Beach Bum advice please.

fishead · Jan 13, 2017

Hi, a week ago I got two frags of Beach Bum monti. I'm in Australia and ironically stuff like this is very hard to get hold of. Apparently the vast majority of our wild collected sps goes to USA where there is a much bigger market and price. So it would be really nice if I could get these to live haha.
Unfortunately the dealer shipped them on a 100 degree + day and they arrived browned out and not happy. I haven't seen a polyp out as yet. They were in about 150 PAR (measured by Seneye) under a prime HD in my Q tank. The tops of a few of the nodules turned pale to white so I moved them out to around 110 par thinking this might be bleaching.
Alk is 7.2
Calcium 400
mag 1400
Po4 .03 Hanna
No3 under 1ppm Red Sea pro
I'd much appreciate any tips from you guys please. Am I on the right track?
They've had two dips in Polyp Lab Reef Primer and giving them a little bit of Reef Roids every couple nights but yeah haven't seen any polyp extensions so doubt they are feeding.

Joeganja · Jan 13, 2017

Montis alone don't have very much polyp extension. They usually just like flow and light. Beach bums are montipora palawanensis i believe so I wouldn't worry so much.

Reeferdood · Jan 13, 2017

I would bump your alkalinity up a little regardless of the outcome of the frags.
My .02

fishead · Jan 13, 2017

Thanks guys. keep them coming.
They're getting plenty of flow. The light intensity I guess is my biggest concern.
On the Alk subject, I do water changes with natural sea water so try to stay just above natural levels to keep things stable. Also my nutrient levels are quite low. Will try bumping it up a bit and monitor things.

Tegridy Reef · Jan 13, 2017

Ive seen beach bums placed every where i have kung pow and alter ego i keep them low light when they are stressed out
How was the bag when it came in wasnt hot was it

fishead · Jan 13, 2017

I didn't really take note of the bag temp at the time. The dealer had sent the box to the wrong airport and had to be rerouted which doubled the heat exposure. It was 10pm before they got into my tank. They were well insulated and packed magnificently though, double boxed. See how we go.

rovster · Jan 13, 2017

Reeferdood said:
I would bump your alkalinity up a little regardless of the outcome of the frags.
My .02

No offense but advice like this is just ridiculous and is an invitation for problems. You have to be careful of who you listen to on these forums.....

Zero Nitrates · Jan 13, 2017

I have two frags that I started at 50 par then moved the up to 100 par after 3 months.
Congrats on getting them! I know I was extremely excited to get mine.

Reeferdood · Jan 13, 2017

rovster said:
No offense but advice like this is just ridiculous and is an invitation for problems. You have to be careful of who you listen to on these forums.....

Oh really?
It is posts like yours that make me feel like we are like other forums...

Reeferdood · Jan 13, 2017

Anyhow,
I pm'ed the know it all and called him out on his reply to me...
Alkalinity of 7.2 is on the low end.
His reply really ticks me off and makes me want to quit forums all together... I have been reefkeeping for over 25 years and my replies are based on my knowledge learned along the way....
this is what my tank looks like right now....
I would love to see his...

Centerline · Jan 13, 2017

I have a couple of beach bums and they seem to do fine wherever I put them. I have one at the top of may tank at close to 400 par and another at about 250. Both are under radium 250 mhs. With respect to alk I too suggest raising it. Auk can deplete very quickly and it will ruin your tank if let go. 7 doesn't give you much wiggle room. I keep mine at 11 or so and have been doing so for years. So yes you do have to be careful who you take advice from.

fishead · Jan 13, 2017

I guess everybody has their own methods. I'm pretty green and don't know much about anything but what I'm trying to do here is have a large mass of water (700 gallons) showcasing a small bio load, supported by a lot of biological filtration in rock and remote deep sand beds. Also a good skimmer of course, Vertex 300. I dose for alk, calcium and mag.
Back to the beach bums. Yes very pumped to get them!
Thanks for the par info. I'll stick to the lower light level for a while and see how they go.

hybridazn · Jan 13, 2017

Keep them in lower light until they recover, first thing to show improvement will be the polyps, they will get their turquoise color back first.

As for this alk "issue" if he's running a ulns his alk is spot on, but that's not the topic of discussion here...

rovster · Jan 13, 2017

Not looking to upset anyone but there's nothing wrong with alk of 7.2. Mine is 6.5.

rovster · Jan 13, 2017

hybridazn said:
Keep them in lower light until they recover, first thing to show improvement will be the polyps, they will get their turquoise color back first.

As for this alk "issue" if he's running a ulns his alk is spot on, but that's not the topic of discussion here...

Exactly! Stable alk is more important that the actual number.

Leave the thing alone and let nature work her magic.

Fenzinna · Jan 19, 2017

Reeferdood said:
Anyhow,
I pm'ed the know it all and called him out on his reply to me...
Alkalinity of 7.2 is on the low end.
His reply really ****** me off and makes me want to quit forums all together... I have been reefkeeping for over 25 years and my replies are based on my knowledge learned along the way....
this is what my tank looks like right now....
I would love to see his...

Looks like your zoas and softies are really loving the extra Alk. I would expect that after 25 years of experience that your tank would look a little more grown in.

jenreefer · Jan 19, 2017

I believe that this forum is the best because all opinions are welcome and appreciated. There are as many different opinions as there are successful tanks.

To me, the key is taking in all opinions and then settling on a course and sticking with it. When someone comes on and asks for advice, they are seeking out differing opinions. It is ok to agree or not agree, to adopt a different course and see if it works for you.

It is not ok to start an argument in someone else's thread just because you do not agree with a post. Grow up and get a life. The only way we grow in this hobby is to listen more than we talk.

Jonty · Jan 19, 2017

FWIW you Alk is fine if it works for you tank don't change it, increasing ALK will not effect the frag.
"I would love to see his..."
Sure here you go ALK 7.0 all day, all night......

Untitled by watsonj0, on Flickr

Fenzinna · Jan 19, 2017

jenreefer said:
I believe that this forum is the best because all opinions are welcome and appreciated. There are as many different opinions as there are successful tanks.

To me, the key is taking in all opinions and then settling on a course and sticking with it. When someone comes on and asks for advice, they are seeking out differing opinions. It is ok to agree or not agree, to adopt a different course and see if it works for you.

It is not ok to start an argument in someone else's thread just because you do not agree with a post. Grow up and get a life. The only way we grow in this hobby is to listen more than we talk.

That's good and all. But the person who I responded to was the one you got all offended in the first place.

Chris Adams · Jan 19, 2017

Don't change a thing in your tank if it is established tank and existing corals are happy.
Just because we get 1 coral in that does not look right why mess with the tank. It is the coral that is the issue.
Like others mentioned low light and higher flow.

Stability is key. If the new corals can't adjust well then it is what it is.