new zoas not opening in beginner reef tank

[gotwake89]

Hi all, first time posting but have been reading threads here since I started my tank and it has been very helpful.

started my 75 gal FOWLR tank back in March '12 and allowed to cycle. have started adding corals. recently bought a frag of about 20-30 small red zoas as well as a purple mushroom for some hardy corals to start with. all was going well for a few days but then the zoas stopped opening during the day. had been spot feeding them phytoplankton. noticed my lemonpeel angel was picking on them and decided to return the angel to my LFS. hopefully that will resolve the problem but am posting to see if anyone else has had similar problems with their zoas? just discovered that my calcium and magnesium are also quite low so I have begun supplementing these minerals yesterday. could this also be the cause of the zoas not opening? any recommendations for supplements that work well?

parameters as of today:
KH: 8
calcium: 200
mag: 900
pH, salinity and temperature normal
lighting: 2 AquaUFO LEDs
tank members: 1 royal gramma (new), 1 blue hippo tang (new), 1 mandarin dragonet, 1 fire goby (dartfish), 1 Ocellaris Clown

[IridescentLily]

To Reef Central
I assume these are your first zoas, yes? :-)

[potterjon]

If this is a FOWLR what kind of lighting and filtration do you have?

[gotwake89]

yes these are my first zoas, lighting is listed above (2 AquaUFO LEDs), and I am using a sump with bioballs.
also, as of this morning my new tang is no where to be found

[Donkeykong]

Test your nitrates, bioballs can cause a build up of nitrates, but that is probably a non issue on such a new tank. Zoa's are very hardy but can be temperamental about fully opening sometimes, especailly if they are being picked at. You said you might have lost your tang, what are your levels ie: ammonia nitrite nitrates? Just want to make sure you arent going thru any mini cycle or anything. Also you mentioned you just started supplements, what and how are you supplementing? sometimes adding to much calc and alk to fast can throw your ph and level of oxygen off that might stress stuff a bit.

[active]

my zoa's sometimes are all out and sometimes they hide. having them in the tank for over 6 weeks i notice they have a tendency to do this every now and then even in perfect conditions or as close to as i can get. being nipped at maybe is the reason for there hiding. see what happens in a few days.

[gotwake89]

Thanks for the info. I had no idea that the calcium/alk would have such an effect on the oxygen. That was probably the culprit as tangs are quite sensitive to oxygen. It was also quite a young tang (about 2") so it was probably especially sensitive. After dosing the calcium last night my calcium rose to about 260 ppm, but my KH jumped to about 13.7 this morning! I'm guessing it was too much too fast? The KH has been falling steadily though as I have quite a bit of water agitation. When I last checked it was down to 12.8. As for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates they are all basically 0, and my mag has risen to about 950.
Are there any other methods you have found for reducing KH other than water agitation and time? and how long should I wait before adding another dose of calcium to prevent another shock to the system.
lesson learned though, don't add anything sensitive like the blue hippo until you are done messing with tank parameters.
as far as the zoas though, still no opening but im giving them time to see if they come around. the purple mushroom seems to be thriving though

[MARINECRITTERS]

your levels are way off, calcium should be 420 - 440 ppm, magnesium should be 1200 - 1300 ppm, the only thing that is alright is your alkalinty.
by the way what is your ph, salinity and temp because your idea of good may be different then others.

[gotwake89]

Thanks for the input. As stated in my previous reply I know my calcium and magnesium are very low which is why I started supplementing. also, I included my nitrates in my previous reply also, which was 0. but my pH is 8.3, sal is 1.024, and temp is 76.

Im thinking the problem, as I stated before, is the large calcium dump, but I could be wrong. also any input as to any better ways to lower my now 12.8 KH would also be useful
Thanks

[mike r]

zoas are tuff. get your levels ALL in check and they should pull thruogh.

[joelespinoza]

Get your levels correct, make sure they are not under too much light, blow them off with a turkey baster to blow off extra detritus, then check for parasites. Do some google searches for them, I had micro nudibranchs on mine and they were causing no end of problems.

[cloak]

Sundial snails, asterina stars, nudibrachs, & spiders. Make sure first... GL.