First time montipora frag guy having a struggle.

[Thor T.]

Bought 2 montipora frags and 1 birds nest 9 days ago. One has great polyp extension. The other half extension and the third (birds nest)barely visible,very white stalk and browning tips. I placed them around 200 par but went to a 60% reduction for acclimation. My nitrates are at 20 ppm. Phosphates undetectable. All other parameters are great. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[maroun.c]

Can u post your other parameters?also any other sps in your system ? Are they doing well ?

 

[Thor T.]

Can u post your other parameters?also any other sps in your system ? Are they doing well ?

DKH- 9.2
CA- 460
MG-1360
Phosphate-0
Nitrate-20 ppm
Salinity-1.025-1.026
No other sps coral. Just zoas, candy cane coral, and hammers.

 

[Oldreefer44]

IF those are correct readings then your problem may be lack of PO4. Corals need some to survive.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

Raise phosphate and lower nitrate some. And then let your corals adjust. Theyre brand new to your system

 

[Thor T.]

Raise phosphate and lower nitrate some. And then let your corals adjust. Theyre brand new to your system

So how do you add phosphate without raising nitrate? I’ve increased circulation. Added beneficial bacteria. And did some extra water changes. I have Cheeto growing pretty well. But if I go with a smaller amount chaeto won’t that just raise my nitrates? Been a frustrating balancing act.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

In my experience, this happens when the lighting is too high but there are not enough nutrients in the system. Also, I found that my birdsnest and Montipora did much better at alkalinity values around 8 than closer to 9-10.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

So how do you add phosphate without raising nitrate? I’ve increased circulation. Added beneficial bacteria. And did some extra water changes. I have Cheeto growing pretty well. But if I go with a smaller amount chaeto won’t that just raise my nitrates? Been a frustrating balancing act.

Refugiums utilize phosphate better than nitrate and skimmers remove organics before they can be broken down into nitrates. So if you’re happy with your nitrates just keep your skimmer doing it’s thang and yea maybe harvest(throw away) some macro algae and feed slightly heavier or a second light feeding and keep texting to see if it raises it. Also, if you want to go another route, maybe a little more controlled route, Brightwell aquatics sells a phosphate supplement that I’ve never used but I always see it.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

But doing water changes will only dilute your nutrient levels so maybe slow up on those[some will call that bad husbandry but really your tank will kind of tell you when it’s time for a water change(some will call that even more bad advice)]lol

 

[sawdonkey]

How long has this tank been running?

That last one looks like a white walker birdsnest (dead).

 

[Thor T.]

But doing water changes will only dilute your nutrient levels so maybe slow up on those[some will call that bad husbandry but really your tank will kind of tell you when it’s time for a water change(some will call that even more bad advice)]lol

Do you think 20 ppm is to high for sps?

 

[ReefHomieJon]

And yea it’s a balancing act that over time every successful Reefer finds what’s perfect in their own tankard everyone is successful with different levels of “nutrients” and the general guidelines that we all start off chasing for will no longer apply. I’m just barely getting there

 

[Thor T.]

Refugiums utilize phosphate better than nitrate and skimmers remove organics before they can be broken down into nitrates. So if you’re happy with your nitrates just keep your skimmer doing it’s thang and yea maybe harvest(throw away) some macro algae and feed slightly heavier or a second light feeding and keep texting to see if it raises it. Also, if you want to go another route, maybe a little more controlled route, Brightwell aquatics sells a phosphate supplement that I’ve never used but I always see it.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

Do you think 20 ppm is to high for sps?

Maybe in a younger tank with frags vs colonies. If it’s a frag set up in a young tank shoot for like 5ppm

 

[Thor T.]

Think I’m going to try removing some chaeto and test later. I appreciate the help.

 

[Thor T.]

How long has this tank been running?

That last one looks like a white walker birdsnest (dead).

GOT love it. It does look dead but I can still see the polyps retracted. I hope it’s not dead. I have it at about 100 PAR hoping it will rebound.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

A white coral isn’t necessarily a dead coral. What’s your tank temperature ? They do that in warmer that’s warmer than they’d like

 

[Thor T.]

How long has this tank been running?

That last one looks like a white walker birdsnest (dead).

A white coral isn’t necessarily a dead coral. What’s your tank temperature ? They do that in warmer that’s warmer than they’d like

78 degrees

 

[Thor T.]

How long has this tank been running?

That last one looks like a white walker birdsnest (dead).

Well? Had a 75 gallon for 2 years. Then bought a 125 and transfered 50 % of that water and all live rock. Current tank has been running 11 months.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

78 degrees

Ok well that rules that out lol I keep 77/78 too