What can I do to help this coral ?

[Mary Carmen]

Last spring, I got a monti that impressed me because of the great polyp extension. I acclimated at the bottom of my 29 biocube and after a couple of weeks I moved it to the top middle of the tank. It probably didn’t like the LED lights and closed down, so I move it back to the bottom. It is getting better coloration, but the polyps are not extending. What should I do to help it get better? Here is a picture of the coral before and now, and today’s parameters. Parameters are stable.
salinity- 1.026
Am, Nitrites, Nitrates, and phosphates —0
PH—8.2
Calcium— 500
Magnesium— 1480
Alk— 7
The system is been running for 2 years.

I can see all the polyps inside the body but nothing opening up.
Thanks!

 

[Pdash]

You are starving it of nutrients imo, raise nitrates and phosphates. Also, what lights/how much par do you have?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

That's a pretty shady spot in general. I'm not sure that's really a Montipora, but even if it is, the Montis in my tank really suffer when there are no detectable nitrates or phosphates.

Do you add amino acids and carbohydrates? What about trace elements? What salt mix are you using?

 

[Mary Carmen]

The lights are the LED set that comes with the 32 gallon coralife canopy. It fits my 29 gallon coralife tank.
I feed reef roids and supplement with essential elements from Kent marine.
My salt water comes from imaginarium pacific ocean water. I so water changes every week, but I think I should slow down and do it maybe once a month. I turned the second chamber of the tank into a refugium with chaetomorpha.
If it is not a monti, what do you think it is? How can I safely raise nitrates and phosphate? Aminoacids?? How and where do I get them and use them?
Thank you !

 

[Mary Carmen]

Should I pull out the chemipure and nutragen to build up waste?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

The lights are the LED set that comes with the 32 gallon coralife canopy. It fits my 29 gallon coralife tank.
I feed reef roids and supplement with essential elements from Kent marine.
My salt water comes from imaginarium pacific ocean water. I so water changes every week, but I think I should slow down and do it maybe once a month. I turned the second chamber of the tank into a refugium with chaetomorpha.
If it is not a monti, what do you think it is? How can I safely raise nitrates and phosphate? Aminoacids?? How and where do I get them and use them?
Thank you !

I would do the water changes when you start seeing unacceptable levels of phosphates and nitrates. The particulate food and trace element additions are good.

The refugium is fine. If you want to raise nitrates and phosphates, you can feed a little heavier or do fewer water changes. How many fish do you have in the tank?

Amino acids and carbohydrates can be added with products like Red Sea Reef Energy A/B or Quantum Bio-Enhance. You can also purchase salt mixes that have amino acids and probiotics mixed in.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Should I pull out the chemipure and nutragen to build up waste?

I'm not familiar with nutragen, but the chemipure is probably fine. It's a water clarifier/polisher, and I believe it mostly works on metals and dissolved organics.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

If it is not a monti, what do you think it is?

Looks to me kind of like a cyphastrea:

 

[C. Eymann]

It's most definitely montipora, Looks like OG superman (M. monasteriata)

 

[C. Eymann]

.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

It's most definitely montipora, Looks like OG superman (M. monasteriata)

The skeleton definitely looks more like Montipora than Cyphastrea, but those polyps seem awfully big in the picture.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

.

The polyps on my Superman Monti don't quite look like those. Must be a different species.

 

[C. Eymann]

The skeleton definitely looks more like Montipora than Cyphastrea, but those polyps seem awfully big in the picture.

Use the grains of sand and the size of corallites in OPs pictures, those polyps are very small

 

[stephj03]

I doubt it’s starved for nutrients. You’re Xenia and softies would also be suffering.

Do you have other SPS in the tank? If so what do they look like?

How stable is you’re alk/salinity etc? How do you dose and top off?

Do you’re softies extend a lot like they are reaching towards the light? Can you post s link to the light you have?

What’s you’re flow situation? Relative to your powerheads, where is this frag?

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Use the grains of sand and the size of corallites in OPs pictures, those polyps are very small

That's a good call! I see it now.

 

[C. Eymann]

The polyps on my Superman Monti don't quite look like those. Must be a different species.

Could be, that's the problem with comic book names, but what I posted was the OG superman montipora originally misidentified as M. danae is/was M. monasteriata

 

[C. Eymann]

These typically dont do well with changes in lighting and for being a montipora can actually prove to be a bit finicky, OP, I'd slowly raise it up to mid level/lighting in the tank, ensure its getting decent flow and leave it be for now.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

These typically dont do well with changes in lighting and for being a montipora can actually prove to be a bit finicky, OP, I'd slowly raise it up to mid level/lighting in the tank, ensure its getting decent flow and leave it be for now.

I agree with this. I have four varieties of Montipora in my tank, and they all seem to do best with medium flow and light. They really start looking bad if I don't keep at least 1ppm nitrates and 0.04ppm phosphates.

 

[Mary Carmen]

I doubt it’s starved for nutrients. You’re Xenia and softies would also be suffering.

Do you have other SPS in the tank? If so what do they look like?

How stable is you’re alk/salinity etc? How do you dose and top off?

Do you’re softies extend a lot like they are reaching towards the light? Can you post s link to the light you have?

What’s you’re flow situation? Relative to your powerheads, where is this frag?

I have a green monti that is growing like a weed.
This is a link to the light I have. They come with the hood.
I dose have several bottles on Ken Marine supplements to dose calcium, magnesium, and trace elements. I have a hydor coralia 250, and the return pump that comes with the coralife 29 biocube.

 

[Mary Carmen]

The key might be the flow then, because the green monti get direct flow every once in a while.
I am going to move the monti a bit up next to the flow pump.