Who's Keeping Zoas and at what levels do you keep your nitrate and phosphate?

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Yeah they are. Definitely a favorite. One thing I have noticed with my zoas is if iodine dips low at all they will start to close up and wither. It's one of the first things I check it I notice problems.
So hard to find a reliable iodine test. Can you recommend one and what is your target?
 

Kristopher Conlin

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So hard to find a reliable iodine test. Can you recommend one and what is your target?
I have had the best luck with red sea. It's a little more upfront but you can get refills if you go through the reagents or they expire. 0.06 is recommended.

The first time I tested after having issues I was at 0.01. I had tissue recession on some euphyllia and zoas were not opening. After bringing levels up over a couple days it was a very noticeable difference. The euphyllia tissue regrew and they opened up significantly larger. And the zoas immediately started opening again.

At the time I was only dosing kalk with no trace elements. Hoping to keep those up with weekly water changes. I have since switched to all for reef and my levels stay more consistent.
 
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I have had the best luck with red sea. It's a little more upfront but you can get refills if you go through the reagents or they expire. 0.06 is recommended.

The first time I tested after having issues I was at 0.01. I had tissue recession on some euphyllia and zoas were not opening. After bringing levels up over a couple days it was a very noticeable difference. The euphyllia tissue regrew and they opened up significantly larger. And the zoas immediately started opening again.

At the time I was only dosing kalk with no trace elements. Hoping to keep those up with weekly water changes. I have since switched to all for reef and my levels stay more consistent.
Thank you for the input
 

mindme

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So hard to find a reliable iodine test. Can you recommend one and what is your target?

I personally use ICP tests for mine. I dose iodine(and other things) daily. But I'm dosing many other things, so I don't think ICP test is ideal for just iodine. I'd probably pick up that red sea kit otherwise.

Iodine is one of the harder ones to find the right amount for, you really just have to trial and error it. I started out doing 6 drops daily(on 200 gallons), and currently I'm doing 16 drops. Not all the iodine is even being used, a good bit of it oxidizes, gets pulled out by skimmers, etc. It'll all pretty much leave your tank in a week.

If you can find a source of rubidium, it will also do wonders for zoas. Mine really start to take off after I started dosing it. They were growing decently before, but now it's super accelerated.
 
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I personally use ICP tests for mine. I dose iodine(and other things) daily. But I'm dosing many other things, so I don't think ICP test is ideal for just iodine. I'd probably pick up that red sea kit otherwise.

Iodine is one of the harder ones to find the right amount for, you really just have to trial and error it. I started out doing 6 drops daily(on 200 gallons), and currently I'm doing 16 drops. Not all the iodine is even being used, a good bit of it oxidizes, gets pulled out by skimmers, etc. It'll all pretty much leave your tank in a week.

If you can find a source of rubidium, it will also do wonders for zoas. Mine really start to take off after I started dosing it. They were growing decently before, but now it's super accelerated.
That is great information. I will try the red sea test again. I do have a few ICP tests so I guess i could consider running a few to try and get a proper dosing regime. Thank you for your input it is greatly appreciated!!!
 

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That is great information. I will try the red sea test again. I do have a few ICP tests so I guess i could consider running a few to try and get a proper dosing regime. Thank you for your input it is greatly appreciated!!!
Yeah, after a few tests you can get the right amount, then it's pretty steady. I do moonshiners method, so iodine is just part of it.

What is your water volume? Do you run carbon? Do you have a skimmer? Do you have a refugium?

If you answer those, I can probably find you a good starting dose(if you want to dose daily).
 
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Yeah, after a few tests you can get the right amount, then it's pretty steady. I do moonshiners method, so iodine is just part of it.

What is your water volume? Do you run carbon? Do you have a skimmer? Do you have a refugium?

If you answer those, I can probably find you a good starting dose(if you want to dose daily).
75 gallon, Red Sea 300 skimmer; no carbon, no refugium. Appreciate the help
 

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Here's a couple crappy pics off my phone when only the ATI Coral Blue bulbs were on. I try to keep nitrates above 0 to less than 5 ppm. Phosphates stay around .06 to .08 ppm. The tank is heavily stocked with fish and fed a lot. It has a pretty high dissolved organic level. I also add Red Sea Reef Energy AB+.
20220517_200814_001_resized.jpg
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20220517_200849_resized.jpg

What size is your tank? I tried dosing redsea AB+ and it brought my phosphates and nitrates through the roof
 

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I only have Utter Chaos zoas. started as a single polyp from a fellow R2R'er.
this pic was from a few months ago, its now doubled in polyp count again since then.
My nutrients are on the low end.
Nitrates 0.5ppm
phosphates 0.04ppm

20220117_233600.jpg

20211223_231458.jpg
 

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My nitrates are consistently around 80 and phosphates around .21. I think iodine is important as well. They seem to do poorer without it.
 

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mindme

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75 gallon, Red Sea 300 skimmer; no carbon, no refugium. Appreciate the help

You probably only need about 3 drops a day(seachem iodide). The ideal range is 75-95 ug/l. Dose for a week, then test(assuming red sea kit), adjust from there. That is according to moonshiners dose.

I probably should have done this from the start, don't know why I didn't think about it. Here's the moonshiners handbook if you want more information about dosing it. It's free. Even if you aren't doing the entire program, you can still use the iodine part. No need for the ICP if testing locally etc.

 

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What size is your tank? I tried dosing redsea AB+ and it brought my phosphates and nitrates through the roof
90 Gallon tank with 25 gallon sump. Since I add it manually, it seems like adding 20-30 ml over a few hours 2 or 3 times a week is the sweet spot for my tank. I haven't checked to see if it raises my phospahte, but my tank is pretty mature and has developed a lot of nutrient processing pathways. I don't stop the skimmer when I feed and add live phyto sporadically. Phosphate stays around .06 ppm. I do still get some hair algae in spots and remove it manually. That may also help control phosphates a little.
 
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