Let's try again!

Every zoa I get dies. The one I have right now I don't know what they're called but when I get it every polly was good now there's about 5 still going it started with about 20. I put them so they don't stretch for light but they're not too close to the light. But green algae and red slime algae spreads over them all the time and I cleaner off of that rock every day. Anyone know what they keep dying?
Water parameters are
Nitrate:20
Nitrite:0
PH:7.0
KH:80
 
KH is 80!?! I sure hope that is a typo. If it's in ppm that works out to be only 4.48 dkh. Avg Alk is in the 8-9s.

What is your salinity?

What salt mix are you using?
 
Do it slowly. Just top up with saltwater until you get to 1.025. Your salinity is far too low!

For KH buy a supplement and dose so that you increase KH by 1dkh per day.
 
Kh

Kh

I don't know anything about Kh so can you tell me a little about it and what it effects and things? And by adding salt will ich come? I know that he more salt the more ich chance there is.
 
PH at 7.0 is too low as well. You need to be to at least 7.8 as a minimum. I sit around 8.1 myself.
 
I don't know anything about Kh so can you tell me a little about it and what it effects and things? And by adding salt will ich come? I know that he more salt the more ich chance there is.

Your salinity has nothing to do with ich. Ich is a parasite.
 
Its not a matter of if ich will come by raising salinity. Its suggested when battling ich to lower your salinity. After ich is suspected to have been cured you raise it back up. Typically people will move the coral out before lowering salinity that low. Needs to be around 1.024-1.025

So you need to raise it back up. Do this by topping off your tank with salt water like you normally would with rodi water.

As far as Kh goes it should be around a 9. Id recommend using api test kit, as its fairly inexpensive and easy to follow. http://www.saltwaterfish.com/produc...ess-test-kit?gclid=CKq75-WAssoCFVKQHwodzJIKcw

Now I know this hobby is exciting and your lfs and everyone here recommends to use this product and that product. But it sounds like you are just starting off. The best thing you should invest into is a few 5 gallon buckets and some quality salts to mix saltwater yourself. Personally I used Red Sea coral pro salts. They have multiple trace elements that stay pretty consistent, so you won't get any unexpected swings of anything. Besides that you need to do more frequent water changes. I recommend at minimum a 20-30% water change this time. Following with a 5% weekly or 10%bi weekly or 20%monthly.

^^ This will fix your water perams to where you need it now this is why..

When you add food to your tank you are increasing your phosphates, which is likely the reason you have a bunch of algae. Feeding raises your phosphates/nitrates/nitrites which adds more food for algae to feed off of. So do frequent water changes. Another way to nuke algae, is using a phosphate nuker product, and also rasing magnesium to a high level of above 1600ppm(more advanced) will help eliminate algae. But to keep it simple just do water changes No algea= less work and happy zoas. Don't overfeed your zoas if you do spot feed them. Id recommend just letting them filter feed and not target feed so you don't overfeed them and kill them.

Red slime algea(Cyanobacteria), is not your typical algae, water changes alone don't get rid of it. Because it is a bacteria. You will need to use a product like http://www.amazon.com/Ultralife-Products-Slime-Stain-Remover/dp/B0002DKB6S

IMO if you do this, your tank will thrive and look better then it ever has, and your zoa's will be blooming, cheers!
 
Oh man I'm surprised any things alive in there with a salinity of 1.012. Corals and inverts need at around 1.025 and fish can go lower but not that low. It won't cause harm just don't do it to fast and shock anything.
 
Doing the water changes will help raise your ph. To a proper level. Or you can add a ph buffer from your lfs. Until then.
 
Idk

Idk

I don't know I have a golden head goby a pair of spotcinctus clowns a yellow tail damsel a tang I forgot the name of but its gray with and orange outline a green cromis and a purple fish k forgot the name though and the zoanthids I have
 
The very low salinity is almost certainly why your zoa's aren't happy. It's also probably why your pH is low.
 
Water will remove itself, by evaporation. Where you'd normally replace that with RO/DI water, use mixed salt water instead, which will bring your salinity (and very likely your pH, too) up gradually. Keep an eye on the level as you go, and when it reaches 1.025, you should be golden!

~B.
 
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