Zoo and GSP Question

[kynekke]

Please see attached pictures.
Zoo's... they were doing amazingly well when I was using tap water, lost my Xenia because my Alk was at 19 so I moved to R/O DI water. 1 month later on R/O DI is the 2nd picture and 3 months later is the last picture. So my Zoo's apparently like tap water =/ Any ideas how to perk them up?
GSP's.... they are splitting up. Instead of growing out they seem to be moving apart instead. So I get the white growth on the rock but then the other side of the GSP dies off, basically, instead of growing bigger they are just crawling further apart. Any ideas on how to help them to just grow? I kind of wanted a huge GSP instead of 2 little ones at opposite ends of the rock!

 

[kynekke]

Oh, I should mention... on that top picture of my Zoo's, I had them shut-up on purpose to show the black sponge, which disappeared 2 days later. They normally were all opened up.
SG 1.025
Temp 78-80
Ammonia 0
Phos 0
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 0
Calc 380
Alk 8
PH 8.2
55 Gallon Tank
20 Gallon Sump/Fuge
Flow x22

 

[larrynews]

the sponge will smoother the zoas i had some really cool yellow sponge that was growing over my zoas and i had to scrub the sponge off and it finally went away, as for the gsp, has a powerhead been moved or something that is blowing on them....

 

[kynekke]

That sponge has been gone for months and the Zoo's keep getting worse.
Nothing has changed in the tank since I put in the GSP.

 

[ecooper]

Kynekke,
Ok, I can't imagine your RO water is hurting anything. But, something is killing off your Zoos and your GSP. That doesn't look like your GSP moving, but rather dying off.
What type of lights do you have? Do you feed your zoos and GSP anything?

 

[kynekke]

I have 265w PC's and I feed them just squirts of plankton... I don't know as though they have a mouth that I can see to feed them like I do my shrooms. My zoo's have been dying for months, slowly.... my GSP just started acting weird lately when I put in a Coral Beauty and 10 jade hermits.
I do know the Jade Hermits were picking at it constantly so they have mostly been banished to the sump. I've watched/filmed the GSP and haven't seen the Coral Beauty come near it... the Zoo issue started long before my CB came along though.

 

[ecooper]

I don't know much about Jade hermits. Here's another thread with Zoo info: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/307436/zoos-i-give-up-why-why-why

 

[larrynews]

any pyramid snails...they eat zoas

 

[kynekke]

I haven't seen any... I do know at night 100's of tiny snails come out but they have white rounded shells.

 

[kynekke]

I was studying my GSP last night and what I found was new growth along the outside edge but the inner part is dying off and disappearing all together. I must have a predator. I filmed for 2 hours and caught nothing.. my Coral Beauty is a nipper but I have never seen it bother my GSP. I have Mushrooms and Ricordia that aren't bothered....
Can a Brittle Starfish turn Coral-Eater? Course.. I've never seen him leave his hole except when I toss some Krill down his way.

 

[emm0909]

Watch your alcolinity. Is that the only thing in your tank?
Sometimes if you let the tank go bad it wont show signs until a month later. Then when parameters are good again, it could take a month to look better.

 

[kynekke]

The alk in my tank has been fixed since November and the GSP is only like 3 months old. It's still growing like a weed, around the outter edges but that cente part dies off.

 

[kynekke]

I guess my only option right now is to take out the new things I put in my tank when my GSP started to die off.
Here's what I got with the latest order:
Coral Beauty
10 Jade Hermits
10 Turbo Snails
10 Nes Snails
1 Brittle Starfish
1 Cleaner Clam
1 Queen Conch
1 Porcelain Crab
What of those would you suspect and think I should try removing? I have NO idea how I would ever catch that Brittle Starfish, he's taken up residency under a 15lb rock I have that supports all other rocks.