Orange Monticap problem

[obzezzed350]

Hey guys,
Having an issue with a small frag of orange monti cap I picked up over 6 weeks ago. My tank consists of LPS, softies, and zoas and they are all doing great. When picking up some frags from a local guy, he had a small frag of orange monti so I figured I try it. I have kept it at the top of the aquascape. I have a CurrentUSA 8 bulb T-5 fixture. Water parameters are normal in my opinion, Phosphates 0, Nitrates 5, Calcium is about 500 according to my API test. Never tested for Alk. I dose C-Balance once every other day. 20% water changes weekly.

On to the issue, the orange texture of the frag appears to be chipping off. The frag hasnt grown, or at least enough to notice. The colony it came off was huge and thriving so I am pretty sure its something on my end. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[mal1099]

check your alk and mag they could be low. my monti was chipping when my mag was down around 950 raised it slowly back to 1350 over a 2 week period and my monti is looking very nice now

 

[obzezzed350]

I went to get a red sea mag test and it read about 1400. They didnt have an alk test in stock...I guess if I plan on keeping SPS, I should get one.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Yep you want to get one. What type of lighting environment did the frag come from? You may have it too high in the tank and shocked it. Try acclimating it to the light by lowering it down and slowly raising it up to where you want it in your tank.

 

[obzezzed350]

Guy before me had T5s as well, IIRC

 

[broke1]

Montis are the first to tell me when my Alk is low or my Sainity is off. All of the tests are important, but Alk is the one I test most often as it is the one that seems to cause the most issues when it's off.

 

[2006]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15733496#post15733496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by broke1
Montis are the first to tell me when my Alk is low or my Sainity is off. All of the tests are important, but Alk is the one I test most often as it is the one that seems to cause the most issues when it's off.

+1

FYI My Red Sea Mg test kit reads 150ppm higher then my Salifert.

 

[DT's_Reef]

When my calcium is high (500), I'll check my alkalinity, as usually when one is pretty high, there's a chance the other is low unless I've dosed recently.

 

[obzezzed350]

My alk came in at 2.1 or so on a red sea which according to a conversion scale is 6.1 dKH...I guess thats my problem?

 

[DT's_Reef]

Not sure that's really a problem. You might bump it up by 1-2 dkh over a couple days.

 

[DT's_Reef]

Not sure that's really a problem. You might bump it up by 1-2 dkh over a couple days.

 

[obzezzed350]

Well brought the alk up and dipped the frag in revive twice and appears to be recovering...thanks for the help guys!