Where in the tank should I put a Zoa, if I were to purchase one?
--Dan
Thats a tough one as there are many varibles involved that will affect coral placement in the tank. Things such as lighting, water flow are probably the two biggest things to consider.
In my experience these corals like moderate current but not as much as a SPS coral would demand. Lighting...can be kinda iffy. I have found that once acclimated do very well under halides, suprisingly so for a soft coral! While Halides are not required I would recommend strong VHO/PC or T-5's at least. With the Non-halides lights I would try to keep them with in about 14 inches of the light source. In a tank with halides I would suggest somewhere on the bottom half of the tank if you have a typical 55 or 75 gallon tank. More than likely the LFS you get them from will be running PC or VHO and if your running halides you will need to slowly acclimate them even if at the bottom of the tank to keep from "nuking" them.
I have a Propagation tank with various Zoanthids growing and I have them under 2 x 110 watt VHO (1 x 10k day light and 1 x actinic) and a 2 x 36 watt Blue Moon T-8's. This is working well on a 12 inch deep tank with the lights 1 inch off the surface. I would rather run a 150 DE Halide with Blue Moons providing actinic lighting (Halides should be at least 6 inches above the water to prevent breakage of hot glass coming in contact with water or prevent excessive localized heat build up). Understand of course that this is strictly my opinion based upon experiences I have had, others here I am sure have done just fine with other lighting set ups or combinations of lighting.
But one last note of caution (for the newbies if you already know...) Zoanthids secrete a slim when harrassed and it contains a very powerful neuro toxins that can kill you. Most ER's will not have the faintest idea of this problem and will dismiss it off as another OD or something else. There is no known reagent that I am aware of! Wear rubber surgical gloves when handling these corals and thoroughly wash your hands when you are finished handling them!
BTW...Great coral choice for almost any reef tank!!!