Some Zao skirts look curcled/withered?

[Reef Quest 11]

Tank seems to have been cycled and relatively stable for about 2 weeks now.

Picked up2 turbos, 1 cerith and 3 more blue legged hermit crabs, as well as 3 tiny coral frags, a blue mushroom, ricordea, and a zoa frag. Also added tiger pods to the tank. All Yesterday after not touching the tank for about 10 days.

These zoas in this picture have been pretty fussy since I started and took a long time to partially open. The other 2 zoa frags in the tank seemed to have opened and adjusted almost immediately.

Today the skirts look kind of like they are inverting? Have been doing this for about 2 hours or so now.

Did I change to much too quick in the tank and the zoas dont like it? Honestly just trying to figure out what the heck they are doing, trying looking around and couldn't find much like in the pictures.

 

[Baldyreef]

what kind of lighting do you have and what level do you have them in?
parameters?
how big is the tank?

 

[Reef Quest 11]

what kind of lighting do you have and what level do you have them in?
parameters?
how big is the tank?

They looked like they were reaching and still kind of do so ive been slowly moving them up, they now sit at the top of my tank. They also opened this morning and were normal the last 10 days or so. We do about an hour ramp up and hour ramp down from about 10-10, with blues being maxed and whites being a notch or two down and ramping off the whites entirely around 8

Tank is a 20 gallon all in on with the stock lights still on it. From aquatop.

Had the lfs run a full test yesterday and everything seemed fine.

No ammonia or nitrites but a small amount of nitrates. Ph a little over 8.

 

[Tahoe61]

Your tank is so young, corals are still acclimating to some extent.
Corals will take in and expel water, surface area will change to allow for optimal exposure to the light source.
The physical appearance of corals change. My Zoanthids appear slightly different with every inspection. Stalks taller, some polyps closed, long wavy skirts........
For now I wouldn't stress it, but if the zoanthids remain closed, go missing, develop pimples, develop algae or pest amoung polyps then it's time to take notice.
It's my experience that flow and lighting play the biggest role in the appearance of the skirts.

 

[Reef Quest 11]

Seems like some are opening back and others are closing?

Your tank is so young, corals are still acclimating to some extent.
Corals will take in and expel water, surface area will change to allow for optimal exposure to the light source.
The physical appearance of corals change. My Zoanthids appear slightly different with every inspection. Stalks taller, some polyps closed, long wavy skirts........
For now I wouldn't stress it, but if the zoanthids remain closed, go missing, develop pimples, develop algae or pest amoung polyps then it's time to take notice.
It's my experience that flow and lighting play the biggest role in the appearance of the skirts.

Some seem to have opened back up while others have since closed?

It looks like theyre just stretching or something?? Idk havnt seen it before but its just brand new behavior so is kind of freaking me out a little bit.

I was messing with the pump last night when I introduced the pods so its possible the flow angle is a little different and they could be getting more or less flow then they were previously.

 

[Baldyreef]

I agree with Tahoe, depending on how low the nitrates are they can be raised for the overall growth and health of your softies

 

[Baldyreef]

Seems like some are opening back and others are closing?

Some seem to have opened back up while others have since closed?

It looks like theyre just stretching or something?? Idk havnt seen it before but its just brand new behavior so is kind of freaking me out a little bit.

I was messing with the pump last night when I introduced the pods so its possible the flow angle is a little different and they could be getting more or less flow then they were previously.

that kind of behavior is totally normal and just means they may just want more light and as far as polyps closing while others open that is also normal and will happen due to crabs moving near them or on them or if they're disturbed in another way

 

[Reef Quest 11]

I agree with Tahoe, depending on how low the nitrates are they can be raised for the overall growth and health of your softies

I did just add a bunch of critters, will they naturally help raise nitrates?

I do also have 2 different pretty big macro algae in the tank that are probably lowering it.

Im still hesitant to add fish since the tank is still new.

Whats a good way to try to raise them? Dosing seems pretty intense for a 4 week old tank.

Would chucking in some algae wafers help raise nitrates? I got them to feed the crabs and snails incase they start to go too hard when cleaning.

 

[Baldyreef]

I did just add a bunch of critters, will they naturally help raise nitrates?

I do also have 2 different pretty big macro algae in the tank that are probably lowering it.

Im still hesitant to add fish since the tank is still new.

Whats a good way to try to raise them? Dosing seems pretty intense for a 4 week old tank.

Would chucking in some algae wafers help raise nitrates? I got them to feed the crabs and snails incase they start to go too hard when cleaning.

yeah I definitely wouldnt go the dosing route in such a young tank, what kind of fish are you eventually planning on adding?, raising the nitrates with fish food (ghost feeding) is absolutely a way to raise your nitrates, you can start with algae wafers if you want to see the impact but I've personally had better results with meatier foods like mysis, pellets, and flakes like prime reef flakes

 

[Reef Quest 11]

yeah I definitely wouldnt go the dosing route in such a young tank, what kind of fish are you eventually planning on adding?, raising the nitrates with fish food (ghost feeding) is absolutely a way to raise your nitrates, you can start with algae wafers if you want to see the impact but I've personally had better results with meatier foods like mysis, pellets, and flakes like prime reef flakes

I dont really have very much plans as far as the fish go.

The only thing im absolutely sold on right now is a goebie and pistol shrimp pair. I was advised to wait many months before thinking about a pistol shrimp though so it looks like it could be coral and clean up crew only for awhile.

Im hoping to pick up a few nassarius snails soon for the sand bed so I think I will try to pick up some meatier pellets at the same time as the hermit crabs will probably also like that.

 

[Tahoe61]

^ This tank has been cooking for 6 weeks. No fish, no corals, nothing.
Hands off, just add Fritz Turbo and occasional phosphates.
My best advice to you is take the best care of you what you have now and do not add or dose anything more. No impulse buys, don't buy ever product recommended.
It's a hobby of patience, you can't rush it

 

[Reef Quest 11]

^ This tank has been cooking for 6 weeks. No fish, no corals, nothing.
Hands off, just add Fritz Turbo and occasional phosphates.
My best advice to you is take the best care of you what you have now and do not add or dose anything more. No impulse buys, don't buy ever product recommended.
It's a hobby of patience, you can't rush it

What are you waiting or looking for to begin adding?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

To me it looks like they are stretching, the 3 that are opened are all facing the same direction, towards the light.

 

[Tahoe61]

What are you waiting or looking for to begin adding?

I am not going to add any members of the cuc, snails or hermits until there is a food resource, algae growth.
You want the biome to develop, the biological filter to evolve.
There are no instanta tanks unless you use live rock.
New tanks are unstable.

 

[Reef Quest 11]

To me it looks like they are stretching, the 3 that are opened are all facing the same direction, towards the light.

They are at the highest point in the live rock in the tank. Is the only solution to stop the reaching to get more powerful lights?

How big of a problem is them reaching?

 

[Tahoe61]

Is there a brand name stamped on your lighting fixture? Do you know how many watts it is?
If the LED wattage is such (too low) that it will not meet the needs of corals all other interventions and suggestions are mote.
Thankfully there a quite a few budget fixtures available that will grow Zoanthids and stoney corals.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They are at the highest point in the live rock in the tank. Is the only solution to stop the reaching to get more powerful lights?

How big of a problem is them reaching?

I googled your tank, and the stock light seems either 17 watts or 20 watts? If that info is right, IMO its a bit low in the long run. You will want to be somewhere in the 50-60 watts range IMO.

With that said, I missed that they were added just yesterday, corals can take days or weeks to acclimate. And like Tahoe mentioned, 2 weeks is a very new environment for corals. Personally I would just wait and see at this point. Zoa's are pretty hardy so they can come around.