Zoas Closing Up and Getting Dull

[lordofthecoconuts]

Anyone have any idea why zoas placed any higher than the bottom of my tank seem to close up like this? My first guess is light but I believe they receive partial shade where they are. Everything other than the utter chaos also seems to have lost its color over time. For reference this is a 5 gallon tank. I bought a relatively cheap par meter off amazon that reads around 180 at the top of the tank. Also hana checker keeps reading 0 nitrates but I just ordered an ICP test to validate everything. Photos are in chronological order. White zombies are now staying partially closed at all times and i’ve now placed an Illuminati zoa on the middle ledge which is extending but doesnt fully open.

 

[lordofthecoconuts]

Sorry I tried to make them in chronological order but basically the order of events is more corals and less color

 

[ShanePike]

In my tank, when my zoas close up it's because something is wrong or changed suddenly. This morning for instance. I dosed too much kalk and alkalinity jumped. Some of the zoas didn't like that.

In a five-gallon tank, things could swing quickly. I would check your basic params (Temperature, Salinity, Alkalinity, Nitrate, Phosphate, and maybe Ammonia) and see if anything is out of whack.

 

[lordofthecoconuts]

In my tank, when my zoas close up it's because something is wrong or changed suddenly. This morning for instance. I dosed too much kalk and alkalinity jumped. Some of the zoas didn't like that.

In a five-gallon tank, things could swing quickly. I would check your basic params (Temperature, Salinity, Alkalinity, Nitrate, Phosphate, and maybe Ammonia) and see if anything is out of whack.

Hm that could definitely be it. I’m pretty new to reefing so still trying to find the right “groove” in terms of flow, water change schedules and what not but I just find it weird how the bottom ones tend to stay open and vibrant while anything slightly higher closes up and gets dull. I’ve checked zoa light ranges and it doesnt seem to be too high where i’m putting them?

 

[Anna K]

I know some people have tried to place zoas higher up on their rock structure to quickly and didn't acclimate them slowly to the higher light.

 

[edsbeaker]

Just some thoughts…
If just the higher ones are the ones affected, but they are happy and open lower down in the tank, then I think that’s very telling. If it were parameters, then some would be closing no matter where they were mounted.

The other thing to consider is flow. Is the flow stronger near the top of the tank. Maybe it isn’t light but flow.

 

[lordofthecoconuts]

I know some people have tried to place zoas higher up on their rock structure to quickly and didn't acclimate them slowly to the higher light.

Think I should bring em back down then and rearrange everything? I just keep changing things thinking it’s gonna fix everything but feel like I’m just making it worse :P

 

[lordofthecoconuts]

Just some thoughts…
If just the higher ones are the ones affected, but they are happy and open lower down in the tank, then I think that’s very telling. If it were parameters, then some would be closing no matter where they were mounted.

The other thing to consider is flow. Is the flow stronger near the top of the tank. Maybe it isn’t light but flow.

Yeah that’s where i’m leaning.. everything seems to fare a lot better at the bottom of the tank besides the flower pots.. but then what could I put at the top? And yeah I’m thinking there might not be enough flow so I ordered a rfg nozzle which should work better than the spinstream i have (diminishes strength of the output a lot)

 

[edsbeaker]

Think I should bring em back down then and rearrange everything? I just keep changing things thinking it’s gonna fix everything but feel like I’m just making it worse :P

Don’t be so hard on yourself. First of all a 5 gallon tank is extremely difficult to even keep parameters stable enough for corals to do well! Your tank looks really good!

I’ve been keeping corals for 20 years and I can not for the life of me figure out why both of my ruby red xenias have suddenly stopped opening. I’m telling you that even reefers that have been in this hobby for years just can’t figure some things out. So give yourself some credit and some time to learn and figure things out!

Honestly, though, you are correct that moving things over and over can be doing more harm than good. Corals just sometimes need to settle in over time and get used to conditions. You will have success but you will have failures too. I don’t think the zoas look bad from your photos. Maybe just leave them to settle in for a couple of weeks and see how they are. If they are the same then move them down, but at least let them try and settle in.

Let us know how they do.

 

[lordofthecoconuts]

Think I should bring em back down then and rearrange everything? I just keep changing things thinking it’s gonna fix everything but feel like I’m just making it worse :P

Don’t be so hard on yourself. First of all a 5 gallon tank is extremely difficult to even keep parameters stable enough for corals to do well! Your tank looks really good!

I’ve been keeping corals for 20 years and I can not for the life of me figure out why both of my ruby red xenias have suddenly stopped opening. I’m telling you that even reefers that have been in this hobby for years just can’t figure some things out. So give yourself some credit and some time to learn and figure things out!

Honestly, though, you are correct that moving things over and over can be doing more harm than good. Corals just sometimes need to settle in over time and get used to conditions. You will have success but you will have failures too. I don’t think the zoas look bad from your photos. Maybe just leave them to settle in for a couple of weeks and see how they are. If they are the same then move them down, but at least let them try and settle in.

Let us know how they do.

Thank you so much for your kind words!! Truly means a lot I’m amazed at how welcoming and helpful this community has been :) I’ll try to stick to your advice and not let the temptation of sticking my hands in the tank get the best of me.. right after I fix the flow