View Single Post
Unread 10/23/2015, 12:35 AM   #42
triggreef
Registered Member
 
triggreef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: East Hampton, CT
Posts: 2,917
Amphipods are not the problem. They are one of the best cleaners in your tank. They are only doing their job. They clean all the little garbage out that settles in and around your corals. Do they irritate them? Yes a little. I watched that coral eating amphipod video someone posted. lol. It's not attacking those polyps. It's doing a great job cleaning up around it. Tomorrow that polyp will be 110% better and loving life.

Flow is very important for zoas. The fact that you have pods all over them, tells me that the flow is a little slow and detritus is most likely settling in or around the polyps. Also any crabs walking over them will cause them to close temporarily. I know you say both sump and tank have gentle flow, but everyones opinion of flow strength is different, and the smallest change in flow can be a real game changer.

I know a thing or 2 about par and watch par closely in my tank. I also run only leds. The par your at is perfect when getting 100 or so near the bottom. A little more would be better I get about 140 or so at 27" down. The length of time your running could be a problem. your corals usable photo period is only about 6 hrs. I would suggest keeping your highest setting at 6 hours, and ramping down and up aggressively at each end of that 6 hours. I generally cut it down by 30 to 40% each hour after until close to nothing. Anything more than that is just fueling algae.

Also, there are certain parameters that can effect certain types of coral, but not others. Including tin, iron, zinc, and copper. Not really any good hobbiest kits to test those with, but a triton test could reveal something you'd never thought of. One last thing, chemiclean helps zoas quite a bit and I've used it as a dip very successfully for ailing zoas. Especially if you have any that are closed for long periods and turn brown, which is a sign of bacterial infection.

Good luck, I hope something in there helps you out.


__________________
200g DD Marineland. Acro and monti heavy with some birdsnest, LPS, and zoas. 125g FOWLR
triggreef is offline   Reply With Quote