encrusting monti stopped opening

D

Das awesome

New member
Hey guys! I'm new to sps and I've had this pink encrusting monti for about 2 weeks now and it would polyp everyday until yesterday. For some reason it never polyped out yesterday and today, it's still not opening. Should I be worried or is this something that happens every once in a while.

Here's a pic a couple days after I got it


and here it is now


I don't know why the pics came out so blue. It's not that blue really.
 
So I just did my tests and these are the results:
salinity: 1.025
nitrate: 0
phosphate: 0-0.25
calcium: 400
carbonate hardness: 6

These were the only things my kit tests for. Is there anything else I should check and is anything off? I'm not sure, but is carbonate hardness the same as alkalinity? If so, then how can I raise it cuz it seems way lower than what you guys recommend in the sticky.
 
Your kh is low... Never under 7 imo. Because of your KH; I would check the pH. 1 check during lights on and another after the lights have been off for a while; post both results.
Check ammonia.
What are your flow conditions? Is the coral getting blasted? A full tank show could help.

You can raise kh by dosing carbonates; I like to use kent superbuffer DKH. It contains only carbonates, no Ca or Mg (I like to dose each parameter independently).
 
use the bulk reef supply calculator for your tank and dose baking soda, no need to buy anything fancy, bring your alk up slowly. as other have said, test your ph, also test your magnesium if you havent.
 
The test kit I have does not check for pH or magnesium. I use the API reef master test kit. Is there a test kit for the 2 that you guys recommend? I will try and get them sometime today if I have time, but I will run home and take a water sample to my lfs so that they can check the pH and magnesium for me during my break b/w classes. Something is definitely up and I have a feeling that it's the pH since the alk is low as you guys said cuz now all of the corals are ****ed off including the hardy shrooms and zoas.

Ptyochromis said:
Your kh is low... Never under 7 imo. Because of your KH; I would check the pH. 1 check during lights on and another after the lights have been off for a while; post both results.
Check ammonia.
What are your flow conditions? Is the coral getting blasted? A full tank show could help.

You can raise kh by dosing carbonates; I like to use kent superbuffer DKH. It contains only carbonates, no Ca or Mg (I like to dose each parameter independently).
Click to expand...

There's about moderate to heavy flow in the tank. I have a biocube 14 and I replaced the stock pump with a maxijet 900 and as well as a koralia ( I forget which model but it's the nano one). The monti is not getting blasted at all. It's in the middle of my tank on the sand bed.

Here's a pic that I took about 1 1/2 weeks ago of the tank.


I have added a few more sps since this pic was taken. Could that have something to do with the params suddenly goin out of wack?

EDIT:Also, when I start bringing the alk up, should I also bring the pH up or will that change as I bring the alk up and once that is right, then deal w/the pH as needed?
 
I have 20 min till class starts so I'll put the results my lfs got. Calcium and alk they got the same as me: 400 ppm for calc and 6 dKH for alk. Alk definitely needs to be raised so I got some part 1 and 2 buffer and I'm slowly gonna bring the calc and alk up. Magnesium she got 1250 which is still kinda low so I'm gonna start bringing that up slowly as well. She didn't check pH cuz she said that that's gonna raise up as I bring everything else up so alk is mainly what I need to work on. We concluded that it's the salt I'm using that's messing everything up. I used to use the Red Sea salt for reef tanks but I didn't feel like driving to my usual place to pick it up cuz its kinda far so I went to a different lfs in my area and he sold me a 50lb bag of his store use salt for $30. That salt wasn't made for reefs so in the past month or 2 when I got it, everything has been dropping so for now, I'm gonna dose the tank as usual to raise everything. Then when that's correct, I'm gonna continue using the salt till it's all gone and just dose the tank to keep the params in check then start using the better more expensive salt again. There's no point in changing the salt cuz I still have a lot of it and I don't want it to go to waste.

How does this plan sound to you guys?
 
1250 it too awful. I was looking through your photoalbum and stumbled uppon this pic http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums...D057B8A-3784-00000650EF773156_zps07e8d0ce.jpg

If this is your current lighting situation, then that par 38 looks WAY too far away. I would cover the top with eggcrate and stick that bulb right on top of the tank.

The coral could just be in a bad spot, the flow from the PH bouncing off the glass. You could try putting it on that LR 'bridge' at the top of your tank and adjusting your par 38 so the coral is on the outside of the beam.

About your salt situ, you could cut it with red sea if you wanted to. That salt you are using sounds sketchy, like IO cut with Morton:eek:
 
Ptyochromis said:
1250 it too awful. I was looking through your photoalbum and stumbled uppon this pic http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums...D057B8A-3784-00000650EF773156_zps07e8d0ce.jpg

If this is your current lighting situation, then that par 38 looks WAY too far away. I would cover the top with eggcrate and stick that bulb right on top of the tank.

The coral could just be in a bad spot, the flow from the PH bouncing off the glass. You could try putting it on that LR 'bridge' at the top of your tank and adjusting your par 38 so the coral is on the outside of the beam.

About your salt situ, you could cut it with red sea if you wanted to. That salt you are using sounds sketchy, like IO cut with Morton:eek:
Click to expand...

That's not my current lighting. I had that when I wanted to upgrade to LED and the guy at the lfs told it would be fine but it definitely wasn't working the way I wanted. A few months ago I upgraded to the rapid led retrofit kit for my bio14 and this is the current lighting.
 
Hows the monty doing?

My monty was having poor polyp extension a few days ago. I tested Mg and it was at 1260ppm. I dosed it up to 1350 and it is back to 100%.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
No pe on acros
Replies
7
Views
464
Scotty333!!!
S
C
Question Help Plz!!!!
Replies
9
Views
556
Timfish
Timfish
A
Plumbing question
Replies
1
Views
258
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
wvned
My weir
Replies
6
Views
478
SantaMonica
S
K
Help: SPS peeling strangely.
Replies
5
Views
513
griss
griss
Back
Top