Baffled bout zoos

[animalwhisperer]

I have a 30g with all the "trimings" and my water parameters are stable and at the right readings. In the last few weeks I have had trouble with a few things, but my question is about zoos. Mine appear fine but stay convex. They never open normally anymore but everything else is fine. It gets all the minerals and trace elements it needs. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[bkv1997]

When you say it gets all the trace elements it needs, what do you mean?

I would try a large water change and hold off on supplements unless your tank is heavily stocked.

Most commercial salts already have way above NSW levels....you could be over doing things you cant test.

Brandon

 

[grunt]

hmmm

check your lights and let them get used to their new home. water is good but new home takes time unless u have a huma trigger and he'll be just fine since that's an example a of a hardy specimen.

 

[graphixx]

how long have they been in the tank???? and what type of light do you have and what type of light did they come from.
there could be several factors attributing to this problem. number one, they just arent acclimated to the tank yet. number 2 they may still be getting used to the light . 3. you could have a predator on them (nudi, zoo spider, sundial snail) 4 you could have an irritant (spaghetti worms, bristle worms) any of these would cause them to close up.
If you have MH lighting with actinic supplementation, try running the actinics for a day. this will lessen the stress on them. and you might want to check them for predators.

hope this helps

Greg

 

[animalwhisperer]

6-11-06

Checked water peramiters today. Nitrates 0-2.5ppm. Added nitrate sponge. I use PC Lights. They have been in there 3 months. They have been fine for the first two months but closed since. I have searced through my tank and found no predators. I am including a picture. Typically I can figure these things out on my own, but I am having difficulty with this one. Any help would be greatly appriciated.

 

[jhnrb]

What else is in the tank with um. what changed the 10 days prior to them not opening as usual?. this might give you a clue. if the answer is none, then a couple things come to mind. contamination, lights need changing, water parameters are off some where. however it seems if all mentioned is ok then it might be a chemical reaction to other corals in system, especially if you use same bucket for both tanks and do not clean it, you may be transfering some stuff from the 55 to the 30 in an amount to just throw off the corals appearances.. good luck. process of elimination. something must have changed. also make sure you do not have any stray voltage in the system and do not put bare hands in the system ever, oils from the skin can have an affect in a small system. just some items to consider. good luck.

 

[animalwhisperer]

Thank u guys for all your help. I am going to keep a watchful eye on it. Did a quick check on my water, all parameters are normal. I made a 25% water change and it seems to have helped. I have also noticed some small white tufts, resembling cotton on the underside of my rock. I also noticed these extremely tiny "creatures" on the bottom that I haven't seen before they are moving and there are and immense amout. Any help there would be nice so I dont leave unwanted guests in the tank. I have tried to post pics but it(my PC) doesn't like me I guess. Thank u guys once again for all your help, at least you guys don't try to sell me 10 isles of additives and supplements like the pet store.

 

[bkv1997]

the little white things on the underside of the caves are a type of sponge.

the little critters on the substrate are proabably copeopods and are cosidered a good thing.

I don't thing i would try to get rid of either.

Brandon

 

[animalwhisperer]

Thanks bkv1997 I wish I had ask you b4 the hrs. spent on the net trying to find it. Thanks again.

 

[amonyia]

I have zoos that do the same thing, but the reason for mine would be that they are shaded and not getting enough light becase of were there growing (underside of rock) there stretching and expanding for light.Maybe you should move them closer to the light or your light bulbs are ready for a swap.Also I have seen this with tanks with very low water movement,corals can suffocat in their own slime.

 

[minireefer]

My coral in general have stoped opening as much do to the temperture increase in my tank.Has your gone up if so that my be the problem.I have got mine down and they look good again

 

[graphixx]

I would just keep an eye on them and see what happens. sounds like the tank is in good shape. and the sponges to be exact sound like a pineapple sponge (clathrina,leucosoienia,scypha) that is actualy a good sign that the water is in good shape, they feed on particulate matter in the water.

 

[animalwhisperer]

I also need to know the best way to reduce and stabilize nitrate levels. Small water changes (7-8g/30g tank) doesn't seem to help and i've used Kent Nitrate Sponge with little or no results. Macro maybe or larger water changes? Any help will be great. Thx

 

[bkv1997]

Nitrates have to be resolved at the source first.

How many fish do you have? How much and often are you feeding? Do you have a good skimmer (size and type)?

After you resolve the source then water changes will bring it down.
Brandon

 

[animalwhisperer]

3 fish, like 4 coral and some snails in the 30g(a.k.a. The Troublemaker). It is always high on nitrates. I'm not sure what kind of skimmer it is(freebie). I probly don't feed enough. 2 small fingertip sizes of brine shrimp for the fish daily. No more than they can eat in a few minutes. Phytoplankton every other day, 7-10ml. Also Kent Coral-Vert on occasion. I just don't understand what the deal is. Thx again

 

[bkv1997]

I'll say this with caution as some will disagree.

I would stop adding any additives with your coral load it shouldn't be needed if you do a water change every two weeks. Exception would be to maintain alk or calcium, but again I don't think you will need it with 4 corals unless they are baseball sized stonies or you have lots of coralline starting to grow.

I would also stop adding the phytoplankton for the time being unless you know you have filterfeeding corals that require it (clams, etc).

Do you have any sponges, bioballs, filterpads etc anywhere in your system?
How often do you clean them?

Also when you say high nitrates what is the PPM rating.

Thanks
Brandon

 

[animalwhisperer]

High as in over 50ppm. After repeated water changes. I have some Pulsing Xenia, a Pagoda Cup, Green Star polyps, some green zoos, and a condi anemone. I have used a cannister filter up until a few months ago when it basically blew apart(long story). Now I use two 20-40g whisper filter with carbon in one and nitrate sponge in the other. I took the sponges out, as advised by the LPS. They said maybe it caused the spike in nirates. I thought otherwise but i'm new at the saltwater thing and dont know any better. The skimmer has a mix of the two listed above. Thx for taking the time to help on this. The LPS is way off on most things but I decided to try "spongless" anyway. I was told they "had to have the additives (phyto and coralvert) to live.

 

[amonyia]

This is only recommended if your nitrates become sky high,and you are housing corals or inverts that will not tolerat higher levels of nitrates also called a(band aid) but works to lower even to 0,its called de*nitrates by seachom,I personally use it when setting up a new tank after n cycle to help lower to less than 5 ppm.Good to keep around if your tank likes to surprise you with high readings of nitrates.

 

[bkv1997]

If you have Live Rock I would suggest removing any filter floss, sponges, etc that could accelerate the nitrification process.

Secondly I would look into getting a good skimmer, not saying yours isn't, but it is very important as it is the only filter that removes waste instantly from the water column so it can't be broken down by the nitrification process.

My opinion again, but I would stop adding both those additives and just stick to water changes for now. Remember LPS have to sell stuff to make money :).

As mentioned there are also products you can get to remove ions from water, but they also should be used only as a last resort and can cause problems of there own.

Can you post a picture of your skimmer?

Brandon

 

[animalwhisperer]

I will try and post a pic of it, not much luck with posting pics. I get paid tomorrow and am trying to figure out what my best route is b4 im broke. I know I need a new skimmer, when u see this thing you will understand. I just cant find one that is small enough for this tank. i also looked at seachem's webpage at the de-nitrate. At this point I will try anything. Tell me what you guys think of this. Change 75-80% of the water, replace media in both bags, buy a better skimmer and some denitrate just to be sure. Any suggestions on a reasonable skimmer. They do have to sell stuff, believe they try but i try to do a little research first. Should I move the fish to a different tank? I have small fish and tanks I can use. Should I put the sponges back in? Thx