My zoas are losing color and I don't know why. Please help.

[zoaprince]

Actually all of my coral have lost color (dramatically) but it's my zoas I most care about. Here are my parameters last tested
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5ppm
Phosphate - .04pmm
Calcium - 400
Magnesium
Alkalinity - 8.0
Magnesium - 1350

it's a 20G size

• Length: 23.62" (60cm)
• Depth: 14.17" (36cm)
• Height: 14.17" (36cm)

I use 1 AI Prime 16HD mounted 10 inches inches above water for 8 hours a day (4 hours peak and 4 hours ramp up/down). I don't have a PAR meter, unfortunately.

Aquarium is 10 months old. This is my first reef tank.

I keep all my zoas at the bottom of the tank.

I'll be happy to provide any other info. Thank you in advance!

 

[Aere]

Believe it or not iodine can play a huge role on how zoas look and react. I got a test kit and some lugols iodine and keep my levels stable and its made a huge difference.

But I would maybe check other things first. Flow/lighting and placement just as important. Have you tried moving them a little or not possible?

 

[Davis Hill]

How long have you had the zoas for before they started losing color?

Random things that have happened to me leading to zoa problems is corroded frag rack magnet leaching into my tank, heater failure, dead snails. Also sometimes there is a film that builds up on the outside of my tank making my corals look bland but then I spray a little cleaner and squeegee the glass and things look much better (doubt that is your problem though).

Looking into the iodine is also a good idea.

 

[zoaprince]

Believe it or not iodine can play a huge role on how zoas look and react. I got a test kit and some lugols iodine and keep my levels stable and its made a huge difference.

But I would maybe check other things first. Flow/lighting and placement just as important. Have you tried moving them a little or not possible?

I have tried moving them but only recently (less than a month), away from the light. My main suspicion is they are getting too much light.

What is an ideal iodine level for zoas?

How long have you had the zoas for before they started losing color?

Random things that have happened to me leading to zoa problems is corroded frag rack magnet leaching into my tank, heater failure, dead snails. Also sometimes there is a film that builds up on the outside of my tank making my corals look bland but then I spray a little cleaner and squeegee the glass and things look much better (doubt that is your problem though).

Looking into the iodine is also a good idea.

They lose color a month or so after owning them.

Thanks for things to look into!

 

[Davis Hill]

I have tried moving them but only recently (less than a month), away from the light. My main suspicion is they are getting too much light.

What is an ideal iodine level for zoas?



They lose color a month or so after owning them.

Thanks for things to look into!

Too much light could do it. However, in my experience once they lose color like this it could take months for them to gain them back even if you have solved the problem which led them to lose color in the first place (or maybe that is just my tank). The dreaded patience and trying to decipher if you have solved the problem or not can be tough when looking at existing corals. Looking at new zoas that have been added after your attempted fix is a little easier, however, you don't really want to risk it with too fancy of a zoa in case the fix (or new placement in lower/higher light) did not work. I personally cannot comment on the iodine level as I have not looked into that much yet.