What's wrong with my zoa

[grahamergirl]

So my zoa has been closed up like this for almost a week. My ammonia was just slightly elevated, but with a small water change everything is back into parameters. It did get knocked off into the sand which is what all the white is.
We do have some long hair algae growing, and had our first bacterial bloom. Starting to worry it might be dying.

 

[Timfish]

It's really helpful to list all your parameters. Full tank shots are helpful as well. Also, did the ammonia completely disappear or did it come back?. More history on your system would be helpful too along with any maintenance, feeding and dosing you do and tank mates.

It looks to me from your pics it's a new setup with just bottled bacteria and dry rock or rock that's just had bottled bacteria added with no maricultured or wild live rock, is that correct?

 

[grahamergirl]

It's really helpful to list all your parameters. Full tank shots are helpful as well. Also, did the ammonia completely disappear or did it come back?. More history on your system would be helpful too along with any maintenance, feeding and dosing you do and tank mates.

It looks to me from your pics it's a new setup with just bottled bacteria and dry rock or rock that's just had bottled bacteria added with no maricultured or wild live rock, is that correct?

It is a new set up, I've used some bottled bacteria but the rock that's in it was wet live rock and live sand was added. We have 11 snails, a royal Gramma, and a sand sifting starfish. It's a 32gal biocube
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0.25
Ammonia 0
I'm waiting for my master test kit to come in the mail to do a deeper dive on the parameters.

 

[Tahoe61]

Check for pest, preferably at night. Asterina Starfish, Zoanthid eating Nudibrach, and Zoanthid eating Sea Spider. The polyp skirts look munched on.
I see what looks like white pimples so check for Zoanthid Pox as well.

 

[Dom]

Well... the tank is new. And while Zoas are easy to keep, a new tank will present challenges for the easiest beginner corals.

You aren't testing (or alt least you haven't posted) some important parameters. It is important to maintain Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity, none of which were posted. Do you monitor these parameters?

In general, Zoas require little light and flow. So I would ask you to post a full tank picture to the thread as experienced reefers can look at a tank and tell what might be off.

So I would ask you the following questions:

1. How old is your tank?
2. What test kits are you using?
3. What lights do you run on the tank?
4. Are you providing any supplemental flow or are your relying solely on the return pump?
5. What other creatures do you currently have in your tank?
6. Are you using tap water or is filtered RODI?

Posting answers to these questions along with a full tank shot will be very helpful in providing targeted advice for your tank.

PS. Is the local fish store guiding you?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It is a new set up, I've used some bottled bacteria but the rock that's in it was wet live rock and live sand was added. We have 11 snails, a royal Gramma, and a sand sifting starfish. It's a 32gal biocube
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0.25
Ammonia 0
I'm waiting for my master test kit to come in the mail to do a deeper dive on the parameters.

Is this done with API test? Usually, these can result in false results.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It is a new set up, I've used some bottled bacteria but the rock that's in it was wet live rock and live sand was added. We have 11 snails, a royal Gramma, and a sand sifting starfish. It's a 32gal biocube
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0.25
Ammonia 0
I'm waiting for my master test kit to come in the mail to do a deeper dive on the parameters.

Don't bother with the API tests, they are not accurate for our hobby. Cancel the order if you can, get salifert testers. Was it the API test which showed you had ammonia? It was probably a false reading, stay away from API. Once the tank is cycled, there should be no need to ever test ammonia or nitrite.

At zero nitrate, your tank has zero nutrients to feed the corals. Hold off on corals until you get better test kits and have a better understanding of your water.

 

[ColorMeGone]

My Zoes luv around 10 N03 and up to .1 P04. 0 N03 will not work well for them.
Also blow them off with a baster or feeding tube since they do not like stuff on their base. (like sand and algae) If they have algae then you need to dip them in some peroxide solution. I also dip my Zoes using Reef Dip from SeaChem that has Iodine in it. Good Luck since that is a nice frag of my favorite critters.

 

[grahamergirl]

Well... the tank is new. And while Zoas are easy to keep, a new tank will present challenges for the easiest beginner corals.

You aren't testing (or alt least you haven't posted) some important parameters. It is important to maintain Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity, none of which were posted. Do you monitor these parameters?

In general, Zoas require little light and flow. So I would ask you to post a full tank picture to the thread as experienced reefers can look at a tank and tell what might be off.

So I would ask you the following questions:

1. How old is your tank?
2. What test kits are you using?
3. What lights do you run on the tank?
4. Are you providing any supplemental flow or are your relying solely on the return pump?
5. What other creatures do you currently have in your tank?
6. Are you using tap water or is filtered RODI?

Posting answers to these questions along with a full tank shot will be very helpful in providing targeted advice for your tank.

PS. Is the local fish store guiding you?

Is this done with API test? Usually, these can result in false results.

Which test kit would you suggest. I'm new to the hobby

 

[Dom]

Which test kit would you suggest. I'm new to the hobby

I use Hanna for Nitrates and Phosphates.

I use Red Sea for Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity.

 

[Timfish]

It is a new set up, I've used some bottled bacteria but the rock that's in it was wet live rock and live sand was added. We have 11 snails, a royal Gramma, and a sand sifting starfish. It's a 32gal biocube
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0.25
Ammonia 0
I'm waiting for my master test kit to come in the mail to do a deeper dive on the parameters.

It sounds to me like the problem with your zoas is primarily a new system that's just now starting to mature. Anything you can do increase microbial diversity would be a good thing. Maybe connect with local reefers and get some cheap (or free) easy to keep corals (you can pass them on if they're too prolific later) to help promote healthy microbiomes or some sand or rock. You do want to be careful about getting pests though. A water change with water from a healthy established system will help too.

You mentioned "wet live rock", was that dry rock that was seasoned in an aquarium with bacteria added or was that wild or maricutlured live rock that was collected from the ocean? Because there's a huge difference between the first and next two.

As mentioned above, besides the tests you're running you need to be looking at Phoshate, Calcium, Alaklinity (best for indicating how corals are growing IMO) and magnesium (phosphate alkalinity are the two I use the most). API gets a bad rap but it actally holds up well against other test kits, there's links below. FWIW, the best test kits are the ones you find easy to use. Connecting with other reefers to try out thier test kits or electronic testers as well as getting thier insights would helpful for you to decide. Here's what I prefer to use:

Alakinity - API
pH - API
Calcium - API
Phosphate (PO4) - Red Sea, Nyos
Nitrate - Red Sea, Nyos
Magnesium - Salifert

I never test for nitrite. I never test for ammonia but I'd strongly suggest you test for it regularly along with everything else listed in the above posts until you feel pretty comfortable with how well you understand how these parameters correlate with what you're seeing happening in yuor tank. With a practiced eye, you'll likely be able to determine by the look of your animals when a problem is developing. But this only goes so far as animals can adapt to conditions new specimens would find unacceptable so regular testing of at least some of the parameters is required.

Aquarium Chemistry: An Attempt to Test Test Kits

James Fatherree and Dr. David Flanigan asked hobbyists to test samples of the same water with multiple test kits. The results were interesting, with important lessons learned for both hobbyists and testing manufacturers.

reefs.com

Skeptical Reefkeeping 9: Test Kits, Chasing Numbers and Phosphate

By Rich Ross and Chris Jury There are many standard parameters in the reefkeeping world that aquarists strive to match in their home reefs – water quality,

reefs.com

 

[BryanM]

So my zoa has been closed up like this for almost a week. My ammonia was just slightly elevated, but with a small water change everything is back into parameters. It did get knocked off into the sand which is what all the white is.
We do have some long hair algae growing, and had our first bacterial bloom. Starting to worry it might be dying.

No nitrates is one likely posibility why your zoas are not happy.. You need nitrates and phosphates in your system for healthy corals. Nitrates 5-20 is a good range, phosphates some people like .06, I prefer more because 1) my tank looks better with more, and 2) I personally want a buffer to NOT bottom out my phosphates. I run mine .1-.3.

I'm on board with testing alk, nitrates, and phosphates. Calc and Mag are hard to test at home. This thread has good info in it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/just-say-no-to-magnesium-testing-rmm-is-born.1017528/