Trouble keeping Montipora

[chadfish]

Montiopora, especially Digi are supposed to be easy to keep, but I can't seem to do it. I have a red Digi, Green Digi, and a Forest Fire that are losing color and have almost no polyp extension. They are white, but not bleached, just fully retracted. Also I think my Leng Sy is bleaching out.

Can anyone give me some pointers? Coral that do well are: SPS: Slimer, Miyagi Tort, Spongode, Pavona; LPS: Trumpet, Hammer, Torch, Duncan; cyphastria, And anything soft.

I tried dosing AB+ and ended up with just an EXPLOSION of bubble algae.

Parameters
Sal: 1.025
pH: 8.1
Alk: ~8.6
Calc: 500
NO3: ~2.5
PO4: 0
Mag: 1350
PAR: 100-200 depending on depth - Reefbreeders v2+ 36' 11in above surface, max 39% on blue channels and 10% on white
Tank: 50gal acrylic with 15 gal sump
I run carbon on and off
I run socks on/off depending

 

[thrillreefer]

Actually having similar issue, following along. Montipora caps growing like weeds but digis are withering for me

 

[iKenreef]

You sure on those par numbers. I run my reefbreeders blues and purples at 80-100 , whites 20-30, and others at 10.

 

[Joe Rice]

A lot of folks recommend keeping Mag around 1500 for best montipora growth. I keep mine around 1480 and my montis grow faster than anything else in my tank.

 

[Chris A.]

2 things that stick out at me is 0 Po4 and your par could be a bit higher, at least in the 250-300 range.

 

[chadfish]

2 things that stick out at me is 0 Po4 and your par could be a bit higher, at least in the 250-300 range.

I agree. But very time I increase the PAR, bad things happen. The Forest Fire came from @Joe Rice and he said he’s running like 400!?! Is that right @Joe Rice? It was so beautifully fluffy as I acclimated it on the sand bed, but when I moved it up a bit, it deteriorated.

I need to figure out how to increase the PAR. Only the Slimer get the high end at 250 as it grows upwards.

How do I get the PO4 up? Feeding doesn’t seem to help. And when I say 0.00, I mean the Hanna was blinking 0.00, as in GTFOH

 

[chadfish]

A lot of folks recommend keeping Mag around 1500 for best montipora growth. I keep mine around 1480 and my montis grow faster than anything else in my tank.

I’ll try that. Thanks. Can I bring it up all at once, you think?

 

[chadfish]

You sure on those par numbers. I run my reefbreeders blues and purples at 80-100 , whites 20-30, and others at 10.

I used the club PAR meter… twice at least. How far off the water are you? And how deep is your tank?

 

[Cheddah93]

mag can be raised roughly 100ppm per day and just remember the old saying in the hobby of nothing good happens in a hurry, personally I’d bring it up over the course of a week.

As for phosphate you have a couple options, dose it, or you can try feeding reef roids or similar as I have found that helps bringing up phosphate more than nitrate.

 

[Joe Rice]

I agree. But very time I increase the PAR, bad things happen. The Forest Fire came from @Joe Rice and he said he’s running like 400!?! Is that right @Joe Rice? It was so beautifully fluffy as I acclimated it on the sand bed, but when I moved it up a bit, it deteriorated.

I need to figure out how to increase the PAR. Only the Slimer get the high end at 250 as it grows upwards.

How do I get the PO4 up? Feeding doesn’t seem to help. And when I say 0.00, I mean the Hanna was blinking 0.00, as in GTFOH

I had it growing like a weed near the top of my tank. But there are remnants of it still growing, some in the old spots, but also some pieces that broke off and are basically growing in low-light caves, so I don't think it's the PAR.

My phosphates ARE really high (0.80 last I checked a month ago). And I keep my magnesium around 1500

 

[DylanCameron]

I agree. But very time I increase the PAR, bad things happen. The Forest Fire came from @Joe Rice and he said he’s running like 400!?! Is that right @Joe Rice? It was so beautifully fluffy as I acclimated it on the sand bed, but when I moved it up a bit, it deteriorated.

I need to figure out how to increase the PAR. Only the Slimer get the high end at 250 as it grows upwards.

How do I get the PO4 up? Feeding doesn’t seem to help. And when I say 0.00, I mean the Hanna was blinking 0.00, as in GTFOH

Increasing par without increase nutrients first is a bad idea due to the fact that increased lighting is going to increase the rate of photosynthesis, and therefore increase PO4 uptake, which is potentially why the monti is deteriorating at higher par.

I would personally try to slowly raise your PO4 by dosing a supplement, it can be name brand or you can DIY your own solution (https://www.loudwolf.com/storefront...ct&product_id=1248&search=Trisodium+phosphate link to product and https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/trisodium-phosphate-dosing-math.354337/#post-4398510 link to dosing instructions). Everyone has their own opinion on feeding more vs dosing to increase nutrients, but I personally like to dose as I can control nitrate or phosphate directly. Just keep an eye on NO3 if you're going to dose PO4 as it seems your system is PO4 limited and you might notice a drop in NO3 once you start dosing...

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

What fish are in the system? Any nippers? Did you check for pests?

 

[chadfish]

What fish are in the system? Any nippers? Did you check for pests?

Great question. The only pest right now seems to be Valvona lol
Seriously, I checked for red bugs and nudibranch. I thought I had a nudi a few months ago but it turned out to be a white bleach spot that’s been healed.

Livestock:
2 clowns w/ RBTA
2 pajama cardinals
Diamond goby & pistol
Tomini Tang (not a nipper and I keep him fed)
Chromis
Royal Gramma
Cleaner shrimp
Bumble Bee snails
Narsissus snails
Trocus snails

There’s a lot going on in this tank. Hopefully I can manage to upsize to a 4’ 75gal in the next year or so,

 

[chadfish]

Okay, so tell me if this sounds reasonable:
Step 1) increase mag to 1500ppm over a week or so
Step 2) dose PO4 and NO3 to get to a stable 5ppm NO3 and 0.05ppm
Step 3) raise PAR to 150 at the bottom and 400 at the top over the course of 6 months

 

[chadfish]

Okay, I tried these measures and I didn’t get any results.

Then I sold the Gorgonian that would occasionally brush up against the Leng Sy and started dosing iodine.

The Leng Sy is growing back over dying spots and the red monti cap started glowing again.

Things are looking up!

 

[dz6t]

Monti are sensitive to magnesium level, no idea why, just observations.

 

[Joker]

Don't count out that tomini tang. My flame fin loves to nibble on my monti caps all day long. Granted he isn't doing much damage but maybe yours could be

 

[dsscubasarge]

You sure on those par numbers. I run my reefbreeders blues and purples at 80-100 , whites 20-30, and others at 10.

Do you have a copy of your full lighting schedule? I would like to edit mine, and am curious what schedules others are running.