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Cultivated Reef

zoas not opening all the way/ish


amored

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hey guys.

 

so i've been looking at everyone's zoas and have begun to realize mine aren't opening as widely as most. here's some pics.

 

i've got standard BC8 PC lighting, i'm thinking this could be why? both of them are now on top of my LR, closest to the light, but this hasn't helped much. my salinity has fluctuated a little lately, between 1.022-1.025, and my nitrates are at 5ppm, phosphates at .5ppm. is it a combination of all these things, one of them, or none of them? thanks!

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How long has tank been setup for and how long have you had the zoos? Zoos should be ok under your light. The trates and phos don't seem to high. The salinity levels could have done it. Looks like a little cyno in one of those pics. Have your LFS test your water to make sure your test are correct.

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Could be high salinity since zoanthids are really touchy with that sometimes, where's it at now and how are you measuring for it?

 

it's 1.024, swing arm hydrometer from red sea.

 

 

 

How long has tank been setup for and how long have you had the zoos? Zoos should be ok under your light. The trates and phos don't seem to high. The salinity levels could have done it. Looks like a little cyno in one of those pics. Have your LFS test your water to make sure your test are correct.

 

tank is 3 months old, the hot pinks are about 3 weeks old, the yellows are a week old. they're doing the best. i am fighting cyano.

 

SIGH. waiting on a new pump to come, a k nano. should be here on tuesday.

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Could It be perhaps chemical warfare?

 

Are there any other anemones (aiptasia) touching/near your zoanthids?

Stagnant water harboring other bacterial growths?

Dead things hiding behind rocks releasing ammonia?

Small children dropping coins into the tank?

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Could It be perhaps chemical warfare?

 

Are there any other anemones (aiptasia) touching/near your zoanthids?

Stagnant water harboring other bacterial growths?

Dead things hiding behind rocks releasing ammonia?

Small children dropping coins into the tank?

 

the only other thing in the tank besides the zoas is a frogspawn way down on the sand. i have a pep shrimp, 3 hermits, and a clown. no small children. ammonia tested at 0. if there is stagnant water, it will be gone on tuesday when my k nano gets here.

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I would change to a refractor instead of a hydrometer. I have used 2 different kinds and both were way off. Spend the extra you'll be glad you did. I even took them to the lfs and they laughed and said they never are accurate and many people here have said the same.

If you play with them too much they won't open, if you move them you'll have to wait for sometimes 3-4 days before they come back out from my exp.

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Refractometers are fine. But so are hydrometers.

 

Here's a trick. Test your tank water with your hydrometer. Write that # down. Then bag some water and goto your LFS and have them test your water using a refractometer. If there's a difference, you just have to adjust the scale on your hydrometer.

 

For example, When I tested my water with a hydrometer it read 1.021. I had that same water tested with a refractometer and it read 1.023. I have a .002 adjustment. hydrometers are nice because once you get them "calibrated" using the method above you never have to do it again.

 

As for the polyps, flow could have something to do with it, so could S.G. Your fluctuations are pretty severe. To help this top off more often (not with salt water).

 

Good luck!

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Refractometers are fine. But so are hydrometers.

 

Here's a trick. Test your tank water with your hydrometer. Write that # down. Then bag some water and goto your LFS and have them test your water using a refractometer. If there's a difference, you just have to adjust the scale on your hydrometer.

 

For example, When I tested my water with a hydrometer it read 1.021. I had that same water tested with a refractometer and it read 1.023. I have a .002 adjustment. hydrometers are nice because once you get them "calibrated" using the method above you never have to do it again.

 

As for the polyps, flow could have something to do with it, so could S.G. Your fluctuations are pretty severe. To help this top off more often (not with salt water).

 

Good luck!

 

thanks! my fluctuations were pretty bad but in doing a water change, i realized i ran out of fresh RO water and had to use my salt-mixed water to prevent my pump from having a conniption. not the best plan but it was 2 a.m. and my only option for fresh water was walgreens. not the best either.

 

i'll definitely get my hydrometer calibrated for now, and hopefully get a refractometer soon. it's on my list of HAY WHEN I WIN THE LOTTERY I'LL BUY.... along with my LED upgrade haha. hopefully christmas can be a pseudo-lottery this year.

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I would change to a refractor instead of a hydrometer. I have used 2 different kinds and both were way off. Spend the extra you'll be glad you did. I even took them to the lfs and they laughed and said they never are accurate and many people here have said the same.

 

That's some great advice right there. Usually hydrometers are way off due to nearly microscopic bubbles on the swing arm, so calibrating it with a refractometer isn't going to help much at all. Best to just shell out, you're going to lose hundreds of dollars in corals over time for sure for not having one.

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also try blowing them off with a turkey baster as well as a water change. these 2 things always seem to help make my zoanthids open full when they are partially closed

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also try blowing them off with a turkey baster as well as a water change. these 2 things always seem to help make my zoanthids open full when they are partially closed

 

thanks a lot! i did a 1g water change tonight.

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thanks a lot! i did a 1g water change tonight.

I have some zoas that look like your "yellows" do they have a little orange in the center? If they are like mine they are a variety that has very short eyelashes and they always look like that...some really small zoas tend to have short skirts...some of the palys have the longest lashes you can imagine!

 

Also wouldnt hurt to do a dip (revive or lugols).

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Carlton'sTank

blowing them off with a turkey baster works well. I see that there is some debris on the pink ones and that will cause irritation. It is usually attributed to low flow in that specific area. I also agree with the last person about giving them a lugol's iodine dip (not standard iodine!). I think that dips are most effective when you catch something early. The biggest problems to watch out for is a brown looking fungus and white lesions known as zoa-pox. It is not that difficult to treat zoa-pox (which it does NOT look like you have) and the brown fungus is really really hard to do anything about when it takes over.

 

I don't think you are being paranoid at all because it is best to correct a problem as soon as it is found rather than doing too little too late. I also think that the swing in sg might be causing some of this. I have noticed that zoas react harshly to swings in temp and sg more so than my other corals. Good luck.

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Chest Rockwell

I'll bet the Koralia addition will help get them open. I too have a BC8 with stock lighting and my zoas are pretty much constantly reaching for the sky mainly due to (I believe) having very high flow. Plus, they look much cooler with their skirts waving around with the flow.

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This may have nothing to do with you at all..

 

but I had a few zoa's that wouldn't open for a long time. Params you mentioned were good, it wasn't until I started testing and dosing Ca and Alk daily and got those params in check that the 3 stubborn zoa frags started opening.

 

Strange? but they are open now!

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