16 Gallon BowFront reeftank

[BlackwaterMerk]

ah ok that makes sense.

[BlackwaterMerk]

ive had my zoas in here for about 4 days and at max only 5-6 heads have opened, and their the same heads each day, ive moved them to different spots and now they are the highest positioned coral in my tank. What could cause this?

Current peramaters.
Adding B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System every morning.

Temp-78.5
Salinity- 1.024-1.025 according to my hydrometer
Ph- high but I added "live bacteria" yesterday so Im guessing thats why.
Amonia-0 I added my first fish yesterday so im expecting this to go up a lil.
Nitrate-about 30
Nitrite-0

P.S.- Will I have to get a skimmer once I get my clownfish pair? Their will be a total of 3 fish in a 16 gallon tank with about 15lbs of LR. I have good movement I have 2 powerheads currently.

1-hydor Nano
2-hydor 1

for a total flowrate of 640 GPH according to the index on the back of the box.

Lighting is my 10,000k 15W (T8)

[BlackwaterMerk]

heres the best pic I could get :C

[BlackwaterMerk]

Heres one of my tank as current. you can see my angel on the bottom right tryin to hide.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

ive had my zoas in here for about 4 days and at max only 5-6 heads have opened, and their the same heads each day, ive moved them to different spots and now they are the highest positioned coral in my tank. What could cause this?

Water movement, light, water parameters, lots of things.

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Current peramaters.
Adding B-Ionic Calcium Buffer System every morning.

Why are you adding a Ca buffer to a softie/fish tank that doesn't use Ca on a very strong basis, if any?

But, since you are buffering Ca, what does your Ca test at? And, Mg and Alk. The Alk could possibly cause the zoas not to open up.

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Temp-78.5
Salinity- 1.024-1.025 according to my hydrometer

Buy a refractometer and stop using the hydrometer. They arent reliable or even consistent.

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Ph- high but I added "live bacteria" yesterday so Im guessing thats why.

No, that isn't why your pH changes. pH changes as the amount of CO2 in the water changes and has a normal "swing" to it during the day. It should change throughout the day. If it doesn't, THEN you worry about pH.

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Amonia-0 I added my first fish yesterday so im expecting this to go up a lil.
Nitrate-about 30
Nitrite-0

You shouldn't see ammonia go up but you might see a rise in nitrates.

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

P.S.- Will I have to get a skimmer once I get my clownfish pair? Their will be a total of 3 fish in a 16 gallon tank with about 15lbs of LR. I have good movement I have 2 powerheads currently.

No, you can run that tank without a skimmer, just have to make sure you do the waterchanges when they need to be done (weekly).

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

1-hydor Nano
2-hydor 1

for a total flowrate of 640 GPH according to the index on the back of the box.

Lighting is my 10,000k 15W (T8)

Thats plenty of flow for that tank. Its enough light for a FO or FOWLR tank but I would look to upgrade it if you want corals. And that light could very well be the reason your zoas aren't opening up. Its not a lot of light.

[BlackwaterMerk]

good stuff. Ill look into a refractometer which ive seen mentioned in a number of discussions. And i might look into making a custom hood of somekind because I cant find any 18 inch bumbs stronger then 15w lol. The kenya tree on the left is really thriving. The zoos are only about 3" or 4" away from the light. My sis bought some zoos and she has the same lighting as me, except 2 18 inch bulbs accross her 55 gal and her zoo opened up all the way :C Ill def look into maybe making a custom hood in the near future. Could I maybe customize my current hood to hold 2X10,000k 15w bulbs maybe?

[OneDummHikk]

That will depend on how the canopy is built, the light fixture is made, and how determined you are to make it work. But yes, you can get them in there, its just a matter of what you have to modify to get it in there

[BlackwaterMerk]

Guess what I got!!!!!!

New Lights:
T5 HO 24" 24W GLO Lighting fixture, thats sits great ontop of my hood.


Coral:
Green Zoo's
GSP Frag
My sis gave me an eagle eye Zoo frag.
An eagles nest Frag.
Orange Yuma

Also my other zoos are starting to open more with the new lighting.

[OneDummHikk]

Congratulations on the new lights and additions. You and your tank both will be a lot happier and healthier with the new light setup.

[BlackwaterMerk]

I was able to put my old portion of my hood next to my new lighting fixture, so now I have my t5 24w inback of my 15W actnic lighting. Creating a cool "shimmer" effect.

[TR 25]

get t5's so you can have every thing

[BlackwaterMerk]

Originally Posted by BlackwaterMerk

Guess what I got!!!!!!

New Lights:
T5 HO 24" 24W GLO Lighting fixture, thats sits great ontop of my hood.

Got a t5 bulb in it alrdy, im gettin another fixture to get an actnic light in it.

[TR 25]

i want a flame angel so bad how much was yours?

here's my coral beauty

[BlackwaterMerk]

In my area atleast they range from 39.99 to 59.99.

[Loverotties]

They are a pretty fish!