Monti Trouble!?!?

[ryan_ferguson25]

Hey Guys, been a while since i popped in, just been trying to learn as I go and figure things out based on what ya'll have taught.

I've been building slowly and by all accounts i've done ok so far... I've dealt with the usual algae/diatom outbreaks but things seem to be going well right now...

I've been adding some LPS Coral and they've all been doing well...polyps out and nicely coloured.... About 7 weeks ago I added a large Monti from my LFS. I've had my eye on this piece for 8 months... and when i felt i was ready... i pulled the trigger for a price i couldn't refuse... it was $50 bucks and its about 8" in diameter.

It looked amazing for about 4 1/2 weeks... but it seems to be struggling the last couple weeks... it's definitely losing colour, going a little browny in spots and has a few "bald" spots appearing about the size of a baby finger nail.... it's a beautiful piece and I want to salvage it.

My numbers were as follows as of yesterday:

Nitrate - 0 (API)
Phos - 0 (Salifert)
Cal - 450 (Salifert)
Mag - 1290 (Salifert)
Alk - 8.8 (Salifert)

Could the slightly lower mag and Alk be the cause??

It's located about 9" off sand bed in an 18" deep 80 Gallon.

T5 home made fixture in a hood... I'm going to upgrade my bulbs soon to ATI...but I thought since everything else LPS wise is doing well... i'm not convinced it has much to do with my lights....

Anyways... long read.. sorry.... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mcgyvr]

While that mag isn't too bad it could be higher..
My monti lets me know mag is low sometimes by loosing some tissue like that..
I up the mag and it stops..
Get the mag up some and see how it does..

Your alk is totally fine.. But has it been at that level or is it changing?
corals need "stable" parameters more than a specific number in the accepted ranges..

old bulbs probably isn't helping but may not be the issue..

You might want to just do some water changes and see how it goes..

 

[ryan_ferguson25]

While that mag isn't too bad it could be higher..
My monti lets me know mag is low sometimes by loosing some tissue like that..
I up the mag and it stops..
Get the mag up some and see how it does..

Your alk is totally fine.. But has it been at that level or is it changing?
corals need "stable" parameters more than a specific number in the accepted ranges..

old bulbs probably isn't helping but may not be the issue..

You might want to just do some water changes and see how it goes..

My Alk had been low and I was slowly bringing it up. Same with mag.

I'll give those suggestions a shot. Thx