Bens sps experiment

[Bent]

I bought this monti cap as an experiment to see how some sps would do in my tank and learn from it, since I've never kept any sps before.

I have to say it's not going to well. It's receding and bleaching in spots. Granted my BTAs are close, but they haven't touched each other yet, so I don't think that's the answer. Parameters as of this am

Total P = 7 ppb. (Consistently under 10.) makes po4 ~.02ppm
Alk= 9
1025 SG
Calcium 446

Flow is from two rw4s running with jbwave on full random. 50% minimum.

My reefbreeders are at 40 reds and 90 blues if that means anything. I don't have access to a par meter.

I'm thinking about really dropping the lights down to about 20 red and 50blue and seeing if that helps.

Ideas?

 

[cloak]

Have you checked it for nudibranchs?

http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/captive_aquatics/2010/09/a-montipora-eating-nudibranch-primer.html

Aside from that, these are actually a very undemanding coral IME.

 

[Bent]

Have you checked it for nudibranchs?

http://blog.captive-aquatics.com/captive_aquatics/2010/09/a-montipora-eating-nudibranch-primer.html

Aside from that, these are actually a very undemanding coral IME.

I read that same article when I was researching the issue, but I don't see any. Not that it means anything, my eyesight for this type of thing is terrible.

I cranked my lights down to 40 blue and 20 red and I'll see how that does. I'll also keep looking for them nudis.

 

[broke1]

Red caps are a good starter SPS, cheap and resilient. In my particular tank my caps didn't far well under high Alk, they browned when the Nitrates and Phosphates climbed. It's hard to tell from the picture, but that looks bleached or stung. I have been done the Nudi road, they usually eat from the bottom up, leaving nothing but dead behind them. They are very easy to spot, their eggs are a little harder.

 

[laga77]

Maybe you need to turn your lights up. Here is 11 months worth of growth for one of my Monti`s under Reefbreeders that ramp up to 100% for 3 hours.

 

[jrp1588]

Did you acclimate the coral to the light at all? I've been running my RB lights ramping up to 60/30 for the past 9 months or so. Just today I bumped it up to 70/35. Most people don't run them close to maximum it seems.

 

[laga77]

The Monti was not acclimated. This tank was started a year ago Labor Day. The first corals in were acclimated over a months time. Since then, when I get a new piece, It goes in the bottom of the tank for a week and then I place it. I do not lose any corals this way. Here are both tanks today. The 50G has a 32" RB and the 120G has a 48" RB, they run the same light schedule. Both tanks have 9dKH, Ca 450, po4 .o3. About a month ago my nitrates shot up to 25ppm and I have started vodka dosing . There was a GHA bloom which is now gone.

 

[Bent]

How far away are your lights? Mine are 6" off he surface and the monti cap is near the surface. So maybe 6" deep and another 6" from the surface to the light.

I got the cap from a LFS that keep theirs under radions, so I don't know if acclimation could be the issue or not.

That's kind of what kills me. I have no idea how much light I have. Just total guess work.

God I need a par meter.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Yours looks exactly like mine did when my BTA stung the crap out of it. After that it was a goner. Just exactly how far away is your BTA closest point to closest point.

 

[laga77]

How far away are your lights? Mine are 6" off he surface and the monti cap is near the surface. So maybe 6" deep and another 6" from the surface to the light.

I got the cap from a LFS that keep theirs under radions, so I don't know if acclimation could be the issue or not.

That's kind of what kills me. I have no idea how much light I have. Just total guess work.

God I need a par meter.

7' from water and the Monti is 8' down from surface.

 

[Bent]

How far away are your lights? Mine are 6" off he surface and the monti cap is near the surface. So maybe 6" deep and another 6" from the surface to the light.

I got the cap from a LFS that keep theirs under radions, so I don't know if acclimation could be the issue or not.

That's kind of what kills me. I have no idea how much light I have. Just total guess work.

God I need a par meter.

Yours looks exactly like mine did when my BTA stung the crap out of it. After that it was a goner. Just exactly how far away is your BTA closest point to closest point.

Like all up in its grill man. I don't think they have touched but it's possible. They are like 1/16" away.

I'm tempted to kalk paste those BTAs.

 

[jrp1588]

Like all up in its grill man. I don't think they have touched but it's possible. They are like 1/16" away.

I'm tempted to kalk paste those BTAs.

Bubble tips are worth a decent amount. Can the rock be feasibly removed? If so, you can usually coax them off to sell them.

 

[Bent]

Bubble tips are worth a decent amount. Can the rock be feasibly removed? If so, you can usually coax them off to sell them.

No the rock is epoxied together after my engie goby almost toppled it. I don't know how I would get them out. The feet are deep.

I wonder if I can move it? The cap.

 

[jrp1588]

Try moving the monti for sure. Maybe put it mid level in the tank and see how it looks.

 

[treedog5]

I really think u have your leds set to high. 90 is definitely overkill coming from any LED fixture.

 

[Bent]

Yep moved it to the overflow. Hopefully it recovers.

The lights are now at 20 red and 40 blue for 4 hours at the brightest.

 

[heathlindner25]

I really think u have your leds set to high. 90 is definitely overkill coming from any LED fixture.

I run my blues at 90%

 

[nmotz]

Bleaching is usually a sign of too much light. I have a monti cap in my mantis shrimp tank that sits underneath a single T8 bulb that is maybe 15W, no joke. It grows, though not as fast admittedly, and it has great color. Monti's don't need all that much light IME.

 

[MondoBongo]

how long have you had it for?

i'm with the others, i bet your BTA reached out and gave it a hug at some point.

for what it's worth, i haven't exactly ever concerned myself with much light acclimation for most of my sps, with the exception of some of the more sensitive acros that prefer less light. montis are pretty resilient in that regard though.

two other things that might be worth keeping in mind as well are stability of your alkalinity and your magnesium. i haven't really given mg too much thought until recently. i was having trouble getting my alk to where i wanted it, and i think the cause was my magnesium being way low without me realizing it.

 

[slief]

No the rock is epoxied together after my engie goby almost toppled it. I don't know how I would get them out. The feet are deep.

I wonder if I can move it? The cap.

They are easy to get to move. Just put a power head on the front pane with the head directed right at the BTA. Leave the power head blasting directly into the area where it's attached. It will move itself out of the way. If you can place some removable rocks in it's path, it will move onto the new rocks as it finds it's way to a new home. Then you can remove it and the rock it crosses.

As for your lights, I'd try lowering the intensity on both channels. They both seem high to me. Red really isn't needed. Blue is the most important color for photosynthetic radiation in corals. Red is more for your viewing pleasure just like white and only helps in making certain color color pop where as the white light increases the perception on brightness.. More over, 420nm+ doesn't read well to the eye let alone a PAR meter in terms of intensity. As such, I suspect you blues are much more powerful than you think. I'd be running no more than 75% blue and probably closer to 10% red but that is just a guess. I run Kessil 360WE's and I added a few Moni frags a couple months ago. I run my lights at a max intensity of 75%. The new Monti frags have been growing at a rate of over 1/4" a week along all edges. Frankly, I have never seen a coral grow so fast. You can see the growth every single day and I'm not exaggerating. My CA is around 475 and Alk around 10 dkh. I run a calcium reactor and really don't test my Ca and Alk very often because my reactors consistency doesn't waver.