Zoa growth at zero, some receding - help

[Anemone0524]

While the majority of the corals in my tank are thriving, my zoa's and paly's just aren't looking that good. Growth is basically at zero, some are even receding.

Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8bulb + 2 Reefbrite LED strips
Lights On: LED's 11-11, LED + Actinic 12 - 8, All bulbs 1-7
Height of Lighting: 11-12" from water
Flow: 2 MP40w
CA 480 DKH 10, 12.5% water changes every two weeks or 25% a month

Pics:

You can see from the first two pics that the zoas are faded somewhat and have some sort of green algae growth on them. This algae is found now where else in the tank - just grows on and around the stalks of zoas.

The last pictures shows where the zoas all are - the middle island. This was in an attempt to create a zoa island of sorts. It's not working out as intended.

I feed twice a day, with small amount of pellets at 2, then a more substantial feeding at 8 which is usually a mix of frozen food, cyclopleeze or reef chili, broadcast style.

Any ideas on this would be very much appreciated!

 

[MikeandNicole]

The first ones look a little bleached to me, where are they on your island? Did you do any light acclimating? Those ATI fixtures can be very strong with the individual reflectors and bulb choice, so the zoas might just need some time to adjust. Move down the ones that look like that.

That green algae will irritate and choke out the second zoas picture. See if you can pull them out and give the a light scrubbing with a tooth brush or Qtip, whatever gets it off. If it persits you can try a hyrodgen peroxide dip, that will kill the algae off, but be very careful with it, and overdose can kill the zoas. Did the plugs with the algae all come from the same source? Also where are the zoas with algae related to flow? I have found that zoas that get good flow seem to get less algae on the plugs and do much better. I have made the mistake of moving some to low flow areas and then getting algae outbreaks on them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anemone0524]

yes that does help. I may also try dipping in revive to see if that helps remove the algae.

All the zoas came from various locations, different suppliers. They get decent flow...probably 2 feet away and 6 inches under an MP40.

I think my issues persists because i'm doing something wrong with the lighting. Liek you say, the ATI Sunpowers are strong, but i already have the unit elevated 11" off the waterline. That's above average for most owners of this lighting....

 

[MikeandNicole]

Zoas are from around the world and come from different areas. After looking at your tank again, most of your zoas are not bleached at all and they are sitting at the top of your tank. The zoa in your first picture might just need less light not all of them. Drop that one down and see how it goes.

A revive dip is always a good thing but probably will not knock the algae out on its own. A light scrubbing will help get off what the dip might loosen.

 

[rickcSMF]

+1 on the toothbrush and a bit more flow and or less light.