Zoas won’t open fully

[40breederzach]

I’ve had my zoas in tank for about a week. Before I got them from the LFS they were open and perfectly fine for weeks. I have moved around in tank periodically to see if it’s to bright but nothing has changed. Any ideas why they aren’t opening fully. My parameters are
Temp 78
pH is 7.6 on apex but Red Sea kit says consistently 8.2
Nitrate and nitrite are 0
Alkalinity is around 7 on Red Sea kit

 

[Nokiaec11]

Lighting...when start keeping corals the proper lighting comes into play...they seem to be on the sand. You may want to place them on a rock closer to the lights

 

[40breederzach]

So they need more light?

 

[PDR]

How old is the tank? I'm assuming ammonia and phosphate are also 0?

 

[40breederzach]

It’s about 7 months I’ve been waiting for tank to mature to get corals I’ve had fish in it for about 6 months

 

[Hemmdog]

How new is the tank, they need nutrients, nitrate and phosphate. Lighting does matter as well but zoas should at least open up under most things. What light are you running?

 

[40breederzach]

Yes ammonia is at 0

 

[Hemmdog]

It’s about 7 months I’ve been waiting for tank to mature to get corals I’ve had fish in it for about 6 months

Zoas tend to like a little higher alk as well.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Try experimenting with different light intensities by moving them closer to your light source. Also, play around with water flow. Iodine dip may help as well. Are your other corals doing well?

 

[40breederzach]

I have a Kenya tree and a torch that are growing well they Kenya tree has actually branches and the torch opens up fully everyday

 

[40breederzach]

branched*

 

[Coralreefer1]

I still say it’s a combination of your lighting and water flow! When you bought the frag at the pet shop, do you have any idea about the lighting and water flow that your frag was accustomed to? Try to mimic that as best you can to entice the polyps to open up again.
You can also try offering Reef Roids or Coral Vibrance zooplankton to help.
Good luck...Zoanthids and Palythoas are funny and confusing. One day they look awesome and are spreading, then next day they are melting or closed up and look terrible.

 

[40breederzach]

im running two jebao ow-10 and full power on opposite on off about every 2 seconds

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Think something else might be a problem. My Zoas open under strong and low light. Mine even open when lights are fully off at times ....maybe to filter feed. Seems like they do well in most lighting conditions.

Flow : I have had mine in low flow and in front of my mp10 and it still opens up .

All other corals are doing fine?

 

[Retro Reefer]

Light does matter but shouldn’t prevent them from opening unless they are getting roasted by some super high PAR.. my guess is you don’t have sufficient nutrients in your water to keep them happy. Try shutting down your skimmer and remove filter socks/floss for a week or two and see if they look any better.

 

[zypher]

How long ago did you get the zoas? If you only recently got them they might just need to acclimate to your lighting.