Zoanthid polyp bailout, why?

[lynxfang]

My Zoanthid polyps started bailing out yesterday, and I can't figure out why. Tank params are stable, 78F, 1.025 salinity, 8.2 pH, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5 nitrate. Running a 40-gallon with AI Prime lighting, 10% weekly water changes. Any ideas?

[dantez]

Weird vibe, dude. Had the same thing happen last month. Check your flow—mine was too high. Also, any new tankmates? My clownfish decided to mess with 'em right before they bailed.

[rizeno]

Weird vibe, dude. Had the same thing happen last month. Check your flow—mine was too high. Also, any new tankmates? My clownfish decided to mess with 'em right before they bailed.

Flow's a good point. What's your PAR reading under the AI Prime? Zoanthids can bail if light's too intense suddenly. Also, any recent chemical treatments?

[wildflora]

Mine did that once. I cut it back to 5% water changes and they chilled out. Maybe too much change at once?

[tuners]

Yep, sketchy stuff. My buddy's tank had a similar issue, turned out his heater was spiking temps at night. You got a controller on that thing?

[darkdive]

Nope, no heater spikes here, but my skimmer went nuts last week. Could be oxygen swings. You running carbon?

[dantez]

Powerhead's prolly the culprit. Mine hate sudden flow changes. Try pointing it at the glass or dialing it back a notch.

[rizeno]

Agreed on the flow. Also, what's your alkalinity at? Zoanthids can bail if alk swings more than 0.5 dKH in a day. Tested it lately?

[wildflora]

Mine's at 8 dKH. Stable for months. Maybe it's just the powerhead like dantez said.

[tuners]

Gonna throw this out there—any chance of stray voltage? My tank had a sketchy ground once, and everything acted weird till I fixed it.