Acros do well but montis die???

[Reef Bullet]

I don't understand why since my tank move, montis keep dying in my tank but acros color up and do better than when I got them. I always thought montis were the easy SPS...

I got some corals with my 240 upgrade that were in pretty bad shape from being ignored for quite a while. The only SPS was monti cap frags and a small bonsai. They were bleached but still had polyps. I put them in my tank and the caps are starting to grow algae on the tips now and I know from experience, being that this happened to all the montis I brought from CA in Jan and 2 frags I got at Dallas CFM early March, it's just a matter of time before they're goners.

I don't know why they're dying but what I really don't understand is why acros are doing well. The bonsai has colored up in a week a lot more than I would've expected in that short of time. I also rescued a birdsnest, and two acro frags that were completely brown from a month old newb with poor water quality on Thursday and they're looking gorgeous now.

So what gives???

 

[pgr11]

I just stopped reading

 

[joker295]

Where u have them placed in your tank?

 

[Emac909]

Me too Chris. I got half way through

Monti nudies

 

[Emac909]

Dang newbies. Don't u know if u want help ur going to have to have test kits and give us some parameters?

 

[pgr11]

She's just gonna say they are normal. BTW be prepared to hear why its not monti nudis Eric

 

[wickedfish]

Your water sounds clean. Montis like filth and mid to low flow. Not blasting flow. Man I grow cap in places nothing else will grow. I can't get rid of all the pieces of that orange crap.

Keep your reef life easy sell what doesn't do well and keep what does well. I just sold all my acans and don't miss em at All. On to blastos, it's the new sh!t for this year.

 

[wickedfish]

She's just gonna say they are normal. BTW be prepared to hear why its not monti nudis Eric

Maybe a dip wouldn't kill her. Try it with revive in a clear container and pull out the nudis for the picture.

 

[Reef Bullet]

I just stopped reading

I guess you can't be everybody's reef hero.

 

[Reef Bullet]

Where u have them placed in your tank?

 

[pgr11]

I guess you can't be everybody's reef hero.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Reef Bullet]

Me too Chris. I got half way through

Monti nudies

Shut up! And because I know how you love my smilies...

She's just gonna say they are normal. BTW be prepared to hear why its not monti nudis Eric

It's not nudis but I won't elaborate

 

[Reef Bullet]

Dang newbies. Don't u know if u want help ur going to have to have test kits and give us some parameters?

THIS^^^ is my BIGGEST pet peeve! And I'm experiencing it a lot here lately from guys wanting me to help them. So frustrating! I tell them I can't help them if I don't know their levels and they need test kits! Then they tell me they can't afford them right now and want ME to test their water for them. I don't even like having to test my own water!
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TEST KITS, YOU'RE IN THE WRONG HOBBY!!!!!
That should be everyone's FIRST purchase before buying anything.

I'm helping one guy who has been in the hobby for 7 months and can't keep a single coral alive, not even softies. He got several frags on Sat and they were all dead by yesterday. He had some test kits but they were API and you don't even want to get me started on how much I HATE API!!! I have never seen an api test that was accurate.

Here are this^ guy's test results with my salifert kits for everything but no3 (Red Sea) and po4 (Hanna Checker)

Alk 8.6
CA 500+ (ran out of fluid in syringe before it turned blue)
Mg 1170
No3 50
Po4 .52
SG .023
Temp 74 (middle of the day and he doesn't have a heater)

Luckily this guy is cool and is willing to do what I tell him to fix the problems he's having. He spent over 2 bills yesterday ordering test kits and a tds meter from Marine Depot.

Ok... rant over...

 

[pgr11]

THIS^^^ is my BIGGEST pet peeve! And I'm experiencing it a lot here lately from guys wanting me to help them. So frustrating! I tell them I can't help them if I don't know their levels and they need test kits! Then they tell me they can't afford them right now and want ME to test their water for them. I don't even like having to test my own water!
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TEST KITS, YOU'RE IN THE WRONG HOBBY!!!!!
That should be everyone's FIRST purchase before buying anything.

I'm helping one guy who has been in the hobby for 7 months and can't keep a single coral alive, not even softies. He got several frags on Sat and they were all dead by yesterday. He had some test kits but they were API and you don't even want to get me started on how much I HATE API!!! I have never seen an api test that was accurate.

Here are this^ guy's test results with my salifert kits for everything but no3 (Red Sea) and po4 (Hanna Checker)

Alk 8.6
CA 500+ (ran out of fluid in syringe before it turned blue)
Mg 1170
No3 50
Po4 .52
SG .023
Temp 74 (middle of the day and he doesn't have a heater)

Luckily this guy is cool and is willing to do what I tell him to fix the problems he's having. He spent over 2 bills yesterday ordering test kits and a tds meter from Marine Depot.

Ok... rant over...

Well now that that's over what's your parameters

 

[Reef Bullet]

Your water sounds clean. Montis like filth and mid to low flow. Not blasting flow. Man I grow cap in places nothing else will grow. I can't get rid of all the pieces of that orange crap.

Keep your reef life easy sell what doesn't do well and keep what does well. I just sold all my acans and don't miss em at All. On to blastos, it's the new sh!t for this year.

I do have super clean water and never thought of that contributing to the monti problem. It also could be the flow.... they're about the same height in the tank as I had them in CA but they're on the wall side of the peninsula now, opposite of where they were before, and the wall side is where my power heads are as well as the overflow box which is sucking in the water and causing the water to follow over the montis pretty fast.
I haven't bought any of the montis I've lost her except the ones I originally had from CA but I still hate to lose them and I do love the look of a cap swirling in the tank.

Maybe a dip wouldn't kill her. Try it with revive in a clear container and pull out the nudis for the picture.

I dipped them, just as I always dip everything before it goes in the tank, in Bayer.

 

[jbaeza83]

Alk 8.6
CA 500+ (ran out of fluid in syringe before it turned blue)
Mg 1170
No3 50
Po4 .52
SG .023
Temp 74 (middle of the day and he doesn't have a heater)

I think these two might be contributing but not sure if maybe you meant to put .052 for Po4 but I doubt it since hanna only reads in hundredths...

 

[Reef Bullet]

Well now that that's over what's your parameters

Alk 8.3
CA 420
Mg 1350
No3 0
Po4 .08

I think these two might be contributing but not sure if maybe you meant to put .052 for Po4 but I doubt it since hanna only reads in hundredths...

Yeah no kidding! I didn't make a mistake... it was .52
Plus I bet he's having swings because all he's dosing is kalk and his Mg was on the low side. He buys his water from the lfs but I tested it and the rodi had a tds of 27. He took it back yesterday and asked them to test theirs for tds and show him. They told him they don't have a tds meter! Also, they told him they mix their sw to .026 but he asked them to check that and show him and it turned out to be exactly what I said, .023
He told them to fix it and then he'll come back, so in the meantime, he's just gonna keep having crappy water till he can get the water to do some wc's.

Oh, and I forgot to mention... he has an ATS and his tank is covered IN GHA and bubble algae!

 

[reefes pieces]

Like Wicked said I'd place it lower. Maybe its too much light for the frags especially if it was rescued from an ill suited tank. I'd cut the algae off and place it near the bottom and see what happens.

 

[Emac909]

I haven't read every thing but did u do fresh water dips on the montis? Montis can't handle FW dips like acro can.

 

[Reef Bullet]

Like Wicked said I'd place it lower. Maybe its too much light for the frags especially if it was rescued from an ill suited tank. I'd cut the algae off and place it near the bottom and see what happens.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, except I really don't have a place in my tank for them that is lower where they wouldn't get stung by something else.

I can't cut the algae off cuz it's not growing on the edges but on the tiny peaks that are all over the surface. Also, it's like the rust colored dust more than an algae and it's growing all over my rocks and it's covering over the coralline. After it grows thicker than a dust, it starts getting VERY fine clearish hairs growing up from it. I'll try and get a pic... I'm not sure what to think.

Also, the two tiny frags of encrusting monti I got from CFM in early March were healthy and colored when I got them but quickly faded, browned, and died in my tank. Same placement though.