Can't get Zoas to open to save my life. What am I doing wrong??

[Schreiber]

SG: 1.024
Temperature: 78.7
Ca: 460
Mg: 1480
dKh: 9.6
pH: 8.1
Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia: 0
Lights: Mars Aqua (Blue 80% on at 8:00 am, off at 8:30 pm, white 20% on at 10 am, off at 2 pm)
PAR: ~40 at the sand bed, ~400 at the very top of water level.


My tank is super stable, I've got everything automated.

I've got a hammer & a Kryptonite candy cane that have been going strong for over a year each. But my favorite corals are zoas & I've tried introducing... way too many frags over the years & *none* survive! Some will last longer than others, but they all eventually close up & die. I don't think it's the lack of Nitrates, as I spot feed my corals every other night. Plus, wouldn't a lack of Nitrates result in them trying to stay open to gather food? Sometimes, I'll have frags close up in as little as 2 days.

Here's some pictures of my latest frag.

My current thought is that I have a mild GHA problem that could be irritating them? I don't see any growing anywhere near or on them though. I've got some pictures of the worst areas of my rockwork attached, most of the tank is nowhere near this bad though.

Things I've tried:

Iodine dips (2 on the most recent frag)
Hydrogen peroxide dips (1 on this frag)
Treating the GHA with Chemiclean- Worked for a bit, has started to come back.
More frequent, larger water changes (Tried changing 15 gallons a week in my 55 gallon tank for a few months)
Less frequent, smaller water changes (Tried changing 5 gallons a week for a few months)
Spot feeding them Mysis
Spot feeding them Reef Roids
Grounding probe

No luck. I've tried so many things with little results. I've tried starting frags at the sand bed, middle & top of my rock work, all to the same end result.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Zero nitrates are probably making them angry

 

[trvsty]

what's the flow like in their area. i don't think it would exclusively be the algae, i've had hair algae take over some zoa plugs and they still opened.

 

[trvsty]

it might also be worth looking into dosing the tank with amino acids if you're not already. i've noticed nothing but good things since i started using brightwell coral amino, including the zoas almost never closing whereas before they might be a little temperamental

 

[tnw50cal]

I have a GHA (way worse than yours) in one of my tanks and it ain't bothering the Zoas in that tank.

 

[Schreiber]

what's the flow like in their area. i don't think it would exclusively be the algae, i've had hair algae take over some zoa plugs and they still opened.

I've tried both virtually dead spots, as well is almost directly in front of my power heads. Currently, I have it in the lower third of my tank in a medium flow area.

 

[Schreiber]

Zero nitrates are probably making them angry

Would it cause them to just stay completely closed though? My understanding was that they'd slowly starve to death if not fed, but they'd be open trying to get at food.

My struggle is feeding enough to raise nitrates, but not so much I encourage the algae.

 

[trvsty]

I've tried both virtually dead spots, as well is almost directly in front of my power heads. Currently, I have it in the lower third of my tank in a medium flow area.

ok so zoas should be able to grow in most light, at least that's what i've had going on in my experience. i would definitely say they prefer to be in a medium to medium-high flow area so they don't get detritus buildup. your placement should be fine. wouldn't hurt to have them placed a little higher

 

[Schreiber]

it might also be worth looking into dosing the tank with amino acids if you're not already. i've noticed nothing but good things since i started using brightwell coral amino, including the zoas almost never closing whereas before they might be a little temperamental

I get this stuff from my LFS. It has phytoplankton food, amino acids, & zooplankton food. I put 3 pumps in every other day when I feed my coral.

 

[trvsty]

also if you're looking to help with the hair algae i've been using vibrant (reef safe one) and it's helped with the algae because i feed pretty heavy so it was getting a little out of control for a minute

 

[trvsty]

I get this stuff from my LFS. It has phytoplankton food, amino acids, & zooplankton food. I put 3 pumps in every other day when I feed my coral.

never heard of that lol. i personally prefer using things individually. i feel like i have more control what goes into my tank that way

 

[vetteguy53081]

CA and Mag a little high, bryopsis and Low nitrate are a good cause . Moderate light intensity and water flow. Add a little iodine also to water

 

[Schreiber]

I have a GHA (way worse than yours) in one of my tanks and it ain't bothering the Zoas in that tank.

Huh, well I guess I'll scratch that off my list. Now I'm down to the lack of Nitrates I guess, which I should be able to fix by feeding more, right?

also if you're looking to help with the hair algae i've been using vibrant (reef safe one) and it's helped with the algae because i feed pretty heavy so it was getting a little out of control for a minute

I'll look into that. I used to be pretty set against chemical additives, but I'm starting to realize they've definitely got their place.

 

[trvsty]

you can dose nitrate if you really just can't get it high enough for your corals to thrive. brightwell also makes a doseable nitrate which i've heard good things about. also your salinity could be a point or two higher but if your euphilia are doing fine then theoretically the zoas should be fine. i usually keep mine at 1.025 or 1.026. also i don't think vibrant is technically chemicals it's a type of bacteria so you'd still be pretty natural

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

Did I miss your phosphate level?

 

[KrisReef]

Check this out:

White Bugs on Zoas

White Bugs on Zoas (and everywhere for that matter) Ok. I think I have researched myself silly, so I am going to turn to you guys. A little background - I have a redsea max 250 that has been up for over a year. I have been in the saltwater arena for about 15 years. My tank has a mix of softies...

www.reef2reef.com

Maybe you need a mandarin?

 

[Schreiber]

never heard of that lol. i personally prefer using things individually. i feel like i have more control what goes into my tank that way

That's fair, I'll probably look into an individual amino acid supplement.

CA and Mag a little high, bryopsis and Low nitrate are a good cause . Moderate light intensity and water flow. Add a little iodine also to water

Isn't the only potential negative effect of slightly high calcium alkalinity dropping? With my dKh at 9.6, I'm not too worried about it. I'm only 10 points above the recommended ideal range limit from what I've read.

Mg is definitely much higher, but I'm using RedSea testing, which apparently reads high Mg. Plus, I've read high Mg doesn't become a problem until it's crazy 1800+. I've read plenty of people's parameters that are in the 1500+ range that have beautiful tanks.

 

[ReefJunkie28]

my zoas are thriving as well as the rest of my coral with around 5 nitrates.

 

[Schreiber]

you can dose nitrate if you really just can't get it high enough for your corals to thrive. brightwell also makes a doseable nitrate which i've heard good things about. also your salinity could be a point or two higher but if your euphilia are doing fine then theoretically the zoas should be fine. i usually keep mine at 1.025 or 1.026. also i don't think vibrant is technically chemicals it's a type of bacteria so you'd still be pretty natural

I feel like an extra pinch of Reef Roids every day should do the trick for Nitrates. I'd rather do something like that naturally, since it should be so simple.

Next water change, I'll start working towards increasing my salinity a tad.

Did I miss your phosphate level?

Nope, I actually haven't got that checked. I'll do that tomorrow at my LFS.

One thing I did forget to include was my iodine at 0.06, LFS sheet recommends maintaining at 0.05, so I feel pretty good with it. Plus @Randy Holmes-Farley has said there's no evidence it affects anything except gorgonias.

Check this out:

White Bugs on Zoas

White Bugs on Zoas (and everywhere for that matter) Ok. I think I have researched myself silly, so I am going to turn to you guys. A little background - I have a redsea max 250 that has been up for over a year. I have been in the saltwater arena for about 15 years. My tank has a mix of softies...

www.reef2reef.com

Maybe you need a mandarin?

I haven't seen any little pods or bugs in my tank in a long time. I used to have a moderate pod collection after I'd had my tank for about 15 months & my wife convinced me to get a dragon pipefish. It ate through all the pods in about 4 months & died Haven't seen any pods since or the desire to propagate them.

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

Any possibility of a cracked magnet?