Monti issues while acro's growing strong

[goober]

Around a month ago I noticed some "grey" spots on my red monti cap. A week later another red monticap was showing the same signs. Then a couple weeks ago my green monti began to show issues and even has some brown algae growing on it.

Before these monti's were growing at ridiculous rates. Both of them in the pictures started as small 1" x 1" pieces a fellow reefer broke off his own colonies only 5 months ago.

I initially thought it was a potassium issue when the red plate showed grey but it tests at 400 using salifert.

As you can see the red cap has really degraded especially in the last week. It used to be so vibrant and red.

 

[kamikazereefer]

Did you try a dip for nudi eating Monti ?

 

[happyhourhero]

How low are your nutrients?

 

[madweazl]

Any idea what the PAR levels are at in those areas? Since you mentioned SPS, I'm guessing your lighting is fairly strong; my monti caps start to die off (in the same manner) right around 250 PAR but are fine at just about anything below that (double digits low even). Something to investigate if everything looks good.

 

[kevinl]

My monti caps are usually the first indicator somethings heading south. Had black bugs once and they looked like yours, do I see black specs on yours?

 

[goober]

Did you try a dip for nudi eating Monti ?

All corals are dipped before entering the tank. Haven't noticed any bugs visually

How low are your nutrients?

Phosphates are .012 (hanna) and nitrates at 5ppm

Any idea what the PAR levels are at in those areas? Since you mentioned SPS, I'm guessing your lighting is fairly strong; my monti caps start to die off (in the same manner) right around 250 PAR but are fine at just about anything below that (double digits low even). Something to investigate if everything looks good.

They are at the left end of the tank in the bottom 1/3rd . Im not sure par but lighting is LED+T5. If I had to guess I would say no where near 250+

 

[goober]

My monti caps are usually the first indicator somethings heading south. Had black bugs once and they looked like yours, do I see black specs on yours?

A bit embarrassing but I had some GFO get inside my display a couple weeks ago. The black spots are some of that GFO, I just did a water change and disturbed the sandbed before these pictures which cause some of the GFO to land on the cap.

 

[happyhourhero]

I think this is due to stripped p04 from the gfo. I am in the camp of intensive p04 removal does more harm than good.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I recently had some PO4 instability, all montis suffered and acros were unaffected.

 

[goober]

I recently had some PO4 instability, all montis suffered and acros were unaffected.

Did the monti's recover?

 

[Sallstrom]

I would also say that it looks like low phosphate.
We've had some help from KH2PO4 when phosphate has gotten to low and the montipora starts to fade.

/ David

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Did the monti's recover?

For the most part. A big green monti cap is still on the fence (was the first to show issues but didn’t realize what was going on until others started showing as well) but once I corrected (stopped dosing NO3PO4X) everything else quickly bounced back.

 

[goober]

I tested all my params today and looking back at my log sheet i've had a drop in nutrients in the tank over the last 15 days.

March 15:
No3 - 15ppm (was stable here for months)
Po4 - .058 (average since tank conception in september of 2017)

April 1:
No3 - 2.5ppm
Po4 - .015

I have carbon dosed the tank from day one and ran gfo/carbon in a reactor. Perhaps the swing is due to the tank stabilizing as the system was started on macro rock.

I hope to stabilize the nutrients at these levels and everything will recover. I turned down my LED to 30% from 50% and reduced the T5's from 7hr's to 6hr's as I am seeing some burnt tips on acros that are at the top of the tank. Obvious signs of the nitrate reduction and Po4. My alk also jumped from 8.2 to 8.7 possibly due to the nutrient swing. I paused dosing for a couple days to bring it back down.

 

[madweazl]

I wouldn't suspect your nutrient levels to have anything to do with it.

 

[x2uranium]

Goober are you still carbon dosing if so vodka vinegar or sugar?

 

[jda]

Any idea about the alk stability? Those N and P levels, from either date, are no issue.... unless you dropped them too fast.

Do not underestimate pests. Many, including the eggs, can survive a single dip. I doubt that you have them, but look close over the next few weeks.

Burnt tips are usually from alk or white-diode LED burn... usually alk unless you are blasting the white channel on your LEDs.

 

[goober]

Goober are you still carbon dosing if so vodka vinegar or sugar?

I switched to vinegar a month ago from AF probio s / np pro.

Any idea about the alk stability? Those N and P levels, from either date, are no issue.... unless you dropped them too fast.

Do not underestimate pests. Many, including the eggs, can survive a single dip. I doubt that you have them, but look close over the next few weeks.

Burnt tips are usually from alk or white-diode LED burn... usually alk unless you are blasting the white channel on your LEDs.

Im sure it was from the ALK swing. I run the AB+ schedule on my LED but have never had problems with burnt tips till this all happend. Lower nutrients mixed with a bit of swing in ALK

 

[29bonsaireef]

Did you ever think about the BTA stinging the green one? Probably some other issues going on, but that BTA looks awful close.

 

[goober]

Did you ever think about the BTA stinging the green one? Probably some other issues going on, but that BTA looks awful close.

Yeah the bta moved down by that monti a few months ago but honestly it hasn't been bugging it other than a bit of sting at the base right close to the bta.

 

[Lousybreed]

I tested all my params today and looking back at my log sheet i've had a drop in nutrients in the tank over the last 15 days.

March 15:
No3 - 15ppm (was stable here for months)
Po4 - .058 (average since tank conception in september of 2017)

April 1:
No3 - 2.5ppm
Po4 - .015

I have carbon dosed the tank from day one and ran gfo/carbon in a reactor. Perhaps the swing is due to the tank stabilizing as the system was started on macro rock.

I hope to stabilize the nutrients at these levels and everything will recover. I turned down my LED to 30% from 50% and reduced the T5's from 7hr's to 6hr's as I am seeing some burnt tips on acros that are at the top of the tank. Obvious signs of the nitrate reduction and Po4. My alk also jumped from 8.2 to 8.7 possibly due to the nutrient swing. I paused dosing for a couple days to bring it back down.

Dude, ULN tank and alk up by 9 is a recipe for disaster. Drop your alk to 7.5-8.0 if you want to keep the nutrients low. I always recommend for montis at their max potential 8.0 for alk.