ZOA's not opening up-solved!

[Terry Mattson]

Your NO3 and PO4 are out of wack , you need Brightewells NeoNitro and There BioFuel, they work in sinc to get both levels to .05. Do you have Bio Bead reactor ?

I have a dual reactor,gfo in one and carbon in the other. I stopped the gfo last week after 1) phosphate hit zero and 2) treated tank for red cyno. I will be doing all my tests tomorrow. My refugium, not big, but packed with cheto and I take out a pint or more weekly. Will post results tomorrow.

 

[WetPets]

I've been having the EXACT same issue for a while now as well. I have Fuel coming in the mail tomorrow, which I see has Iodine in it.

I have noticed faster growth on my zoathids since I started doseing fuel regularly. I sometimes will mix it with powdered foods (reef rods or max out) and spot feed with it.

 

[Hemmdog]

Ive been dealing with this issue for the past 2 months. Im at my witts end. Zoas not opening, however palys seem to be doing fine like my nuclear green and my pandoras. Im up for trying anything.

Those are zoas. Your issue is lighting.

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Hi, I dose 15ml of Salfert natural iodine every 2 weeks and I’ve found a different with my zoa’s looking healthy and staying open more now, in the past I kept losing them check Picts.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Hi, I dose 15ml of Salfert natural iodine every 2 weeks and I’ve found a different with my zoa’s looking healthy and staying open more now, in the past I kept losing them check Picts.

Nice zoas. How do you keep your sand so clean.

 

[mattfish]

I have a dual reactor,gfo in one and carbon in the other. I stopped the gfo last week after 1) phosphate hit zero and 2) treated tank for red cyno. I will be doing all my tests tomorrow. My refugium, not big, but packed with cheto and I take out a pint or more weekly. Will post results tomorrow.

Zoas look nice , Iodine must be doing good , But you would have even better polyp extension , if your NO3 and PO4 were in balance , if you say your nitrates were 0 and Phos. was 21 and your cheto growing strong , your PO4 too high , feed less and water change more, i like 10% weekly rather than everyday. Any algae problems ? Read up on Bio Bead Reactor, works good with the Brightwells products i mentioned.. And there is an added benifet , the excess bacteria it gives off serve as food source for corals , but be sure to have the outgoing from the bio reactor directly into the venture of your skimmer, i have mine on a PVC tee. The excess nutrients could cause unwanted algae

 

[William Mumford]

Is there a recommendation on how much iodine to add? Per gallon. I know it's not much but I have 60 gallon total and was wondering If could over do it

 

[William Mumford]

Also what type is it just medical iodine or is it aquarium specific?

 

[mattfish]

Is there a recommendation on how much iodine to add? Per gallon. I know it's not much but I have 60 gallon total and was wondering If could over do it

Yes , you could overdo , Brightwells Iodion says 5 ml per 50 gals , to bring it to 0.04 to 0.06 . But you must test . I had the Salifert kit but didn't like it , couldnt even see any reaction on the test after i dosed for several days of Iodion. Not sure what test kit to recommend .

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Nice zoas. How do you keep your sand so clean.

I do a weekly maintenance especially around the edges with a stainless steel long handle scraper that comes in two parts and is screwed together.

and every other week I use a long turkey baster and insert into the sand and disturb it enough to get rid of any debris and muck, the idea is to keep the turkey baster in the sand so that the sand does not get blown everywhere, you will see when you stop pumping the sand drops and you are left with dirty water in the tube which I blow towards the top of the tank so that it is carried away into my filtration.

 

[Terry Mattson]

I will try this. Did you get the scraper on Amazon? I have a plastic handle one that is flimsy.

 

[mattfish]

Interesting method , i will give it a try, It sounds like you know what your doing and your getting good polyp extension with the Iodine , i wouldn't worry to much unless you get algae problems with that PO4, But that's a total different subject , ones PO4 could be right on , and one could still have algae problem , there's organic phosphate and inorganic phosphate. Water changes solve a lot of problems .
Good Luck

 

[Terry Mattson]

Zoas look nice , Iodine must be doing good , But you would have even better polyp extension , if your NO3 and PO4 were in balance , if you say your nitrates were 0 and Phos. was 21 and your cheto growing strong , your PO4 too high , feed less and water change more, i like 10% weekly rather than everyday. Any algae problems ? Read up on Bio Bead Reactor, works good with the Brightwells products i mentioned.. And there is an added benifet , the excess bacteria it gives off serve as food source for corals , but be sure to have the outgoing from the bio reactor directly into the venture of your skimmer, i have mine on a PVC tee. The excess nutrients could cause unwanted algae

Ok

 

[rkpetersen]

Yes , you could overdo , Brightwells Iodion says 5 ml per 50 gals , to bring it to 0.04 to 0.06 . But you must test . I had the Salifert kit but didn't like it , couldnt even see any reaction on the test after i dosed for several days of Iodion. Not sure what test kit to recommend .

I've tried all the hobbyist test kits multiple times, and none of them is accurate or trustworthy.
Very easy to overdose if you're going by any hobbyist test (I've done it, with the Brightwell product.)
I now only trust ICP-OES to give me a decent iodine number.

For comparison, I dose 1 drop of Lugol's twice a week into 100 circulating gallons, on each of two similar tanks.
With this regimen, my iodine level stays in the 50-70 ppb range, per ICP-OES.

 

[rkpetersen]

Also what type is it just medical iodine or is it aquarium specific?

There are many different chemical forms of iodine, and each product has a different mix.
You do not want to use medical tincture of iodine; it is an alcohol-based product.
Lugol's is also a (very old) medical form of iodine, but it's reef-safe when used correctly.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Is there a recommendation on how much iodine to add? Per gallon. I know it's not much but I have 60 gallon total and was wondering If could ov

I've tried all the hobbyist test kits multiple times, and none of them is accurate or trustworthy.
Very easy to overdose if you're going by any hobbyist test (I've done it, with the Brightwell product.)
I now only trust ICP-OES to give me a decent iodine number.

For comparison, I dose 1 drop of Lugol's twice a week into 100 circulating gallons, on each of two similar tanks.
With this regimen, my iodine level stays in the 50-70 ppb range, per ICP-OES.

Thanks.

 

[Mangelotta1]

Iodine works well.

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

I will try this. Did you get the scraper on Amazon? I have a plastic handle one that is flimsy.

Yes it can get from Amazon, check this link

 

[Terry Mattson]

Is there a recommendation on how much iodine to add? Per gallon. I know it's not much but I have 60 gallon total and was wondering If could over do it

I would add 2 drops period. That is 2 drops for your entire 60 gallon water volume. I added 4 drops then a few more a week later. Then tested. I plan on 2 drops a week. And then will test.

 

[William Mumford]

What happens if you over do it? Will it crash the tank?worst case scenario? I dont know if it is worth adding at all for just zoas I have others I am much more attached to.