Zoa color

[jacky]

Hi all, I have zoa that is losing it's original color. Neon green turns to olive green. Orange turns to brown. Purple turns to dark gray.

What could be causes of color fading? I'm using LEDs. They are placed where par is 100-150. NO3 - 0 (salifert ) PO4 - 0 (hanna)

please help me to bring out their true color. Thanks

 

[EricSIny]

People will be more inclined to help if you post more specifics on your params inc ca,alk,mg as well as tank size,how long it's been running,how long have you had the zoos, any other corals and are they affected,how often are your water changes,brand of salt used, etc etc

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Hello, many factor can contribute to and cause a color shift or bleaching. I agree with Eric, you gotta give us more. Please start my viewing the link below which is a sticky at the top of this page.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1852463


Also, click on the link below and note post # 1 and more importantly and applicable to your situation, post # 3


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1309820&highlight=mucho+bleach

Maybe someone can then help you when we have more information from you. Please share as much as possible to help expedite a swift answer.

MUCHO REEF

 

[jacky]

sorry, I should have read the sticky first

100gal, 78 xre/xpg LED, MP40, Polario 10ML, unknown return pump, DIY overflow

cal: 390 alk: 6.2 mg: 1500(months ago) NO3:0 PO4:0 5%water change per week (RC salt 1.026)

running NP bio pellect ~150ml + 15ml vinegar,

changed from tunze 9011 to BM curve 7 skimmer 3 days ago, tried to fine tune 9011 without luck for 9 months, almost skimmerless for 9 months.

started with 2 x purigen 2 months ago.

had the zoa 1 yr+, color changed 11months ago when a remote DSB crashed.

pink birdnest is deep pink, green birdnest is green, purple cap is purple.

zoa is put close to chalice too. Had a hermit crab messing with the zoa (peeling zoa apart from attached glassbottom) which i gave away today. No other creature/parasite picking on them.

hope I'm not missing some important info. Photo will be added when 12hrs later. Thank you.

 

[arch85]

Hi Jacky,

While I'm not by no means an expert on the topic, I had the same issues; I noticed that moving the zoas into higher light helped (the zoas that are changing colors i.e.).

I used to think that Zoas were resilient to light changes -- this is true, except that they won't retain their color ...

hope that helps!

 

[jacky]

arch85, I thought of that too, so I put some next to my pink birdnest, they are just pale in color, not like the neon when I first bought them.

do you feed your coral? I'm feeding my fish 4 - 5 times a day, not sure if I still need to feed coral.

 

[Jarred1]

I had the same problem when I was running LED's. Cal and alk seem to be low, zoas don't use cal but they do like a good stable alk level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3vdfkqOLtU&list=UUJ76hSiqA6i2ch6V3vcUkqQ&index=3&feature=plpp_video

 

[650-IS350]

It could be a multi factor of things. Tank parameters ( Alk/pH/Cal etc ) or lighting..

Question, how long have you had the LED's were they a recent upgrade or how old are the Z's were they a recent addition?

 

[arch85]

arch85, I thought of that too, so I put some next to my pink birdnest, they are just pale in color, not like the neon when I first bought them.

do you feed your coral? I'm feeding my fish 4 - 5 times a day, not sure if I still need to feed coral.

hm ... we don't feed our zoas at all. We just feed the fish a variety of food, and hope the leftovers / juices go to the zoas.

Every once in a while I mix some coral food (coral frenzy + reefroids) and dump that in the tank ... but it's been a while

 

[Clay4AU]

Jacky,
I would take a good look at the chalice that is close to it. At night, mine puts out long 4-5" tentacles and will wipe out anything it touches. It has just about wiped out a colony of Lunar eclipse zoas. They started by fading colors and progressed to melting away.

 

[A. Grandis]

I had the same problem when I was running LED's. Cal and alk seem to be low, zoas don't use cal but they do like a good stable alk level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3vdfkqOLtU&list=UUJ76hSiqA6i2ch6V3vcUkqQ&index=3&feature=plpp_video

Yep, agreed with the alk, and thanks very much for the video!!!
By the way...
That video shows that ACTINIC ONLY for corals, and zoas, shouldn't work.
Too blue... detrimental to the coral's health.
PAR works together with SPECTRUM.
It talks about the LEDs, as you've pointed out also.

I had lots of fun watching it! Very nice meeting!!
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[dowtish]

Brightwell's Vitamin C will bring your color back in your zoas.

 

[Joshporksandwic]

My experience with vitamin C was really good. But I read for moths before I started adding. Once I started the size and colors got better. I have metal halides on my main tank with led as actinic. On my kids tank I have t5 and the colors are awesome.

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