zoas deteriorating

[Ramon Estevez]

my Zoas where looking great for a month or so then overnight look like they melted away from where they were glued... I only have a few softies and one hammer coral In a 75 gallon tank. My numbers are always good. I don’t understand why ?

 

[Brew12]

my Zoas where looking great for a month or so then overnight look like they melted away from where they were glued... I only have a few softies and one hammer coral In a 75 gallon tank. My numbers are always good. I don’t understand why ?

When you say your numbers are good, what do you consider good?

 

[Ramon Estevez]

Nitrates under 5 phosphates.03
PH 8.3 my salinity is around 1.026. I’m gonna text again this afternoon and post pics for better opinions...

 

[Brew12]

Nitrates under 5 phosphates.03
PH 8.3 my salinity is around 1.026. I’m gonna text again this afternoon and post pics for better opinions...

That looks good as long as Nitrates under 5 is also higher than 0ppm.

 

[Ramon Estevez]

Could it be as simple as some sand kicked up on them?

 

[Brew12]

Could it be as simple as some sand kicked up on them?

I would consider that very unlikely.

Maybe someone else from #reefsquad can put some eyes on this.

 

[Crabs McJones]

What lighting do you have them under? how much flow? have you observed any pests or do you dip your corals before adding them to the tank?

 

[Jason mack]

my Zoas where looking great for a month or so then overnight look like they melted away from where they were glued... I only have a few softies and one hammer coral In a 75 gallon tank. My numbers are always good. I don’t understand why ?

I’ve found after dosing vitamin C that mine all improved , and have had little or no melting away since .. check in the search bar on here for threads on vitamin C and zoas !

 

[wattson]

Do you run GAC in your tank ?

 

[Ramon Estevez]

I have about 3400 gph of flow. I never dipped my corals. My Hammer is getting bigger and bigger. Under Hydra 26 running David Saxbys preset. I’m looking to find a good Hang on reactor for GAC but I dose NoPox.

 

[Justin....#JAMAS]

I just recently have started dosing nopox as well, and I run red sea carbon in my sump....I noticed that since dosing the nopox one or two heads on two separate ZOA's have started to almost like ball up and shrink a little...I can't really confirm it was the nopox but my nitrates went from 10 ppm to 2.5-5ppm. I'm cutting back on the nopox and it seems to be helping, aswell as good husbandry. My ZOA's are under t5s and I gotta say they love them. I've had them under LED and they just don't like them as much....also, I would consider dipping all your corals that you put into your tank. You really wouldnt believe what pests and kinds of crap come off of them, plus you never know what was in the other tank they came from!! Do you have pics? And how are your mag, cal, and alk? Stable? While ZOA's like a little dirtier water (not too dirty) I've also found that every week or so I'll take my turkey baster and gently blow all the crud out from in between them! Helps alot

 

[Ramon Estevez]

Updated numbers
PH 8.3
NO3 2
PO4 .03
ALK 11
CAL 420
MAG 1600
I’m wondering if elevated magnesium and ALK are contributing to nuisance algae and the Zoas being closed up. I took some photos the algae is stringy with bubbles in it. I’m worried it’s Dino

 

[Ramon Estevez]

Another look

 

[Jason mack]

Its Very hard too tell from the photos , if you can get a sample too a lfs with a microscope they should be able too ID it for you properly , then we can advise on a course of action for you ..
Mack

 

[Jason mack]

IT does look Somewhat like dino’s too me ..

 

[Ramon Estevez]

I’ve fought it before. I’ve started dosing Hydrogen Peroxide but a little worried about dosing that along with Nopox..?

 

[Jason mack]

If its dino’s then at Some point Your no3and po4 have bottomed out .. this opens the door for the Dino’s too step in .. what is your no3 en po4 .. I would stop with the nopox , don’t clean your glass for a couple of weeks , add some bacteria ..and syphon off as much as you can every day .. and dose peroxide .. but there are many strains .. so it’s worth knowing which ones you have ..

 

[Jason mack]

I would also say your alk is very high for your tank , having high alk is ok , if you have a lot of sps in and your Alk consumption is high .. but in a tank like yours it’s probably better too keep it around 8 dkh ish ..

 

[rhastareefer]

Mag and alk are high. When's the last time you checked your K (potassium) levels?

 

[Ramon Estevez]

Never looked at potassium. Yea The ALK has been high for awhile. What salt mix do you think is consistent at 8dkh?