Zoanthids problems - slowly melting away

[Tradevg]

Hi. I bought this zoa colony from a LFS along with a Xenia. This is my first foray with corals. The rock in the picture was covered with Zoas when I got them but since have been withering away. They rarely open and then very little. I’ve done both FW and Coral Rx dips. When they’re open i can see some white spots on a few. They are sitting close to a powerhead for flow about halfway up in the water column in a 27 gallon cube. I attached a video to help diagnose - too much flow? Not enough? I’m also using a blaster every few days to blow off debris. First 3?pictures are what they look like today. The latter pictures are what they looked like shortly after I got them from the LFS.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Lavey29]

I don't recommend fresh water dips on coral. How old is the tank? Do you know par levels?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Never FW dip a coral.

Is that an AI Prime light? What intensity is it? How deep is the tank.

 

[Tradevg]

Noted on the FW dip - My LFS had advised on the FW dip. Don’t know par levels. It is a AI Prime. See picture of settings - hope it’ll answer your question. Thanks.

 

[Tradevg]

I don't recommend fresh water dips on coral. How old is the tank? Do you know par levels?

The tank is a little over 2 yrs old.

 

[Lavey29]

The tank is a little over 2 yrs old.

your numbers arent bad but nitrates are low. If the FW dip didn't kill them off then I would focus on light and flow as possible reason for the coral struggles. Some zoas thrive in high par others need quite low par. They can grow in low and moderate flow but not high flow right on top of them.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

To me your lights look very low for your tank size.

I use this light on a 15 gallon softie tank (mushrooms and zoa's) its a 12" depth tank and the light is at 70% intensity. I would crank up the blue's, and turn down the uv, it doesn't need to be at 100%.

 

[Tradevg]

To me your lights look very low for your tank size.

I use this light on a 15 gallon softie tank (mushrooms and zoa's) its a 12" depth tank and the light is at 70% intensity. I would crank up the blue's, and turn down the uv, it doesn't need to be at 100%.

By low I assume you mean intensity (and not distance from surface)?
It changed the lights as follows:
UV 100 to 20
DB 10 to 30
B 61 to 100

Also moved the power head away a little to reduce direct flow.

thanks @Mr. Mojo Rising @Lavey29

 

[Tradevg]

Quick update. After turning up the lights and moving the power head a bit further, the remaining zoas seem to be opening up. How long does it take for them to normalize given they were closed for weeks? Of course with the brighter lights, I now have to contend with green algae on my glass and sand bed.