Joe Yaiullo of the Long Island Aquarium correctly said reef-keeping is a chess game you'll never win. Perhaps you're already doing this - I glue new frags to a small piece of rock and then watch them like a hawk. If something seems amiss, I can easily move them. Once they have adjusted and are starting to grow, I'll glue them in a spot with similar lighting conditions. Like this:
Dana, any advice on this if you have urchins lol My urchins move EVERY frag that isn't glued down!! I knew that when I got them, but they are too good at eating GHA to take them out...Joe Yaiullo of the Long Island Aquarium correctly said reef-keeping is a chess game you'll never win. Perhaps you're already doing this - I glue new frags to a small piece of rock and then watch them like a hawk. If something seems amiss, I can easily move them. Once they have adjusted and are starting to grow, I'll glue them in a spot with similar lighting conditions. Like this:
No urchins, but I do have 5 Fighting Conchs. The trick is to glue the frags to a piece of rock large enough to make the conchs go around.
Joe Yaiullo of the Long Island Aquarium correctly said reef-keeping is a chess game you'll never win. Perhaps you're already doing this - I glue new frags to a small piece of rock and then watch them like a hawk. If something seems amiss, I can easily move them. Once they have adjusted and are starting to grow, I'll glue them in a spot with similar lighting conditions. Like this:
The lack of polyp expansion is a concern. There are many reasons this can happen. First, if lighting is too intense, the polyp will contract in order to self-shade which offers some protection. I don't think this is the case. The most likely cause, IMHO, is flow-related. Corals have the ability to know if the energy required for polyp expansion is worth it - if particle capture is low and doesn't cover the energy required, the polyps will retract and stay that way (this research by others - not me.) Montipora means roughly 'mountain pore' due to their often hillocky shape. These hillocks act as 'speed-breakers' to flow and slow it down in order for particles to be captured and consumed. If loss of coloration is sudden, this indicates a dramatic event occurred (temp, alk, pH modulations.) Color generation and loss has been proven to be a slow (weeks) process (from the lab of Mikhail Matz.) Now, help me out please. I started to read your build thread and realized it goes at least 15 pages. What lighting are you currently using? What pumps for water flow?Here’s my other two monti’s that aren’t looking great. These are far more recent, like the last few days, that I noticed they were as bright. One is a Christmas tree and normally is covered in orange polyps (the camera doesn’t pick them up well, so it’s hard to tell that there are some still visible) and the other is a Superman monti. It’s looking a little splotchy. I got it the weekend of the Atlanta reef club event. It’s not really changed much since I’ve gotten it, which is why it’s still sitting on that plug.
@Hemmdog is right. I do need to treat myself to a lens for my phone. Though I just treated myself to a really nice pump and schedule 80 plumbing for the new tank... so may be a bit before I do that.
Here’s my other two monti’s that aren’t looking great. These are far more recent, like the last few days, that I noticed they were as bright. One is a Christmas tree and normally is covered in orange polyps (the camera doesn’t pick them up well, so it’s hard to tell that there are some still visible) and the other is a Superman monti. It’s looking a little splotchy. I got it the weekend of the Atlanta reef club event. It’s not really changed much since I’ve gotten it, which is why it’s still sitting on that plug.
@Hemmdog is right. I do need to treat myself to a lens for my phone. Though I just treated myself to a really nice pump and schedule 80 plumbing for the new tank... so may be a bit before I do that.
Yes a picture is worth a 1,000 posts. Wattage of lamps?Lol. Yeah. It’s a lot to wade through. Currently I have the stock 29 biocube lights. It’s a white 10,000k cf, a actinic blue cf and blue led light strip. I have several other strips that are currently unused but where more light could be added.
The flow is the pump that comes stock and a small power head. I’ll take pictures so you can see. The power head was pointing right at the Red monti at one point, but I see that it’s been bumped a bit.
I got the VarioS-6 pump for the new tank. I have a 3/4 inch loc line split to a 1/2 inch loc line coming in. I’ve heard that getting adequate flow in a cube cane be difficult, So I’ll put several power heads in it. Right now, I’m leaning towards radions for lights.
They’re both 36 watts.
That alk is dangerously low. Be careful
Yeah... that’s why we discussing how it could be so low. I’m about to test the alkalinity of the salt I just mixed. To see if it’s actually mixing at the level it’s suppose to be.That alk is dangerously low. Be careful
Lol you have a ton of coral in a 30 gal! That’s how! lol
