Acro/Monti Tips for Beginners?

[duberii]

I’ve had a tank for a while now (mostly LPS), and I just took a step into SPS. I got a monti, an acro, and a stylo.

I have the acro and the monti in the tank now, but I can’t exactly tell if they’re happy. I have the acro at the top of my rockscape, which is about a foot under my LED box, which I keep at about 1/3 of max power.

the monti is about 4” below the acro, due to a lack of space up top, but from what I’ve heard it might also need to be on the top rock.

I attached pictures of what the acro looks like (under my blue lights, I’ll post one in regular daylight tomorrow, along with a pic of the monti). It’s a Bali slimer, but I have no idea what exactly to look for, aside from bite marks from AEFW and red bugs.

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Hemmdog]

Needs more light. Also remove those asterina stars.

 

[duberii]

Needs more light. Also remove those asterina stars.

How much should I turn the light up? And would you recommend the same for the monti?

 

[Hemmdog]

How much should I turn the light up? And would you recommend the same for the monti?

Montis don’t need as much as acros. I didn’t see a pic of the monti so I’m not sure which type it is. The acro just looked a little shaded on the bottom, you want to avoid that if possible.

 

[Copingwithpods]

How much should I turn the light up? And would you recommend the same for the monti?

Let's restart

They need alot of light (med-high par) . From the picture and information we have we don't know if "they need more light". Too intense lighting will kill a coral much faster than not enough light. With out par measurements or info on the lights spectrum/output we can't tell you to turn them up or down. Just keep an eye on them and if you are going to turn your light up do it very slowly, think weeks not days.

 

[duberii]

Montis don’t need as much as acros. I didn’t see a pic of the monti so I’m not sure which type it is. The acro just looked a little shaded on the bottom, you want to avoid that if possible.

The monti is a grafted monti- that’s as much as I can tell you, since I don’t know all the names. It’s red and green if that helps narrow it down.

As for the acro, the frag is growing out in all for directions, almost like an X, so I’m not sure how successful I could be with lighting the underside. Is there anything (other than remounting the frag on the plug) I can do to help?

 

[duberii]

Let's restart

They need alot of light (med-high par) . From the picture and information we have we don't know if "they need more light". Too intense lighting will kill a coral much faster than not enough light. With out par measurements or info on the lights spectrum/output we can't tell you to turn them up or down. Just keep an eye on them and if you are going to turn your light up do it very slowly, think weeks not days.

What would I look for when I’m seeing if it needs more light? I’ve heard that color is a good indicator, and sometimes polyps will stretch toward the light if they are being deprived. is there anything else I should check for?

 

[Copingwithpods]

Generally look for growth, coloration, polyp extention when they are doing good. When they look off look for color fading, no or little polyp extension, slow growth. If they get worse watch for bleaching (can happen in days if light is too bright), tissue loss, no polyps showing, polyp bailout, alk and cal go up (as corals are no longer absorbing them).

 

[Dana Riddle]

I'm writing an article for R2R on lighting data I gathered from 1997 to 1998. Let me take a look at your questions and I'll post after cutting grass/doctor's and tax accountant's appointments. Sometimes life gets in the way of what's really important (such as a reef tank.) If the photos are recent. I don't think water velocity is the issue,

 

[duberii]

Generally look for growth, coloration, polyp extention when they are doing good. When they look off look for color fading, no or little polyp extension, slow growth. If they get worse watch for bleaching (can happen in days if light is too bright), tissue loss, no polyps showing, polyp bailout, alk and cal go up (as corals are no longer absorbing them).

Alk and cal going up would only be if I’m dosing right? I’m not dosing right now because I had LPS and water changes would keep up with any depletion, but I got my baseline levels to see how much is depleted once they start growing quickly.

 

[Copingwithpods]

Correct only if dosing, if you are keeping track and usually notice a 10ppm drop in cal per day and suddenly that stops you know something is up

 

[duberii]

here are some pics, as promised

(ignore the nasty rocks- I just transferred them from my other tank so my Cuc could clear them off, they’ll be clean soon I know it )