red monti cap pale

[lhscouchmonster]

I decided to try out my first SPS. I picked up this monti cap at my LFS. I have had it about 3 weeks. it started out much deeper red but has been becoming more pale as time has gone on. it looks a little redder in person than it does in the picture. there are signs of new growth on the edges.

I started it in the bottom 3rd of my tank for 8 days then bumped him up to about 8 inches below the water line. i have a 75g with a nwb-110 skimmer in my 30g sump. i have a 4 bulb fixture with geisseman bulbs. 2 are 6 months old, 2 are 3 months old. i have two 1150gph koralias and a mag7 return. I would say that the monti is in medium indirect flow.

i checked my alk and cal yesterday and i was at 8 and 380 respectively. (mag kit comes in the mail tomorrow. i did a 15% WC split between morning and night with IO reef crystals mix yesterday and it has since jumped to 8.5 and ~430.

ammonia 0, nitrite 0. nitrate 0-5ppm ph is 8.3 sg is 1.025 steady with my calibrated refractometer. i do small weekly water changes of about 8%.

Is this thing bleaching from the light? i placed a few cloudy colored sandwhich bags ontop of the glass above it today to shelter it some. I didn't think this was too high of light for a monitcap and i gave it 8 days to acclimate... Please help!

 

[msaba]

I would suggest :

1) moving it lower--it is quite possible the cap has not acclimated to the light.

2) check for critters (ie nudibranchs)

3) ALK looks fine now, but if there was a rapid change previously that might account for the whitening

4) phosphates?

 

[acroholicreefer]

your nutrients look too low. if you are running gfo, cut it off for a little bit and you will see things look better. Montis like a little bit more nutrients that acros. Keeping SPS is all about walking that line between high nutrients and low nutrients (Plus other things but not relevant to you in this situation).

 

[lhscouchmonster]

phosphates appear to be 0 but im using an api kit which people are always complaining about. no gfo.

didnt see any critters. ill need to check again at night. i dipped in coral rx after acclimation and inspected it but didnt find anything. (like ive done with all my corals)

i only have two clowns in the tank right now so im not feeding too much. i target feed my LPS. low nutrients might be the cause.

 

[mariusmeyer]

If it is not losing tissue then fading monti caps is a good indication of low potassium levels and it could also be low iodine levels.