my new monti is bleaching?

xxoczukxx

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Sorry if its hard to see. This is a 7.5g nano. The tank is VERY new, like a month old? ive been testing religiously every day and within the first week i had zero ammonia and 20 ppm nitrate. continued testing until now, my parameters are:

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5ppm (cant get it lower, i have some chaeto under a light 24/7 but not enough algae growth in the tank to take it lower.)
SG: 1.024 (i have to buy a refractometer, still using a hydrometer)
Ca: 420ppm (salifert)
alk: need a test kit (on the way)
Mg: need a test kit
phosphate: no test kit yet

I first tested the tank out with some GSP that i got at my LFS, which seemed to do fine. I then (it was a bad idea but so tempting...) took part in a flash sale roughly a week ago? and acquired: a tiny galaxea (gonna need to move it when it gets bigger ), 4 varieties of paly/zoas, a meteor shower, and this monti. The zoas all do fine, open nicely and seem happy (although the skirt of one is messed up for some reason). The meteor shower i honestly am not sure how to tell how its doing, i have it in a shaded corner alone and i just watch it but it doesnt change. The galaxea hasnt sent out stingers yet but the polyps are always out and flowing in the day.

As you can see in front of the monti, a part broke off when i was dipping and trying to remove it from the frag disc. I originally assumed the bleaching was because of the pressure put on the monti by my fingers when handling it, however the white has spread a bit.

I am wondering if this is due to not properly acclimating the montipora to my lighting? I have a kessil a80 (no spectral controller yet) and i run it at about 60% blue and 50% intensity for 4 hours, off 2, then on 2. The light is like 3" up from the water, and the montipora is probably 5" below the water surface.

The montipora is also right below the output of my HOB im using as a refugium so it gets pretty high flow.

The only things i can think of are that I didnt acclimate the monti to my light well, the monti is getting too much light, its still stressed from shipping/handling, or the hermit crabs that keep walking on top of it ticked it off.

As you can see in the picture, the monti has and still has full polyp extension, even in the white part.

Does anyone have any clue why it might be turning white? I can take more pics later under different color lights if necessary as well as add any info needed.

KpkIxWs.jpg
 

saltyfilmfolks

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The tank is VERY new, like a month old?
It could just be this. You may have a higher alkalinity with the new salts, that combined with light and lowish nutrints(no p04 yet) might be making it grumpy.
if you have an acclimation mode on the light Id suggest that.
IME I wouldn't be worried about N/P too high, in fact Id worry its too low with higher light an alkalinity.
 
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xxoczukxx

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It could just be this. You may have a higher alkalinity with the new salts, that combined with light and lowish nutrints(no p04 yet) might be making it grumpy.
if you have an acclimation mode on the light Id suggest that.
IME I wouldn't be worried about N/P too high, in fact Id worry its too low with higher light an alkalinity.

I dont currently have the spectral controller so i am just gonna turn intensity down really low for a couple weeks and slowly bring it up
 

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I dont currently have the spectral controller so i am just gonna turn intensity down really low for a couple weeks and slowly bring it up
yea, probably not a lot is needed.
Keep an eye on it..
 
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xxoczukxx

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High pressure shells: Do you look for signs of stress in the invertebrates in your reef tank?

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