Zoas Help

[dvara78]

Hey guys....I'm fairly new to saltwater world and have learned a lot from this site.

I recently started a 10g Nano project and it's been up and running for about a month now.

I was lucky enough to get the live rock from someone that was giving it away from an established tank. It came with TONS of mushrooms, Kenya Tree and a bunch of Zoas.

Lately the Zoas seem to be slowly dying off. They turn white at the base and then crumble off.

Here are the parameters of my tank;
Nitrate 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
PH 8.4
gravity 1.023
Temp 79

I don't have a calcium test kit but will get one today.
I am also running a Coralife 50/50 36W power compact light and have another 10g sump for filtration....there is no media in the sump except some sand and live rock in the middle chamber.

Last night i rechecked everything and added some smaller power heads to increase movement.

Am i missing something...please advise because i don't want them to die. The Kenya Tree and Mushrooms are doing fine.

 

[flyingarmy]

It could possibly be the change in lighting from the previous tank to your 36W. Zoas/Palys are quite hardy so there must be some other reason that just water parameters. Try moving them to the top of the 10G and see if that helps.

 

[tanner86]

How long have the zoas been in your tank? Did you acclimate properly for temperature? If any of the zoas are out, you can try feeding them with phytoplex to get them healthy and possibly stay out. I had a temp. swing in my tank from 79 to 74 and my zoas closed up and started to die off. When I brought the temp up all my corals were looking great except my zoas. I would only have one or two polyps coming out. I started dosing phyto and now all are out and thriving. I'm not saying the phyto is the key, but it might help. All your parameters look fine. Be careful in dosing not to drive up nitrates.

 

[cameron]

Look real close for white spots on the zoas before they die off.

 

[flyingarmy]

Cameron;129325 wrote: Look real close for white spots on the zoas before they die off.

Ah...didn't think of the pox!!! Could be...or even a Nudi!

 

[cameron]

I thought nudi since that is what I went through, but white spots are an indicator either way.

 

[lorenk]

Here's some pics for zoa pocs:
http://zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=761">http://zoaid.com/index.php?module=Gallery2&g2_itemId=761</a>

Also, check out the articles on that site for how to treat if that's what you have.

 

[dvara78]

I have had the Zoas for about a month...they did come from a tank that had been running for 2 years and i tried to use a mush of his water as i could and then added my own..

The main things that have changed...i noticed last night that one of the lamps weren't working so the PC lighting was running on 18W and not the full 36W..That is now fixed.

I did add some Iodine and some calcium slowly via a drip to ensure that it didn't shock the system.

I also have been throwing in some Phytoplankton once a week but put that in the sump and not directly over the Zoas...Should i use a pipette and squirt directly over the sump

The rock that the Zoas are on is slowly turning white...Is this normal for it to adjust and settle after the move?

Thanks for all your help and advice!

Dil

 

[tanner86]

Dvara78;129506 wrote:

The rock that the Zoas are on is slowly turning white...Is this normal for it to adjust and settle after the move?

In my 29gal Nano, I had the same exact thing happen to my zoas. The zoas would start to die off and eventually the rock around it would turn white. I never figured out what the problem was. Since I moved everything over into my 140gal with different lighting I have not had this problem. Maybe zoas just don't thrive under pc lighting?

 

[soarin']

Tanner86;129691 wrote: In my 29gal Nano, I had the same exact thing happen to my zoas. The zoas would start to die off and eventually the rock around it would turn white. I never figured out what the problem was. Since I moved everything over into my 140gal with different lighting I have not had this problem. Maybe zoas just don't thrive under pc lighting?

I would like to find out what that is too -- I have an area of white on my zoa rock that is growing.

My zoas were closed up for a while and they were all so white that it looked like it was their normal color, but then they opened up again. They even started spreading onto the sand. Now some are closed up again and I am wondering if the white is really a normal "skin" color for them or if they are somehow "diseased" with the fungus in the linked article.

I did notice that the earlier problems seemed to be cured by propping a 65w actinic PC lamp about 6 inches from the side of the tank they are on, but the white spot on the rock has still been spreading. I have been feeding the tank more lately but the tests show 0 nitrates.

 

[schwaggs]

How old are your bulbs?

 

[dvara78]

The unit is Brand New....just bought it about 3 months ago....

I think i know where i went wrong....it's with the water changes...I wasn't letting the new water get to the same temp or leaving it over night to let the salt mix extremely well...

So i'm stepping back a bit and doing another change today but will be patient with the change...and not rush in...

I appreciate the advice and will keep you posted on how things work out.

Things looked a little better today with most of the Zoas being open!

 

[flyingarmy]

Glad to hear they are doing better. Zoas & Palys can be finiky at times. I have move a frag of zoas just over and it took them a week to open back up. Good luck!