to new Frag plugs (for some of the Zoas). Fortunately all my Zoas are on Frag plugs from the very beginning when I started which helps to minimise the casualty of Zoas.

I have also taken this opportunity to change the Display Tank to a 100% Frag Tank with Frag Racks (refer to the attached photo)

With the incident, I am now stop my feeding routine for the Zoas and hope that I am able to eliminate any remaining / balance Chaeto in the tank.

[Mr. Tay]

Due to other commitments, I need to decom my 100% Zoas nano tank and stop the reef hobby with a heavy heart  

Closing the chapter of my reef hobby.

Wishing all the best and enjoy reef keeping for all the reefers !

[equiox]

Thats very fast reaction. What led to the decomm? 

[Mr. Tay]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:56 AM, equiox said:

Thats very fast reaction. What led to the decomm? 

Due to old age and other commitments

[FrankMCG]

On 1/1/2022 at 4:10 PM, Mr. Tay said:

Just sharing photos of my 100% Zoas Garden Tank for the New Year 2022 !

Wishing all Reefers a Happy New Year and a better year in 2022 ahead

Hi, how colorful! What a great job you did! I'm wondering, what volume of tank should be to place these reefs?

All the best and thank you! 

[FrankMCG]

3 hours ago, FrankMCG said:

Hi, how colorful! What a great job you did! I'm wondering, what volume of tank should be to place these reefs?

All the best and thank you! 

Sorry for the update, I mean that is it suitable for basic 20 gallons tank like mine?