My zoas won't open up

[luminarix]

I've got two A360WE Kessils and a Fluval 2.0 Reef in between, and I just got a package from Aquarium Depot. Chalices are doing alright, but most of my zoas aren't opening up fully.

They're currently at the bottom of my 210 gallon tank, which is 29 inches deep. I've got the Kessil settings on Active 1, with varying intensity and a blue-ish tone that doesn't get too intense. The color maxes out at around 30-40%, and the intensity has been going up to 80-100%.

I recently added new lighting, but before I got the zoas. I've got one Kessil A360WE at each end and a 3-foot Fluval Reef 2.0 LED in the center of my 6-foot tank. I've also got a Tunze 6205 on the right side, dual overflow and returns with PanAm HD40s, and two smaller powerheads near the surface on each end.

I've been keeping the polyps at the bottom of my tank, and I'm wondering if I should change the light settings or move them to a higher location. Does anyone know what kind of lighting Aquarium Depot uses in their tanks? That might give me a clue.

Out of the 8 frags/colonies I got, only about 10-15 polyps are opening at all, and not all the way. It's been a week or so since I got them, and I haven't seen any change. I've been using the Active 1 mode on my Kessils, but I'm not sure if that's the problem.

Here are my latest test results:

Temperature: 79 Degrees
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 (or maybe 0.25ppm)
Nitrite: 0PPM
Nitrate: 40-80ppm
I'm about to do my bi-weekly 40-gallon water change and filter sand bottom, so that should help with the nitrates.

Magnesium: 1410
kH: 9cKH, 179ppm
Calcium: 600 (I'm using Instant Ocean basic salt this time instead of Reef Salt, so that might be affecting the calcium levels)

I'm getting frustrated with my zoas - they're still withering away or not opening fully. I've given it a week or so without changing anything, and I'm not seeing any improvement. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[luminarix]

I'm at a loss here, guys. I've had these zoas for a bit now and they're just not opening up like I expected. I've got the Kessils set on Active 1, with the intensity varying but the color staying pretty blue - maxing out at around 30-40% or so. I've also got the Fluval 2.0 in the middle, but I'm not sure if that's the issue.

I've had the zoas at the bottom of my 210 gallon tank, which is 29 inches deep. I've got good water flow with the Tunze 6205 and dual overflow and returns, plus two smaller powerheads near the surface. My water parameters are all pretty good - 79 degrees, 1.025 salinity, 7.8 pH, and decent levels of magnesium, kH, and calcium.

I'm starting to think it might be the lighting, but I'm not sure what to change. Should I bump up the intensity or color? I know Aquarium Depot uses some kind of lighting, but I have no idea what it is or how it's set up. I've had these zoas for a bit now and they're just not responding like I thought they would.

Out of the 8 frags I got, only about 10-15 polyps are even opening at all, and they're not opening all the way. I've given it a week or so without making any changes, but nothing's happening. I'm about to do a bi-weekly water change, but I'm not sure if that'll make a difference. Any ideas, guys?

[RavenFly]

I'm curious about the shipping conditions, considering the questionable reputation of Aquarium Depot. Did they provide adequate packaging, heat packs, and water to keep the zoas stable during transit? I've read mixed reviews about their shipping practices, which might be a contributing factor to the poor condition of the zoas. Some corals just don't acclimate well, but it's reassuring that your tank parameters are generally in check. However, I did notice that your nitrates are a bit high, ranging from 40-80 ppm - what kind of test kit are you using? Additionally, your calcium levels are quite elevated as well.

[luminarix]

Thanks for the reply. I think I might've made things worse with the Vitamin C addition - the Zoa page swore by it, but it caused a Skimmer surge and all the waste collected in a week+ was returned into my tank. So that's probably contributing to the higher nitrates. Water changes are on the agenda for tomorrow morning... getting the RO/DI water took longer than expected.

Shipping-wise, they did include multiple heat packs, but not a lot of water in each frag. The Aqua Acro didn't stand a chance - it was all filmy and in a cloudy white liquid when I opened the package. The snails were fine, 4 out of 5 survived, but I think one died a few days later. My chalices looked great and still do, but the zoas... ugh. A few of the Dragon Eyes opened within a few hours, and some have partially opened since. The Red People Eaters opened too, and one or two others, but about six didn't budge. I'm still trying to get the Dragon Eyes to settle down after the water change, and I won't feel totally ripped off if they make it. Needless to say, I'm done with Aquarium Depot.

[oceanix_10]

I'm thinking more flow might be the ticket, rather than brighter lighting. In most cases, zoas seem to thrive with increased water movement, rather than just cranking up the intensity.

[luminarix]

So I've been doing some stuff. Huge water change, 80 gallons, about a week ago. Brought nitrates down from 80 to 5ish ppm.

Added air stone in stage 2 of my refugium, trying to get pH up from 7.4/7.6 to 8.2. Then I dipped my zoas in 50/50 hydrogen peroxide for 2 minutes. Used q-tips to clean off bacteria/algae from the heads of many of the polyps.

Red People Eaters are doing great, all 10 heads opening. Large colony of Radioactive Dragons Eye is looking better. Out of 150 heads, maybe 100+ are opening partially. One of the Yellow Faces colonies has 10 heads opening. Eye of Rah is doing okay, 3 of 30 polyps turned around. Fire and Ice, Fruit Drops - not withering, but not opening yet.

Making progress, but I'm thinking... do I need more flow? Trying a few things, we'll see.

[oceanix_10]

More flow, I've come to realize zoas need a lot of it, much more than I initially thought, in most cases at least.

[anglerite]

Honestly, I'm a bit skeptical about how an 80 gallon water change could bring down nitrates from 80 to 5ish in a 250 gallon system, but I guess that's a good thing, right? Anyway, I'm glad to hear the nitrates are under control now. I'm still surprised the chalices didn't seem to mind the high nitrates, though. I was thinking maybe it was a combo of high nitrates, shipping stress, and intense light that was stressing out the zoas. But it sounds like you're on the right track now! Hopefully, they'll just keep getting better.

[coralix88]

I've had a pretty similar experience, just got my zoas from the same site yesterday. The water was ice-cold, and they only included one small hand warmer pack. Not exactly what I was expecting.

Anyway, I was relieved to see 4 out of 5 of them open up at least partially overnight. However, I'm a bit concerned about one of them - it's supposed to be a "cherry bomb" and it looked bright red in the pictures, but now it's gray and brown. I'm wondering if the stress of shipping could've caused that, or if maybe the picture was photoshopped.

On a more positive note, one of the zoas (ironically, the cheapest one I ordered) opened up within hours and it's a beautiful bright green. I've also had good luck with some other zoanthids I've had in the past, and the ricordea I ordered seems to be doing well too.

To the OP, I think there's a 14-day guarantee, right? You might still be within that timeframe - it might be worth reaching out to them to see what they have to say.