azbigjohn
Valuable Member
I often used to joke my screen name should be SPSKiller or SPSMurderer, and I know a lot of it had to do with tank maturity and stability. Tank has been up 3 years, but has been “rebooted” twice due to neglect and GHA outbreaks. I have been seriously keeping it up for about 8 months now. I have had fish-onlies for probably 7 years.
About the tank… 165 gallon bow-front. Aiming for a mixed reef. Lit with 3 Kessil A-360s suspended over the tank. I have started all caps sitting on the bottom, and slowly moved them to middle ranges in the tank. I have tried corners and middle-area placements.
Flow is four Korrilla-style powerheads, generating a fairly consistent flow, with all at angles to create various flow patterns.
I seem to be hitting a point in my tank’s evolution that I am starting to have some coral success. I have always had softies and easy LPS success, but SPS evaded me. I finally am beginning to have some SPS success (granted, a Pocillipora is hard to kill, but it is growing well) and I have a pink birdsnest frag that really hasn’t grown much, but for 2 months has retained its color and had polyps open consistently.
I have picked up other frags from a couple of local reefers, and I always admire their large, growing Montipora cap colonies, and commented on my inability to get them to live. The last two have said, “Heck, I have to frag them all the time to keep them under control” and in both cases, broke off a 1” or larger frag to give to me to grow out their “unkillable” monti cap (red-orange, and a green). Add this to a few monti frags I have bought and I have a very consistent track record of killing every single one, usually in short time.
Currently I have thriving Zoas, hammers, frogspawn, blastos, and a Duncan that has gone from one head to 8. Several various mushrooms varieties (yumas, ricordeas) growing and splitting. I have a RBTA thriving for 6 months, and a large feather duster that has survived all reboots and the tank transfer into this tank. . Fish are 3 O. clowns, an orange-headed fairy wrasse, yellow canary blenny, bi-color blenny, firefish and pajama cardinal. I have a large (1 1.2” disk) brittle star and a clean up crew of various snails and crabs. I probably feed a little heavy
Parameters are fairly consistent. I do sometimes find lower pH when I do testing, but have been repeatedly told to monitor Alk, and not stress over pH. I do 15% water changes using Instant Ocean every two weeks, and have my ATO with pickling lime (kalk). Temp consistently 78-79 degrees, maintained with fans and my Apex Jr.
Last parameter check found: Ca 450; Mg 1400 (a little high); alk 7.8 (a little low). I do still battle phos, and am currently out of reagent, but I pull a soft-ball sized piece of cheato out of the sump once a month.
No species of monti has lasted without starting to fade/recede within 2 weeks. All have been bleached or brown within a month…
So, other than probably running dirtier water than most SPS keepers, what am I missing about what montipora need to survive?
About the tank… 165 gallon bow-front. Aiming for a mixed reef. Lit with 3 Kessil A-360s suspended over the tank. I have started all caps sitting on the bottom, and slowly moved them to middle ranges in the tank. I have tried corners and middle-area placements.
Flow is four Korrilla-style powerheads, generating a fairly consistent flow, with all at angles to create various flow patterns.
I seem to be hitting a point in my tank’s evolution that I am starting to have some coral success. I have always had softies and easy LPS success, but SPS evaded me. I finally am beginning to have some SPS success (granted, a Pocillipora is hard to kill, but it is growing well) and I have a pink birdsnest frag that really hasn’t grown much, but for 2 months has retained its color and had polyps open consistently.
I have picked up other frags from a couple of local reefers, and I always admire their large, growing Montipora cap colonies, and commented on my inability to get them to live. The last two have said, “Heck, I have to frag them all the time to keep them under control” and in both cases, broke off a 1” or larger frag to give to me to grow out their “unkillable” monti cap (red-orange, and a green). Add this to a few monti frags I have bought and I have a very consistent track record of killing every single one, usually in short time.
Currently I have thriving Zoas, hammers, frogspawn, blastos, and a Duncan that has gone from one head to 8. Several various mushrooms varieties (yumas, ricordeas) growing and splitting. I have a RBTA thriving for 6 months, and a large feather duster that has survived all reboots and the tank transfer into this tank. . Fish are 3 O. clowns, an orange-headed fairy wrasse, yellow canary blenny, bi-color blenny, firefish and pajama cardinal. I have a large (1 1.2” disk) brittle star and a clean up crew of various snails and crabs. I probably feed a little heavy
Parameters are fairly consistent. I do sometimes find lower pH when I do testing, but have been repeatedly told to monitor Alk, and not stress over pH. I do 15% water changes using Instant Ocean every two weeks, and have my ATO with pickling lime (kalk). Temp consistently 78-79 degrees, maintained with fans and my Apex Jr.
Last parameter check found: Ca 450; Mg 1400 (a little high); alk 7.8 (a little low). I do still battle phos, and am currently out of reagent, but I pull a soft-ball sized piece of cheato out of the sump once a month.
No species of monti has lasted without starting to fade/recede within 2 weeks. All have been bleached or brown within a month…
So, other than probably running dirtier water than most SPS keepers, what am I missing about what montipora need to survive?
