How can I save my monti?

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

Hello everyone. A few weeks ago it seems my montipora got a scrap and it slowly got an infection on the top and side of it. I left the scrap on the top alone and it seemed to be doing better. After fragging off some of the side through, the coral is still being taken over by algae! It's polyps come out still, but I feel like I can't win this battle even though I turned down my white light to only an hour a day. Can I save it?

JustDewwit · Jul 17, 2020

I'm following along because I have a similar situation with a Monti.

stephj03 · Jul 17, 2020

What color is it supposed to be?

Are you able to test or do you know what your levels are of the following?
K
I
Fe
Mg

stephj03 · Jul 17, 2020

Also what's your nutrient levels?
How big is the tank and how much do you feed.?

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

stephj03 said:
Also what's your nutrient levels?
How big is the tank and how much do you feed.?

It is a small 32 gallon tank so I only test for Salt, Ammonia, Ph, Nitrates, Calcium and Alk. I don't remember what my last test was but the only thing that was off was I had a little bit of ammonia. It should be orangish/yellow.

sdreef · Jul 17, 2020

What are the values of the parameters that you have tested and how long has the tank been set up? Ammonia should be zero in a cycled tank.

najer · Jul 17, 2020

You have a seahorse, what temperature are you at and how is your flow?

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

najer said:
You have a seahorse, what temperature are you at and how is your flow?

Yes I have three. I keep it between 75-78F and I have medium flow that is set to have zones for the ponies to rest so they aren't blown constantly. It is just to keep the water moving and avoid dead zones.

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

sdreef said:
What are the values of the parameters that you have tested and how long has the tank been set up? Ammonia should be zero in a cycled tank.

I will get my water tested tomorrow morning as I don't have a kit on me. I know that it should be zero but I had some leftover brine shrimp that got caught in the filter thus the small amount of ammonia.

Texas Rick · Jul 17, 2020

Following

stephj03 · Jul 17, 2020

What lights do you have and how far up in the tank is this frag?

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

stephj03 said:
What lights do you have and how far up in the tank is this frag?

Normal Biocube 32 LEDS. I have it mostly set to blue moonlight with an hour of sunrise, and hour of day, and an hour of sunset. The frag is near the very bottom of the tank.

Softhammer · Jul 17, 2020

So only 3 hrs of light? Theres no way you will ever keep sps with light like that. While the moonlight may look cool it does zero for coral survival and growth.

Texas Rick · Jul 17, 2020

Knight_Solaire01 said:
Normal Biocube 32 LEDS. I have it mostly set to blue moonlight with an hour of sunrise, and hour of day, and an hour of sunset. The frag is near the very bottom of the tank.

I don’t know if it will help you any. But here is my experience. I bought a 30 gallon JBJ nano cube and LED already set up. But I too was also having trouble with my coral. And at that time. I only had Zoa’s. Finally, my lights went out under a year. Instead of doing a warranty claim and a few research. I’ve decided to get a kessil A160we with a controller attached to it. And oh boy did I see a explosion of growth with the new light. I hope this helps.

Pdash · Jul 17, 2020

Knight_Solaire01 said:
I will get my water tested tomorrow morning as I don't have a kit on me. I know that it should be zero but I had some leftover brine shrimp that got caught in the filter thus the small amount of ammonia.

You shouldn't get an ammonia reading just from a little food stuck in your filter if you have a properly functioning nitrogen cycle. My guess is you and or your system simply aren't ready to care for a montipora. I'd suggest soft corals instead.
There are dozens of potential issues

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

Softhammer said:
So only 3 hrs of light? Theres no way you will ever keep sps with light like that. While the moonlight may look cool it does zero for coral survival and growth.

The lower light is to keep algae growth at bay. I have been fighting a lot of hair algae. Even with weekly water changes and vacuuming it is not enough.

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 17, 2020

Pdash said:
You shouldn't get an ammonia reading just from a little food stuck in your filter if you have a properly functioning nitrogen cycle. My guess is you and or your system simply aren't ready to care for a montipora. I'd suggest soft corals instead.
There are dozens of potential issues

I have had amonia spikes when something like a hermit crab dies and I am not aware of it. It could be that.

Softhammer · Jul 17, 2020

Then you clearly aren’t ready for sps corals. A montipora absolutely 100% MUST have light. It’s not optional. That coral is toast unless you can re home it or drastically alter your lighting schedule and setup.

Softhammer · Jul 17, 2020

Another thought, I saw caulerpa in your photo. If it were me I’d stick to the water changes and ramp up to a more conventional 12hr lighting schedule, give or take and let that caulerpa go nuts. It’s very easy to harvest and will consume nutrients like its going out of style. If that frag isn’t too far gone i promise it will improve.

Knight_Solaire01 · Jul 18, 2020

Softhammer said:
Another thought, I saw caulerpa in your photo. If it were me I’d stick to the water changes and ramp up to a more conventional 12hr lighting schedule, give or take and let that caulerpa go nuts. It’s very easy to harvest and will consume nutrients like its going out of style. If that frag isn’t too far gone i promise it will improve.

The calerpa has gone nuts and the hair algae is already growing on it. The thing is another thread told me to turn my light down most of the time and that, "not a lot of corals need that much light anyway"