First coral questions.

[dwinzent]

so a couple of days ago i decided to take the next step with my sw tank and get a coral. I went down to a trusted LFS and bought a little zoa frag with two types of zoas on it and about 5-10 polyps on it. i drip acclimated them for about 30min and set them high in the tank. despite what my profile says i now have downgraded to a biocube 29 with just original pc lights. The LFS keeps them under 400W metal halides which is why i started them on the top of the tank. After observing them for the last couple days the one type has never even opened one polyp and the other type has opened 1-3 during the day. is this normal for them to not open in the first couple days or should i be concerned? the water in the tank is from my original setup so prob about 2 years running with a fairly low bioload of 3 small fish. Any input would be apreciated. water tests show all normal so im kinda stumped on this my only theory is the light is to intense at the top of the tank so what should i do? Thanks in advance.

 

[Ulta]

the water in the tank is from my original setup so prob about 2 years running

That is irrelevant lol... I think when people (your definitely not the first) say this they confuse water with the rocks. Your rocks are where all the life exists at not in the water column :) The water column parameters are always changing. Your job now that you have ventured into the coral department is to try and keep those water parameters as stable as possible.

So besides testing for your bacteria cycle (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), salinity, temp. (which are all important for FOWL tanks)

Now you have to expand also to testing:
Alkalinity
Calcium &
Ph

Your lights are definitely not too intense if they are PCs and the zoas came from 400w MHs.

I would say most zoas open up for me shortly after putting them in the tank under good conditions. However a few will be stubborn and stay closed up for a while.

Them being closed up may be an indicator that something is wrong and you should be double checking everything before its too late :) (My frogspawn is my biggest indicator of that for me, if it isn't fully extending out when it should be I immediately investigate as to why)

They may just need a while to adjust from the High output of the 400w Halides down to your PCs... They may not even recognize that its daytime yet b/c they are used to being blasted with much stronger rays :)

 

[Ulta]

Also since you are new to adding corals, I would suggest if you get any more zoas you do a fresh water dip for about 30 seconds to flush out any pests that may be living in them. This will help you avoid introducing nuisance pests into your tank. As it is much easier than later on when they are already glued down to your rock! XD

 

[BL1]

Now you have to expand also to testing:
Alkalinity
Calcium &
Ph

pH should have been getting tested even before getting corals. And as far as Alk and Calcium go, they don't need to be tested if your only keeping zoas and/or other soft corals. If and when you start adding LPS, SPS, and clams then you should start testing for those.

As far as your zoas not opening yet, I would give them a little more time. If they got pissed off in the move, they may not open for a week or so. Also, in some tanks, certain zoas just do not do well. I can grow just about every zoas except ones that are blue. It may just be that the second kind you have just won't do well in your tank.

 

[dwinzent]

ok thanks for the replies guys. when i said water from my previous tanks i actually meant everything i just didnt want to type all that. lol i used water rock and sand from my previous 120. Also i have been testing nitrate which was at about 10 yesterday but i added a ball of cheato (not Biffs cheato) and it has brought them down to about 5 today and i am expecting them to go lower, we'll see.
heres the rest of the tests please dont hesitate to get angry if they are off lol,
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
PH:8.3
salinity:1.025
and my temp is consistent right around 78 (does this need to be higher for SW? thats right around where i keep my FW tanks and i have not found a definitive temp for reefs)
i have been testing these as long as i have had sw even when i had FO.
the test kit is API but is pretty old, i may replace it soon.
Is it really necessary for alk and calc to be tested with one zoa frag? i will get the kit if i need it but i guess i don't see my zoa absorbing all the nutrients with regular water changes. when do you think it would be a good idea to start testing these? i noticed BL1 said its only if i want to have sps,lps and clams but i would like some further input on it. all i am planing on keeping right now is zoas and maybe some mushrooms or some star polyps so all soft lower light corals. Also thanks for that note ulta about the freshwater i have not heard anything about that, also i find that incredibly interesting that blue zoas will not live in your tank BL1 but anyway keep the input comin i can never learn enough to get ahead it in this hobby it seems like, lol.

 

[Ulta]

Is it really necessary for alk and calc to be tested with one zoa frag? i will get the kit if i need it but i guess i don't see my zoa absorbing all the nutrients with regular water changes. when do you think it would be a good idea to start testing these? i noticed BL1 said its only if i want to have sps,lps and clams but i would like some further input on it. all i am planing on keeping right now is zoas and maybe some mushrooms or some star polyps so all soft lower light corals.

I guess if that's all you plan on then its not a necessity XD
As long as you do regular water changes with a good salt, you should see good healthy corals.