Montipora starting to die

[Larsnauta]

Hey,

The skeleton of my montipora is starting to die, the polyps are looking good. The coral is in the tank for a week. parameters are,
NO3 20
PO4 0.08
MG 1250
KH 7
Ca 420

The tank is a red sea 170 with an orphek V2 which is at 60%. Would the lighting be too high causing the coral to burn?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Did you dip this coral prior to placement?

Could be acclimation issue to your light and water parameters. Typical for new coral sometimes.

I would reduce your light intensity till it shows signs of improvement.

 

[ScottR]

How old is the tank? Seems new?
Are your parameters stable? Meaning alk, Ca, Mg, salinity don’t swing much.
I’m sure some people will mention Montipora eating nudibranchs, I wouldn’t rule them out, but I doubt it.

 

[Larsnauta]

I didn’t dip the coral but i can’t see any snails on it ,the tank is 8 months old, the live rock comes from my old tank of 6 years old so it is not a new tank. I grow a lot of Coralline.

 

[Larsnauta]

Parameters are Stable

 

[ScottR]

A lot of purple on that rock for sure! Beautiful. Some corals just don’t make it. I can put 3 pieces of coral from the same colony in my tank - same lighting and flow but one will die. Others thrive. Weird. Usually for a monti, I’d recommend cutting off the bad part and placing the healthy piece in a different area, but it seems small so not sure that’s a good idea.

 

[Journeyman]

Alk seems a little low. My SPS seems happiest closer to 9

 

[Larsnauta]

Alk seems a little low. My SPS seems happiest closer to 9

You think that could cause it? I can rise my AlK a litte.

 

[ScottR]

Alk seems a little low. My SPS seems happiest closer to 9

The only problem with alk at 7 is that potentially the +/- margin of error would make it lower than what it actually is. I forget the alkalinity of the ocean but it’s around 7, much lower than we typically keep in a reef tank. In this tank, from the pics, I see little coral so the alk, if stable, is not the problem.

 

[Larsnauta]

Okay thanks, I Will keep it as stable as possible.

 

[ScottR]

Your last tank was 6 years old so I’m sure you know a thing or two. I’d suggest moving it to lower lighting and acclimating it up. If it gets worse, a dip would sort of be a last resort. Stable parameters are key. Don’t start chasing them but check often.

 

[ScottB]

In absolute terms, your params are OK. Yeah, a little more ALK -- raised slowly -- wouldn't hurt.

Do you know the params of the tank it came from? And the light/placement? If there is a big variance that leads to stress.

Agree @ScottR suggestion for lower light.

 

[Larsnauta]

I don’t know the parameters of the tank where the coral came from, but I know for sure that I have more light.

 

[Larsnauta]

has anyone ever experienced that sps corals turn pale at NO3 20 and PO4 0.07? Looks like they starving..

 

[JoeD_]

Could definitely be a lighting issue,, try moving it lower. Additionally, if your alk is TRULY 7 and stable at 7, it's fine. IF it is indeed 6.4, yeah it would be low. As always the biggest thing for SPS is stability. Try getting your alk to 8..but do it over the period of a few days, not to tick off your monti anymore.

 

[Larsnauta]

this Monti plate was purple, now it’s pale en looks like it’s about to die. How is this possible? I think lighting is not the issue, it’s 40% now. I’m trying to keep sps for almost two years now but the keep dying slowly I bought a new tank to keep sps and still I don’t have results. Could the NO3 be to high?

 

[homer1475]

NO3 is way to high for my liking.

When my nitrates creep up over 10ppm the first thing I notice is my plating monti's start to fade. The undersides actually bleach completely white, and the top sides turn quite pale. Lower nitrates (anthing under 10, while phosphates stay right around .02 - .05) and they color right back up. Montipora is really a pretty hardy SPS, some people consider them SPS weeds.

 

[Larsnauta]

So an update, my montipora is still the same.. I also have a acropora who is also doing Very bad... bad color, thin skin and tissue loss at the tips. My parameters right now:
N03: 5
P04: 0,06
Kh: 8
Ca: 490 (I know it’s to high)
Mag: 1200
Orphek V2.1 40%
My sps corals are just dying slowly and I really don’t know what Iam doing wrong?!?
Parameters are stable.