Some corals such as zoas not opening, but tests are reading fine.

[Joeush123]

Hi, For the past week or so some of my corals have not been opening such as my zoas, some LPS and a few frags of SPS, however my large colonies of SPS are still opening fully with good polyp extension and my Euphyllia are still out. Ive tested my water and all params seem to be fine I will put the results and what tank and equipment I use. Just wondered if anyone could help me out here as I'm a bit stumped.
Alkalinity:8.00
Magnesium :1450
Calcium:450
Ph:8.3
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
Phosphate:0.03
Salinity: 1.025
Temperature: 25.7 degrees C

Tank- Red sea reefer 350, Lighting- Maxspect RSX 300 LED, Flow pumps- Maxspect gyre X2, Filtration i use is carbon and rowaphos with filter socks and a bubblemagus skimmer. I also use a DD ocean dosing system that doses the four part Triton reef method.
I feed the tank daily with red Sea Reef energy plus AB+.
Many thanks to anyone who can help me!

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I can't be of too much help, but I will say that nitrate AND phosphate at absolutely zero seems suspicious..... what are you testing with?

 

[Joeush123]

I can't be of too much help, but I will say that nitrate AND phosphate at absolutely zero seems suspicious..... what are you testing with?

For the Nitrate and Phosphate I use the salifert test kits, they are still in date too. The tank is 350 liters and i only have two maroon clowns and a dragon goby in there.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

For the Nitrate and Phosphate I use the salifert test kits, they are still in date too. The tank is 350 liters and i only have two maroon clowns and a dragon goby in there.

those do seem to be pretty reliable, and the small load may help with that, if you have a skimmer or refugium that could be how your nutrients are so low.

I did just remember hearing a while ago things like zoas do like a little bit of a dirty tank, so maybe turn down your nutrient export a bit and allow nitrates to rise to around 5 or so?

 

[Joeush123]

those do seem to be pretty reliable, and the small load may help with that, if you have a skimmer or refugium that could be how your nutrients are so low.

I did just remember hearing a while ago things like zoas do like a little bit of a dirty tank, so maybe turn down your nutrient export a bit and allow nitrates to rise to around 5 or so?

Wouldn’t raising the nitrate negatively impact my sps colonies or would they be fine?

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

those do seem to be pretty reliable, and the small load may help with that, if you have a skimmer or refugium that could be how your nutrients are so low.

I did just remember hearing a while ago things like zoas do like a little bit of a dirty tank, so maybe turn down your nutrient export a bit and allow nitrates to rise to around 5 or so?

Zoas will close if nitrates get to low in my tank. Mine stay around 5ppm even with my skimmer and only one small damsel in my 32 biocube. When I’ve seen them drop to 0 some of my colonies close except for like one polyp.

 

[Joeush123]

Zoas will close if nitrates get to low in my tank. Mine stay around 5ppm even with my skimmer and only one small damsel in my 32 biocube. When I’ve seen them drop to 0 some of my colonies close except for like one polyp.

Another thing is that the things that seem to be the most impacted are my goniporas but I do feed them and the Zoas every day

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I've got a mixed tank with lots of zoas and SPS colonies. My nitrates are usually in the 10-20 range and everything is very happy and growing fast.

I've been having issues with one type of zoa I have where all 3 colonies in the tank have been pretty closed up and weak polyps. I recently took a colony out and cleaned them off with a hydrogen peroxide dip followed by an iodine dip. After returning hem to the tank and waiting 24 hours, they look 80% better. It seemed like the polyps had a thin algae coating on them that has been bugging them for a while. It only affected one type of zoa in my system though ,so not sure how likely that would be your issue too

 

[Joeush123]

I've got a mixed tank with lots of zoas and SPS colonies. My nitrates are usually in the 10-20 range and everything is very happy and growing fast.

I've been having issues with one type of zoa I have where all 3 colonies in the tank have been pretty closed up and weak polyps. I recently took a colony out and cleaned them off with a hydrogen peroxide dip followed by an iodine dip. After returning hem to the tank and waiting 24 hours, they look 80% better. It seemed like the polyps had a thin algae coating on them that has been bugging them for a while. It only affected one type of zoa in my system though ,so not sure how likely that would be your issue too

I could try dipping them and see if that helps any, I’ve checked for pests too and cannot see any, I have two trachyphilia as well, one is open fully and the other is closed.

 

[[Cameron]]

IMO you want nitrates between 1-3ppm. Zero readings on nitrates and phosphates are rarely a good thing. Typically those readings mean you are starving some coral and likely setting yourself up for a more invasive algae or plankton to take over. I would feed a little more (don't go crazy) just to get the nitrates up a bit and see what happens.

Oh and phosphate levels barely above 0 at around 0.05 seem to be the magic number. I would also keep a look out for pests as that can set off a similar response.

 

[Joeush123]

IMO you want nitrates between 1-3ppm. Zero readings on nitrates and phosphates are rarely a good thing. Typically those readings mean you are starving some coral and likely setting yourself up for a more invasive algae or plankton to take over. I would feed a little more (don't go crazy) just to get the nitrates up a bit and see what happens.

Oh and phosphate levels barely above 0 at around 0.05 seem to be the magic number. I would also keep a look out for pests as that can set off a similar response.

alright thank you, ill try getting my nitrates up then, would it be a good idea to maybe turn off the skimmer for a few days?

 

[living_tribunal]

Wouldn’t raising the nitrate negatively impact my sps colonies or would they be fine?

With your phosphate that low, I wouldn’t dose nitrate. I’d let nitrate raise organically as will phosphate. Cut a couple hours off your fuge photoperiod for the next day or so.

 

[Reef.]

If using the salifert p04 test kit I wouldn’t be so sure your po4 is zero, it’s very hard if not impossible to read that test below .09.

 

[Joeush123]

If using the salifert p04 test kit I wouldn’t be so sure your po4 is zero, it’s very hard if not impossible to read that test below .09.

I have also sent off for a triton ICP lab test , I should be getting the results tomorrow. Thanks for the help

 

[[Cameron]]

alright thank you, ill try getting my nitrates up then, would it be a good idea to maybe turn off the skimmer for a few days?

I would feed a little extra coral food and turn the skimmer off for an hour or so while you are doing it to give the corals time to feed. I am not a big fan of making multiple changes because you will want to know what caused an issue if at all possible. Just a little extra food to slightly bump up the nitrates and give the corals a chance to feed a little longer. If they respond positively and your nitrates don't shoot up too high (more than say 1ppm), let that go for a bit and watch for changes in the SPS and such. Key is to move slow in small steps cause as we all know it is pretty easy to tick SPS off.

 

[Joeush123]

I would feed a little extra coral food and turn the skimmer off for an hour or so while you are doing it to give the corals time to feed. I am not a big fan of making multiple changes because you will want to know what caused an issue if at all possible. Just a little extra food to slightly bump up the nitrates and give the corals a chance to feed a little longer. If they respond positively and your nitrates don't shoot up too high (more than say 1ppm), let that go for a bit and watch for changes in the SPS and such. Key is to move slow in small steps cause as we all know it is pretty easy to tick SPS off.

would the food that I am using maybe be a factor in them not opening? I use 20ml a day of the red sea AB+

 

[living_tribunal]

would the food that I am using maybe be a factor in them not opening? I use 20ml a day of the red sea AB+

I’ve had corals get peeved when I dose ab every day. You need to feed something that will increase your nutrient levels. Corals don’t want high nitrate, so any detectable level will suffice. They sure do want phosphate though.