[hackman238]

Hi,

I've been doing saltwater tanks for about 4 years and have recently decided to get into some corals and stuff. I purchased a very healthy 2.5" by 5.5" green zoathid colony. The colony was doing well up to this past week. At this point the zoos look like they are starting to shed, and I see some foam or cotton like material in one or two areas of the colony. I've googled around but havent found an answer. Any one have any advice?

Tank:
75 Gallon W/ 8 gallon sump
2 x Compact flourescent lights
1 x metal hilide light
Lit hours:10 hours per day

Water spes:
Specific Gravity: 1.024
Temp: 81 F (Varies over the day between 80-82 F)
Phosphate: 0.3 mg/L
Iron: Less then 0.01 mg/L
Cleated Iron: Less then 0.01 mg/L
Calcium: 420 mg/L
NO2: Less then 0.1 mg/L
NO3: Less then 5.0 mg/L
NH4: Less then 0.1 mg/L
KH: 7.3 dKH
PH: 8.4 (Stable)

[scubadude]

I think I know exactly what you are talking about, I believe every one calls it molding up or I have even heard it called cheesing up. I believe this is a bacteria infection and I have had this a couple of times in zoos and if your not careful it can devestate your zoos. You definately need to start doing iodine dips of ALL your new corals, thats a given. You can do iodine dips now but its probably too late you need to probably remove the molded piece discard it and then dip the remaining piece in iodine. And you have to do all this w/out stirring up the bacteria in your tank and spreading it thats the hard part.

Tip: turn off all flow in your tank before you do any movement of the effected piece.

[hackman238]

Scobadude, thanks for the advice. One more quick question though, what ratio of iodine to salt water do you reccomend for the dip? I see widely disputed values online, some which include volumes of iodine that scare me. The LFS told me to just ditch all the corals (even uneffected ones) and start over, but I know this is a sales tactic.

Thanks again!
--HM238

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by hackman238

what ratio of iodine to salt water do you reccomend for the dip?

I just get about a gallon or so of your aquarium water and put about a tablespoon or so of iodine in the bowl. I would definately cut out the molded areas and maybe even a bit more to make sure you get all the affected area. Dip the affected coral for 10-15 minutes. I believe Lugols gives directions on how to dip corals too....So dont go by my advice if they say otherwise.

[hackman238]

Scubadude,

Its been about a week since I performed a iodine dip on the affected zoo colony and put it in a Q tank as you instructed. They are recovering quite well! Some areas of the colony were definately too far gone to save, so I removed them before performing the dip and saved the rest. There are a few small areas that have not recovered as well, would it be wise to perform a second iodine dip? I'm very impressed with the results, I thought for sure I'd loose them all.

Thanks for the advice!
--Hackman238

[scubadude]

If you are using lugols or kents iodine then do their recommended usage...otherwise I would leave well enough alone if you saw progression....if you see them declining again then maybe do another dip. Its kind of a flip of the coin though....you need to judge wether they will be stressed or not...I think another dip wouldnt hurt either. Watch them close though..if they are obviously gettting better I would leave them alone. Maybe you could do an iodine test on your tank water and bump that up a bit? I think everyones level of iodine would be low comparitive to that of NSW though if memory serves me correctly. Iodine gets used up quickly in our tanks