Lighting for Monti Cap

[Azedenkae]

Oh no, another lighting thread~

XD

Yes.

I read through a lot of care articles for monti caps, but still have questions. One specifically is lighting. Sure everywhere says medium to high lighting, and I can somewhat imagine what I may set my AI Prime 16 HD schedule to, but I'd still like some input.

Namely, because I plan to only keep monti caps, and a specific variant at that (Krypto, ordered from Cultivated Reef: https://cultivatedreef.com/product/item-208/), I want to see what everyone's experience are with lighting that is absolutely best for monti caps, and also more specifically what can work well in bringing out or accentuating the green of the Krypto Monti Cap.

If I am not wrong, different species of corals will have different variants of chlorophyll, so I presume there are specific spectrums of light that suits monti caps absolutely best/optimally. Hence yeah, this thread.

I mean like I said I could just go for a default schedule, but I do want to see if there is anything specific I can consider for just this one species of coral.

Thank you everyone!

 

[vetteguy53081]

As with most other SPS corals, proper Montipora Capricornis care requires medium to high levels of light. While not requiring as much lighting as say, most acroporas, they still need more than basically every LPS or soft coral. Of course, lighting is relative, the lower in the tank the coral sits, the less light will penetrate the water. But at the same time, if you do not have strong enough lights, it doesn't matter how close you place this coral to the surface.
While it is technically possible to bleach this coral with too much lights, this is an unlikely occurrence. What is more likely is you don't give your plating monti enough light. When plating Montiporas are unable to find enough light, they are known to spiral upwards in a cone shape in an attempt to get closer to the light source. They can also fade a bit and lose that vibrant color that we're all looking for.
High flow is the name of the game to properly take care of plating montipora. This coral is very well known to collect debris if there is not enough flow, which can subsequently rot and cause damage to the flesh of the plating montipora. In addition, higher flow brings more nutrients to this coral for it to consume.
Feeding: No direct feeding. Some people add amino acids to the water column to satisfy their needs.

 

[Azedenkae]

As with most other SPS corals, proper Montipora Capricornis care requires medium to high levels of light. While not requiring as much lighting as say, most acroporas, they still need more than basically every LPS or soft coral. Of course, lighting is relative, the lower in the tank the coral sits, the less light will penetrate the water. But at the same time, if you do not have strong enough lights, it doesn't matter how close you place this coral to the surface.
While it is technically possible to bleach this coral with too much lights, this is an unlikely occurrence. What is more likely is you don't give your plating monti enough light. When plating Montiporas are unable to find enough light, they are known to spiral upwards in a cone shape in an attempt to get closer to the light source. They can also fade a bit and lose that vibrant color that we're all looking for.
High flow is the name of the game to properly take care of plating montipora. This coral is very well known to collect debris if there is not enough flow, which can subsequently rot and cause damage to the flesh of the plating montipora. In addition, higher flow brings more nutrients to this coral for it to consume.
Feeding: No direct feeding. Some people add amino acids to the water column to satisfy their needs.

Wait, this is copied and pasted directly from an article I just read...

I mean this I get, but reading through all the articles, including BRS' on light spectrum, and then also posts on R2R, there seems to be preferences for certain spectrums depending on coral species. So yeah, asking more about spectrums and chlorophyll and so on, rather than intensity of light broadly.

 

[Backreefing]

A more direct answer is t5 lights are king for montipora. Not to intense and Wide spectrum. A blue plus bulb brings out great colors in montipora. And yes LEDs make them pop with color . If it were me I would throw 1 t5 b+ in the front and one in behind your led light . Adjust your LEDs for color and intensity. And remember sometimes less is more . Good luck , I hope this helps

 

[jpmazzone]

I guess it didn't help...

 

[TobysTank]

I guess it didn't help...

Yes it def didn't help....

 

[DanTheReefer]

Monti caps are my favorite corals and I have been keeping them for 15 years. My experience is the biggest lighting mistake is blasting them with too much par too early. They did well under my T5HOs and are doing well under my NooPsyche LEDs (seem to like better than T5s actually). They do well at the top of the tank 3” from a T5HO at 600 par, grew to surface of water. They similarly did well in a back corner and grew on the bottom glass. I have broken off pieces and put in different parts of tank and they show very different colors.

My Lights, shortly after a tank move, not updated photo


The Tyree petal in the back is happy in a wide range of pars from bottom to top of tank.


As you can see I really like Monti caps

 

[Backreefing]

Montipora are my favorite corals . I was killing them until I found there happy place with protein skimmer settings .

 

[ptrahan]

One lighting issues I find with plating Montis is the shadow they cast as they grow. They grow way bigger than I envisioned, even with much pruning.

 

[Backreefing]

Yes the plating montiporas take up a lot of space and when I break it back it’s ugly at the edge . For awhile.