monti cap issues

[rsantangelo3@co]

i have a monti cap frag and it has been doing fine. now there is a dead spot right in the middle. my question is will this spread or can it happen to just b this one local area. also my nitrates are high as well as my alkalinty. also its high in the reef under a 250watt 14k in a 30 cube. any of these possible nemisis? all info will help

 

[Potsy]

How big is the dead spot in proportion to the frag? How high is your nitrate & alkalinity? It's possible that your lighting responsible; I've had M. digitata react in the same way to new 250 watt de bulbs.

I've personally found montipora to be nearly bullet proof, and my rather large red cap gets a dead spot now and then for whatever reason (usually my handling it will do the trick) and new growth covers it in a few days.

 

[Mattmcf]

The height isn't a problem in my opinion, i have caps right under the surface with 400 watt halides. I would guess its because your parameters are high. How high are they? Caps are very durable corals, do a large enough water change to get your levels back to normal and it should heal up nicely. also make sure you have decent flow on it while it heals to prevent bacterial algae from setting up residence. Good luck!

 

[rsantangelo3@co]

thanks for your help guys. my alkalinty is high blue per the redsea tests. and my nitrate read red

 

[Potsy]

The colors of the test results should translate into numerical values. What is the value in dkh of "high blue" and ppm of "red?"

 

[rsantangelo3@co]

50ppm and 70 for alk

 

[Toshas79]

50 ppm nitrate? That so high, do big water change

 

[arts007]

what is that for your alk, 70? is it ppm,

 

[Wind Seeker]

I have burned my caps under my 250's when placed near the surface. When replaced near the bottom they have recovered with the deads spots covered over with new growth.