Can't keep Xenia or Zoas??

[karimwassef]

Help. My tank is 7 months old. I cannot keep certain soft corals! Why?

I can keep SPS and LPS. I can sort of keep green star polyps, large rock polyp, rhodactis, and some mushrooms. But Xenia and Zoas die !!

What is going on here?

Here's when I first got the frags:
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 83A9F227-D927-4214-A352-24415EC1EBB6_zpszgfrh13l.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4B7FF528-887D-43B9-9955-1CD4B638BD2A_zps4pinnx0o.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/Mobile%20Uploads/023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/Mobile%20Uploads/023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 023895DF-5C05-4F35-A144-107DA306A572_zpscaf8vhx9.jpg"/></a>

Now, the pink Xenia disappeared completely (no trace left on the rock). The rest look like this:
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 96CD4CBE-8B1D-4C5C-868C-92B4C5C07CCA_zpskvwmdmea.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 7E6089F6-9D96-422F-813C-D8C400B3DD6B_zpsnx23b0bw.jpg"/></a>

And are dying fast.

[karimwassef]

I've trying cutting back on skimming and adding Iodine... No change.

[karimwassef]

Conditions:
Temp 76F
salinity 27
pH 8.4
Alk 11
Cal 400
Mg 1460
PO4 ~zero
NO3 ~zero
NH4 zero
NO2 zero

Lighting 400W MH 10K x 3 + 400W LED X 1

[Brownflem]

Following - I can keep Zoas but not Xenia.
I have a frag tank downstairs they Xenia thrive in - when I bring a frag upstairs, it just melts away.
Same salt, pretty much same params, temp, etc..

[karimwassef]

Melt... That's a good way to describe it

[jayball]

What size is your tank? That is a ton of light.

[karimwassef]

380g DT. 600g full volume. 34" x 96" top and 27" deep

[RA]

Just a thought it may not like your mag being so high.

[karimwassef]

What does it like it to be?

[karimwassef]

It's almost all gone now. There's only one or two polyps of each left. Help.

[RA]

What does it like it to be?

1300 to 1350

As I said before I don't know this to be fact, but it's the only thing that seems too high.

[3dees]

I can't keep Kenya or clove polyps either. some corals like water a little dirty. like you I have no nitrates. my leathers and lps are doing great.

[dogface 13]

i have 180 and can keep anything. Keys to my success: Plenty of Light, On timers of course. Frequent enough water changes (once a month 3-4 weeks). Quality Salt (red sea pro). Thats all i do and everything is growing and happy for years.

[dogface 13]

also time lol, more mature better things will be (happy that is)

[Webmanny]

+1 on the super clean tank. Please note that Xenia and Zoas are filter feeders and as such need some nutrients in the water. Also your mag may be to high for them, but I think it is the first.

But hey, that is not exactly a bad thing. You can grow SPS and LPA corals. Why would you want Xenias in there? LOL I know, I know. You like how they look with their little hands moving.

Good luck!

[karimwassef]

I really wanted zoas since they should grow fast and cover the large empty rockwork.

I want small frags of bright fast growing coral to grow like weeds - zoas and Xenia should have worked.

[Webmanny]

You can try Green Star Polyps. They like clean water and they grow fast. You don't have to target feed them either. They only need some trace elements.

[karimwassef]

I have green star polyps and they're doing great! But zoas are faster, I think.

So... The consensus is that my water is too clean. Ok

[szweier]

I'd agree with the statements above as well. Your water is likely too clean. I had pulsing xenia in my tank once. While the tank had some algae issues the xenia was thriving. Shortly after solving the nutrient problem and resolving the algae issue my entire rock full of xenia would melt away until there was nothing left. From my experience this was either related to the solving of my algae issue or the addition of cespitularia which would have started taking much of the nutrients out of the water leaving less for the other coral. Long story short, lack of nutrients in the water.

[nicoli627]

Thanks. This solved my issue also. Too clean

[RA]

Thanks. This solved my issue also. Too clean

I would have to disagree with you. I keep a tank with sps & lps corals and keep the water very clean and the xenia grows like crazy. Unless you are using gfo or vodka dosing a normal tank will have enough crap in it to grow xenia.

[karimwassef]

I do use a GFO like reactor (aluminum instead of iron)

[Gandolfe]

it's a 125 and my nitrates sit around 80

[karimwassef]

80??? Do you ever do a water change?

[Gandolfe]

change out 45 gallons every 3 weeks, no matter what I do I can't get them lower, short of tearing apart my rocks and re-aqua sculpturing. I only feed once a day too! I just bought a RO 210 and I get a full cup of skimate every 3 or 4 days! My rocks are mostly over 10 years old and the tank has been going since I switched from my 90 back in Aug 2011. I also have a 40 gallon breeder tank that is all macro and a seahorse!

[3FordFamily]

I cannot either. I don't know what the issue is. My water isn't TOO clean. It's not bad, nitrates 5-20 generally. Shrug

[Gandolfe]

I also feed Cyclops and rotifers cubes as well as a homemade frozen food made from 1 lb of shrimp, a bag of seafood medley from the grocery store( contains squid, octopus, mussels, shrimp, and clams, but low or no salt), I'll add in a sleeve of formula 1 or 2, emerald entrée, maybe some krill or silversides, some garlic and then I run it through the food processor until it's a paste. Then I put it in a gallon freezer bag, smooth it out, let it freeze, then cut it into small cubes to feed with. It costs me about $30 for almost 4 or 5 months of food, depending on how big I make the cubes.

[RA]

I do use a GFO like reactor (aluminum instead of iron)

I would ask in the Chemistry Forum if using aluminum instead of iron for gfo could have an effect on xenia.

[karimwassef]

So... I didn't take that advice but someone in another post said that his zoas and softies were melting with alumina but not iron oxide!!

Who here, with melting softies, uses alumina media instead of GFO? Or some other potential source of aluminum?

[lostintheocean]

xenia prefers dirty water