Help with Zoas not opening

[NeoReefer91]

Hey guys I'm having a bit of a nightmare with my Zoas only a few of them Appear to be opening and they appear pale in colour some of them has even started to go brown on the tops I'm getting worried as they just seem to be getting worse and I don't know what to do.

Temp of tank : 76F


Tank parameters:

Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.2
Alkalinity: 12.5
KH: 4.45
Ammonia: 0.5ppm
Nitrite:*0ppm
Nitrate : 0ppm
Phosphate: 0.25
Calcium: 500ppm
Magnesium: 1500ppm

Frag is about 3 weeks old purchased from a LFS they where dipped and climatized before going in tank



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[NeoReefer91]

I will post photos ASAP forgot to
Mention tank is about 2 months old and is a aqua reef 195 with 4 x t5s as 25w each if this makes a difference


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[NeoReefer91]

Update sorry Ammonia is 0.25ppm just tested again


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[NeoReefer91]

Is no one going to help me :-/


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[hann1bal]

Is it just a single Frag? - cause Zoas seem to all react differently for me. Some have long stalks, some don't, some open alot, some not so much.

Your chemistry seems good so all I can say is keep on top of water changes and maybe try some Kent Coral-Vite as i have seen improvement in my Zoas since using it.

But mostly your tank is young so give it time. you'll be surprised one day when you look back at how much has changed without noticing.

P.S. What T5's bulbs are you using? A good brand is worth the cost.

 

[hann1bal]

Also - that ammonia is too high. It should be 0 so your tank may be cycling still.

 

[NeoReefer91]

Well I have two type one will loads of heads only a few open the other one open at all and yeah I'll keep on top of it with water changes and hopefully they will open up soon :-/

Erm I'm not sure thy came with the tank so properly ain't the best ones out there but I'll soon be upgrading to a 52hd hydra


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[scooter31707]

Where do you have the zoas located in the tank. IME, I have mines about midway the tank with LEDs. IME, they like light. Also you stated your ammonia was .25ppm. What test kit are you using? I bet you are going to say API. If so, they are known to give a false reading of .25ppm of ammonia.

 

[NeoReefer91]

Yeah it's api and they are midway in the tank


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[sde1500]

Is that alkalinity in DKH? Because that is rather high. I keep mine around 8. And you never should be reading ammonia in your tank. If you are, not good. Get a new test kit, since people say you can get bad readings with API, then make sure it is zero.

 

[NeoReefer91]

Is a jbl test kit better ? Or can anyone recommend a good test kit ?


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[JohnnyHildo]

i don't understand your original post you have alkalinity as 12.5 which is high if you're measuring in dKH AND you have a KH measurement which is 4.45.
which is it?
having zero ppm of nitrate is not a good thing if you're keeping coral as they need 0.2ppm to feed them.
additionally, you should have absolutely no measurable ammonia in your system. if you do there is an issue with your beneficial bacteria.
salifert makes good test kits aside from phosphate in which i use a hanna checker

 

[jda]

Your tank is two months old. This is not you, your tank is still not mature. You will struggle with coral for a few more months and even the harder species until about a year. When you have coralline growing everywhere, pods all over the place and sponges on the dark sides or the rock, then you will find this a lot easier.

If your tank truly does have ammonia, then they are suffering.

The photos might help.

 

[Odysi]

i would start with getting your water parameters under control. All your numbers are way too high. As stated before your should have 0 ammonia in the tank and if your Phosphate is .25ppm you need to get that down. If your not running gfo you should look into starting. Also i like to keep my tanks around 78-80 deg. I would work on getting these under control first or your gonna have a hard time keeping corals. Another thing to consider is lighting the hydra52 will be better then stock t5's im sure. As for test kits look in Salifert or Red Sea even Nyos they are all good quality test kits. I use Salifert personally never had any issues with them. GL hope this helps you out some.

Parameters to aim for:
Alk - 8-9
Ca 430-450
Mag - 1350
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 5-10 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Phosphate - .03-.05 ppm