RockStacker
Reefing newb
I doubt it is a flow issue.
I have zoas and palys right in the path of a Koralia Evolution 1050 and they like it.
I also have several zoas in areas with not so strong water blast and they fare just as well.
Zoanthids being a big PIA!
- Thread starter beeguiles
- Start date
I doubt it is a flow issue.
I have zoas and palys right in the path of a Koralia Evolution 1050 and they like it.
I also have several zoas in areas with not so strong water blast and they fare just as well.
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Not really any improvement with the zoas so far. Here's what happening exactally.
All other corals in the tank are fine and happy. These corals are duncans, green monti, green Birdsnest, chalice, candy canes and Gsp. So I doubt it's a lighting issue. So I can move on from the lighting idea.
I looked at the sand I bought and it's coated in polymer for the black color and the sand is silica. There are varying opinions on whether the silica will release into the tank over time but even if it's not I guess sometimes there are heavy metals in dark colored sand that can leach into the water. So I'm slowly taking sand out with each water change and I'm going to replace it with aragonite sand.
It's not a flow issue either. I have plenty of flow that is distributed well. Also is not a pest issue. No zoa pod, no spiders, no melting, no nudis.
I'm also bumping up the tank temp to 79 degree from 77 that it's currently at.
That's where I'm at so far..
All other corals in the tank are fine and happy. These corals are duncans, green monti, green Birdsnest, chalice, candy canes and Gsp. So I doubt it's a lighting issue. So I can move on from the lighting idea.
I looked at the sand I bought and it's coated in polymer for the black color and the sand is silica. There are varying opinions on whether the silica will release into the tank over time but even if it's not I guess sometimes there are heavy metals in dark colored sand that can leach into the water. So I'm slowly taking sand out with each water change and I'm going to replace it with aragonite sand.
It's not a flow issue either. I have plenty of flow that is distributed well. Also is not a pest issue. No zoa pod, no spiders, no melting, no nudis.
I'm also bumping up the tank temp to 79 degree from 77 that it's currently at.
That's where I'm at so far..
Amba
Ol' Salty
How many frags is this affecting?
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Hmm let's see.. I think 5 frags. My goblins fire don't open at all or very seldom. My 1 polyp frag is closed most of the time or doesn't fully open. My lord of the rings are funny looking. Not opened like normal. My cherry bombs are open but not as full as they used to be. Fire and ice are having a hard time opening. My magician palys are happy as can be and also my yellow polyps are happy. Oh tubbs blues are starting to open but they are having trouble too.
Amba
Ol' Salty
These are all in the same tank?
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
Brittany, are you testing your alk, calc, mag in your 10g at all? I've been having some recent trouble with zoas in my 90g and have narrowed it down to being related to my alk dropping. You've got several hard corals in your 10g and my guess is that your tank has reached a maturity level where your hard corals are depleting the alk in the tank. I don't know for sure, but it might be worth testing if you aren't already.
Another thought that just occured to me - did you get a new bucket of salt any time in the last few weeks? If so, it could be the salt mix, maybe the levels are a little different than the last batch?
Another thought that just occured to me - did you get a new bucket of salt any time in the last few weeks? If so, it could be the salt mix, maybe the levels are a little different than the last batch?
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Yes all in the same tank. No I haven't tested alk, calc and mag but can do that, I have the test kit. Yes I have gotten a new bucket of salt recently... Didn't think about that. Maybe I should roll it around a bit to make sure it's evenly distributed. You're right about the hard corals.. The monti is growing pretty fast and is most likely suckin up a lot of calc and alk.. Thanks for the helpful advice! I did remove a portion of sand tonight. Even if it's not the sand causing trouble it was too deep for me. Only about an inch thick now vs 2.5in. Tank parameters should be good since I been doing water changes up to wahzoo lately. I've done three 50% water changes in the past week in a half to get rid of sand and detritus.
Amba
Ol' Salty
What salt mix do you use?
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Reef crystals
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
One other thought is that your tank water might just be too clean for them if you're doing 50% water changes at a time. Maybe try backing it down to 20% at a time?
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Unusually do one water change a week of 2 gallons. But since I'm trying to get th sand out it takes more water out and that means bigger water changes. I'm gonna try to siphon the sand out with just the skinner part of the gravel vac so I don't take so much water out. I'm going to have my phosphates tested today and see how that looks.
LoveJC03
Reef Enthusiast
Our one group of zoas are doing the same thing! A couple are closed, a couple look bubbled out (middle is bulged out and tips are under) and the rest are open. I noticed some of them were expelling waste.. but they still look like that. Ours have been like this for probably a week or longer. We swapped tanks from 55 to 90 in August.. so this one has been up and running since 8/7/12. We always use RO/DI water, params are good, T5HO bulbs & not too much flow. We use Reef Crystals, do 10gal water changes weekly & test weekly. Every other coral looks fine.. except GSP, they closed for a while and get about 75-80% open daily.
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
I tested calcium, alk and mag last night.
Calcium was 360
Alk was above 14
Mag 840
So cal and mag are low and alk is really high. Which is strange bc I did a water change yesterday. I asked my lfs guy and he said he has been hearing that the recent buckets of reef crystals have high alk.
I'm still in the process of siphoning out the sand. Also went to get my phosphates tested. My lfs Hanna checker needed a new battery so we didn't get the exact results but I did show a small amount of phosphates. I will have the exact number tomorrow hopefully.
Calcium was 360
Alk was above 14
Mag 840
So cal and mag are low and alk is really high. Which is strange bc I did a water change yesterday. I asked my lfs guy and he said he has been hearing that the recent buckets of reef crystals have high alk.
I'm still in the process of siphoning out the sand. Also went to get my phosphates tested. My lfs Hanna checker needed a new battery so we didn't get the exact results but I did show a small amount of phosphates. I will have the exact number tomorrow hopefully.
marcah
Reef enthusiast
I ran into a same problem with my zoas in the main tank.. The paly's and all the SPS were doing great but zoas slowly withered away.. I moved them into the seahorse tank and boom within a few weeks all were thriving and growing nicely.. if I had to guess I would say nutrients also... I tried moving some back to the main and within weeks they started withering again.. Just a thought..
Good Luck..
Good Luck..
LoveJC03
Reef Enthusiast
Our calcium is 400 & alkalinity is 9.. We're gonna wait it out and see if they go back to normal I guess :)
FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
Have you had any luck getting your levels in better balance? Has it made a difference at all for your zoas? In my own tank I've really begun to see a pretty predictable reaction to alk shifts from my zoas. The minute my alk drops below 2.5meq/l, my zoas close. I know yours is on the high side, but I'm thinking it has might still have something to do with it
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Honestly. Idk what my levels are right now. I haven't tested again to see if they are lower or the same as before. Right now I'm focusing on getting my black sand out bc it's made out of silica and is polymer coated which I can't imagine can be good for the tank. I'm replacing it with white aragonite live sand. My zoas have been opening up a bit better within the last few days. I turned off the filter and adding another small powerhead and they seem to like the flow a bit better that way.
Kelz88
Got Reef?
just wondering, what kind of sand were you using?
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Stoney river premium aquarium sand. Says on the back that it's polymer coated and made out of silica. So idk what all that is but it cant be good for the tank. So I'm putting something more natural in and substrate. Aragonite :)
