doctor, what is on my blue tubbs?
- Thread starter lastduke
- Start date
the color is soft of bleached, all my sps have this problem too. I think it could because of the ultra low nutrition in the water by using the over sized skimmer. I am adding more fish food in althtough there is only one fish in the tank.
tank is 34G, skimmer is Deltec MCE600
tank is 34G, skimmer is Deltec MCE600
A. Grandis
Active member
You'll need to provide more details about your system, so the doctors can come and give you proper diagnostics...
Could be many things...
Grandis.
Could be many things...
Grandis.
tank parameters:
34G Solana tank
120W LED lighting
MCE600 skimmer
GFO in reactor
GAC in bag
tempearture 76-80F
CA 440
ALK 7.8
mg 1500+ (just come out from high mg for aglae)
Salinity 1.026
PO4 <0.02 (hanna low range checker doesn't always give me a same reading)
carbon (vinegar + vodka) dosing for about 3 weeks in a low dosage
34G Solana tank
120W LED lighting
MCE600 skimmer
GFO in reactor
GAC in bag
tempearture 76-80F
CA 440
ALK 7.8
mg 1500+ (just come out from high mg for aglae)
Salinity 1.026
PO4 <0.02 (hanna low range checker doesn't always give me a same reading)
carbon (vinegar + vodka) dosing for about 3 weeks in a low dosage
A. Grandis
Active member
While we wait for the doctors, I'll try to give you my humble opinion. 
Normally when that happens is related to light an/or nutrients and/or "poisoning" (metals, toxins, etc.) .
I don't know about your lights... would be good to make sure the LEDs you've got are ok for the polyps. I use T5s and other people would be better to help on that... the LED doctors...
You've got lots of things there...
I would remove the GFO and GAC first.
Temperature of 79F is good IME.
Alk from 8 to 10 would be better.
Try to use good water RO/DI/AC for replacement and water changes.
Stop vinegar and vodka. You don't need that.
Try to feed quality dry coral food to the polyps at night.
You can try Coral Frenzy, for example.
Turn off pumps and skimmer to target feed them once a week.
I would try those first and see what happens.
Please don't think because you'll try one of the above it will make them look better from day to night. It will take a while...
make sure you have nothing on the zoas, like shrimps or crabs, damaging them.
Predators?
BUT, wait for the doctors before you do anything ... :thumbsup:
Grandis.
Normally when that happens is related to light an/or nutrients and/or "poisoning" (metals, toxins, etc.) .
I don't know about your lights... would be good to make sure the LEDs you've got are ok for the polyps. I use T5s and other people would be better to help on that... the LED doctors...
You've got lots of things there...
I would remove the GFO and GAC first.
Temperature of 79F is good IME.
Alk from 8 to 10 would be better.
Try to use good water RO/DI/AC for replacement and water changes.
Stop vinegar and vodka. You don't need that.
Try to feed quality dry coral food to the polyps at night.
You can try Coral Frenzy, for example.
Turn off pumps and skimmer to target feed them once a week.
I would try those first and see what happens.
Please don't think because you'll try one of the above it will make them look better from day to night. It will take a while...
make sure you have nothing on the zoas, like shrimps or crabs, damaging them.
Predators?
BUT, wait for the doctors before you do anything ... :thumbsup:
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
Ah, please take a closer look at those spots on the zoas...
They don't look like pox, but the polyps do have some small spots there.
Grandis.
They don't look like pox, but the polyps do have some small spots there.
Grandis.
Thanks, Grandis, you listed a lot things....
Please see the pictures, there are tiny white dots on the polys. Is that a problem?
LED is a long story. About a year, I was too excited when i just had it to replace the 150MH. I played the the dimmer a lot and all corals were shocked. I totally forgot about the acclimation of new lighting. The lighting was turned to 40% of white and 60% of blue. The SPS is still under recovery. Acutally, i don't think it had any negative impact on my zoas, they were still opening and grow really fast at that time.
I have a difficult to stable the temperature even with a controller. I am thinking to replace the heater.
ALK, I was using KALK and CA predicated a lot. then I switched to 2 parts with dosing pump. I cautiously maintain it below 8dKH from forming a brick.
Why GFO, GAC and carbon dose affect zoa? I have SPS in the tank, that is why i am running those.
I will try coral frenzy, any coral food i can feed SPS and zoa in the same time?
I don't have any shrimp or crabs.
Please see the pictures, there are tiny white dots on the polys. Is that a problem?
LED is a long story. About a year, I was too excited when i just had it to replace the 150MH. I played the the dimmer a lot and all corals were shocked. I totally forgot about the acclimation of new lighting. The lighting was turned to 40% of white and 60% of blue. The SPS is still under recovery. Acutally, i don't think it had any negative impact on my zoas, they were still opening and grow really fast at that time.
I have a difficult to stable the temperature even with a controller. I am thinking to replace the heater.
ALK, I was using KALK and CA predicated a lot. then I switched to 2 parts with dosing pump. I cautiously maintain it below 8dKH from forming a brick.
Why GFO, GAC and carbon dose affect zoa? I have SPS in the tank, that is why i am running those.
I will try coral frenzy, any coral food i can feed SPS and zoa in the same time?
I don't have any shrimp or crabs.
A. Grandis
Active member
Ok, I did mention the spots in a second post before yours.
They are small and hard to tell now. Maybe other helpers could figure them out.
I do have similar spots on my zoas, but the polyps are healthy and their spots are not pox.
I can see the spots only when they eat and close with the food inside the polyp.
Yes, you do need to be very careful and make sure the zoas don't get shocked with new lights. Sometimes they get white (bleaching / partial bleaching) and they get into a weak stage after that, if they don't die. They tend to change color " morph" when they get better and will probably not look the same for long time, if not forever.
Yes, try your best to stabilize the temp and everything else in the system as much as you can.
Well, I think you must have an ionic unbalanced situation there.
You need to choose what to use for the Ca++ and stick with that.
I personally think Kalkwasser is the best of the two you've tried.
You need to go slow with Kalk and dose the right way.
Keep in mind you've got a small system.
You really don't NEED GFO nor GAC to keep SPS corals.
They have their use to solve problems but they are not a must in any system.
Once you see things happening like that, you need to simplify your system and track the possibilities. That's why I would remove them now. Just for the simplicity's sake.
Try Coral Frenzy for the SPS too.
Grandis.
They are small and hard to tell now. Maybe other helpers could figure them out.
I do have similar spots on my zoas, but the polyps are healthy and their spots are not pox.
I can see the spots only when they eat and close with the food inside the polyp.
Yes, you do need to be very careful and make sure the zoas don't get shocked with new lights. Sometimes they get white (bleaching / partial bleaching) and they get into a weak stage after that, if they don't die. They tend to change color " morph" when they get better and will probably not look the same for long time, if not forever.
Yes, try your best to stabilize the temp and everything else in the system as much as you can.
Well, I think you must have an ionic unbalanced situation there.
You need to choose what to use for the Ca++ and stick with that.
I personally think Kalkwasser is the best of the two you've tried.
You need to go slow with Kalk and dose the right way.
Keep in mind you've got a small system.
You really don't NEED GFO nor GAC to keep SPS corals.
They have their use to solve problems but they are not a must in any system.
Once you see things happening like that, you need to simplify your system and track the possibilities. That's why I would remove them now. Just for the simplicity's sake.
Try Coral Frenzy for the SPS too.
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
:thumbsup:
A. Grandis
Active member
If the SPS are bleached could be because of the light, if you probably didn't acclimate them properly. That happens when you buy a new coral or when you change fixtures or bulbs.
Bleaching could happen when there is a sudden change in temperature also, or when you use too much carbon at once.
Other chemical changes could cause bleaching.
People reported in the past GFO as the reason for bleaching...
I don't know the reason, you need to figure that out.
If other zoas are fine you shouldn't need to move it up.
We need the real doctors in the house...
Grandis.
Bleaching could happen when there is a sudden change in temperature also, or when you use too much carbon at once.
Other chemical changes could cause bleaching.
People reported in the past GFO as the reason for bleaching...
I don't know the reason, you need to figure that out.
If other zoas are fine you shouldn't need to move it up.
We need the real doctors in the house...
Grandis.
A. Grandis
Active member
You could try.
Grandis.
Grandis.
I used revive on some zoo's I had issues with. I thought it was zoa pox I used Revive twice and it fixed them up. I do not believe it was zoa pox at this point. However something was harming them weather it was a critter or a bacteria or what not, the revive did wonders for mine. I dip everything in revive, before it goes in my tank now.
gemini aquarius(t)
Always Learning
I would try moving it somewhere with a little more light, maybe not higher up, but less shade
heckeng
New member
I don't think the spots are anything other than normal detritus etc. I have had LEDs for 7 months now on my 90 zoa tank and the different species of zoas react very differently to the LED light. Many of my zoas got very long and extended like your Tubbs. It is difficult to get the LED light to make all of the varieties happy. I believe it is because of the spectrum of lighting that the LEDs put out having such a high amount of blue and so little of the rest of the white spectrum compared to other types of light sources. I am on day 5 of going back to my MH and all of the polyps have shortened their stalks back to normal. It is very strange honestly. I think your tubbs just need to acclimate more as mentioned above. How long have they been in the tank under the LEDs? If they have not been in your tank long, they were light starved before you got them.
The LED was setup on this tank for about a year. in the first few month, this zoa reacted to the new lighting very well. Maybe I should remove the lens? I am suspecting the lens narrowing down the light and make a very uneven distribution. I don't think they are starving of lighting as my SPS are bleached except the green ones.
The spectrum of LED is a problem. That is the only explaination i can think about why other sps are bleached only green color boosted up.
The spectrum of LED is a problem. That is the only explaination i can think about why other sps are bleached only green color boosted up.
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