More Light needed?

jerryh

jerryh

New Member
I am very new to this hobby and love it, but i have a question. I have a couple of Zoanthid frags that seem to be shrinking rather than growing. do i need more light or is there something else that i'm missing?
Here is my setup

Sand: 30lb (approx) CaribSea Argamax Select
Filter: Marineland Biowheel Power filter Emperor 280
Lighting: Nova Extreme 18" (1 ea. 18 watt T5HO Actinic, 10,000K)
Rock: 25lbs Live Rock
P.S.
That pic was taken with my blackberry i will take some better ones soon.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
How old is the tank?
And I see you said you are going to add pics...cause I think seeing the zoas would help
ALTHO they usually do not need high lighting
 
jerryh

jerryh

New Member
Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3202638
More pics would help.
How deep is the tank? How far away are the corals from the lights?
The tank is 23" deep and the top of the LR (where the coral is) is 15" from the light
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by JerryH
http:///forum/post/3202793
The tank is 23" deep and the top of the LR (where the coral is) is 15" from the light
Okay. The lighting may or may not be affecting your zoas. BUT, I think you're going to need more lighting if you intend to keep a reef, just my opinion.
Hex's are tough because they're so deep.
Do you know what type of zoanthids are in your tank right now? Pic of them to see exactly what's going on would still be helpful.
 
jerryh

jerryh

New Member
Here are a couple more pics of my Zo's. Hope they help.


Also, would mushrooms be a better fit for a tank like this?
Thanks for y'all's help
 
jerryh

jerryh

New Member
I added about 50lbs of new live rock when a friend was downsizing. It still seems like my zoos are shrinking but i have no idea why %%,
my leathers are doing great, one at the top getting lots of light and one on the bottom. Also My temp stays right at 76-77
hoping the additional height will allow for some new and different corals. As always any advice or opinions are welcome
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Dont think lighting is an issue with his placement of them. Ive been suprised as I read more and more how most corals don't require as much light as we think. There are a lot of lower bed beautiful corals that can be supported even used PCs.
Anyways to the OP. Can we get some chemical tests? Specially nitrates phosphates and calcium. Any of these at a high level will inhibit them.
Here are a few pics of mine with a 420ppm calcium level, 5ppm nitrates, and 0 phosphates.



Not the best pics ive taken cant find my mem card with the HD ones.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
What are your water parameters and do you run carbon?
Sometimes leathers release a toxin that other corals don't like. It usually bothers SPS the most, but others like zoas can be affected. IMO, if you have leathers, you should run carbon as a precaution. I prefer Boyd's ChemiPure Elite.
 
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