Is my montipora 'happy'??

wurking_girl · 02/06/2013, 12:36 PM

I just added my first two corals - a monti cap and a euphyllia (frogspawn). I started them both at the bottom of the tank for about 18 hr then started gradually moving them up (and around). It's reasonably clear when the frogspawn is happy/unhappy, but I have no idea how to tell with the monti. It's a sort of rusty brown color under normal lighting and fluorescent orange under the blues, and that hasn't changed...

Just FYI, I have dimmable LED lighting which I keep dialed back significantly (otherwise, it looks like a UFO is landing in my living room...). The whites and blues are on from about 11 AM thru 7 PM.

Thanks for any thoughts...

Allmost · 02/06/2013, 12:38 PM

pics ?

SPS are not like LPs, you can not wait for polyps to come out so u know its good
just have to give it time, and see how it does in next couple of days.

make sure to test KH and CA++ daily and maintain them.

Painted skin · 02/06/2013, 12:42 PM

IMO 18 hrs is not enough time to acclimate new corals to lights, it should be done over at least a week period. You can tell if the monti if it's happy base on color and you can in fact see how well the polyps extending.

wurking_girl · 02/06/2013, 11:29 PM

It has actually been a little over a week - I've been moving them up just a step (couple of inches maybe?) every couple of days. I will try to keep an eye out for polyps - they seem pretty subtle and it's not a huge piece, so I'm not sure if I'm seeing them or not.

So far, my parameters aren't changing much (Ca 420, Mg 1320, Alk 8.5), but I really didn't expect them to so quickly. I have a 120 gal tank and do water changes weekly. Should I expect things to start changing more quickly now, even with just a couple of corals in the tank?

Thanks!

bjledbetter · 02/07/2013, 12:09 AM

The more corals you add esp. sps corals or clams the more Ca/mag/etc you are going to use. And some times it goes rather fast depending on if your corals are growing new skeleton

Palting · 02/07/2013, 07:22 AM

Monti caps are probably one of the hardiest SPS coral, tolerating a wide range of light and flow. Excellent chance yours will do fine.

If you do water changes at least once a week with quality salt at 1.026, it will be a long time and after adding several stoniest before you need to do dosing.

02/06/2013, 12:36 PM	#1
wurking_girl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Richland, MI Posts: 68	Is my montipora 'happy'?? I just added my first two corals - a monti cap and a euphyllia (frogspawn). I started them both at the bottom of the tank for about 18 hr then started gradually moving them up (and around). It's reasonably clear when the frogspawn is happy/unhappy, but I have no idea how to tell with the monti. It's a sort of rusty brown color under normal lighting and fluorescent orange under the blues, and that hasn't changed... Just FYI, I have dimmable LED lighting which I keep dialed back significantly (otherwise, it looks like a UFO is landing in my living room...). The whites and blues are on from about 11 AM thru 7 PM. Thanks for any thoughts... __________________ 120 gal acrylic tank - 48x24x24; Sfiligoi Genesis LEDs; 100 lbs Fiji live rock/1-2" Fiji Pink; sump/refugium; ReeFlo Barracuda return; Tunze wavemaker; INS135 skimmer; Apex controller

02/06/2013, 11:29 PM	#4
wurking_girl Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Richland, MI Posts: 68	It has actually been a little over a week - I've been moving them up just a step (couple of inches maybe?) every couple of days. I will try to keep an eye out for polyps - they seem pretty subtle and it's not a huge piece, so I'm not sure if I'm seeing them or not. So far, my parameters aren't changing much (Ca 420, Mg 1320, Alk 8.5), but I really didn't expect them to so quickly. I have a 120 gal tank and do water changes weekly. Should I expect things to start changing more quickly now, even with just a couple of corals in the tank? Thanks! __________________ 120 gal acrylic tank - 48x24x24; Sfiligoi Genesis LEDs; 100 lbs Fiji live rock/1-2" Fiji Pink; sump/refugium; ReeFlo Barracuda return; Tunze wavemaker; INS135 skimmer; Apex controller

02/07/2013, 07:22 AM	#6
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Monti caps are probably one of the hardiest SPS coral, tolerating a wide range of light and flow. Excellent chance yours will do fine. If you do water changes at least once a week with quality salt at 1.026, it will be a long time and after adding several stoniest before you need to do dosing. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

02/06/2013, 12:38 PM	#2
Allmost Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: canada, toronto Posts: 8,161	pics ? SPS are not like LPs, you can not wait for polyps to come out so u know its good just have to give it time, and see how it does in next couple of days. make sure to test KH and CA++ daily and maintain them.

02/06/2013, 12:42 PM	#3
Painted skin Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 679	IMO 18 hrs is not enough time to acclimate new corals to lights, it should be done over at least a week period. You can tell if the monti if it's happy base on color and you can in fact see how well the polyps extending.

02/07/2013, 12:09 AM	#5
bjledbetter Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Livingston, TN Posts: 478	The more corals you add esp. sps corals or clams the more Ca/mag/etc you are going to use. And some times it goes rather fast depending on if your corals are growing new skeleton