mdntipora bleaching?

[isaacharry]

hi,

 

i have a frag of a sunset mdntipora and it is losing its red colour... however, the green polyps are out and gave great polyp ectention.. its just the red thats going away.

 

here are my params

 

salinity

1.025

CA

500 (two days ago it was at 700)

ALK

(12 dKH) It was wayyyyyy off the charts two days ago also

mag is at 1000

 

the reason for the high levels is because i mis dosed red sea abc+

 

can it be an alk issue

[HarryPotter]

Yep, it can be an Alk issue. Also low magnesium isn't helpful, get that fixed to balance out the "big three".

 

Over-lighting?

[isaacharry]

i don't think its the light because its just my monti that has an issue no matter where i place it.

[smeagol108]

It may be not enough light. It's not turning white or light colored, at least u didn't say it was. Many times montis will extend their polyps more than normal during daytime hours when not getting enough light. People think it's awesome cause the polyps are so big, but in reality they are blocking the rest of the coral from getting the light it needs and the coral darkens and loses its bright colors. I would try moving it to a brighter location and see how it goes. U should know pretty quick cause the polyps shouldn't be put too far during the day. That's a nighttime thing normally to see them out real far.

[isaacharry]

its getting lighter, almost white but ill give it a week and see what happens.

 

Yep, it can be an Alk issue. Also low magnesium isn't helpful, get that fixed to balance out the "big three".

Over-lighting?

also, what product do you recommend to use for ALK

It may be not enough light. It's not turning white or light colored, at least u didn't say it was. Many times montis will extend their polyps more than normal during daytime hours when not getting enough light. People think it's awesome cause the polyps are so big, but in reality they are blocking the rest of the coral from getting the light it needs and the coral darkens and loses its bright colors. I would try moving it to a brighter location and see how it goes. U should know pretty quick cause the polyps shouldn't be put too far during the day. That's a nighttime thing normally to see them out real far.

[smeagol108]

try it for a few days higher. If it's getting noticeably lighter and the polyps are still out just as far than move it down. If I had known it was getting lighter I may not have given that advice. I have seen many montis just lose their skeletal color, get a dark skeletal color, or just go almost gray rock colored while polyps where still extended and higher light normally helped in those situations.

[Nano sapiens]

try it for a few days higher. If it's getting noticeably lighter and the polyps are still out just as far than move it down. If I had known it was getting lighter I may not have given that advice. I have seen many montis just lose their skeletal color, get a dark skeletal color, or just go almost gray rock colored while polyps where still extended and higher light normally helped in those situations.

 

^ This is correct. When you find the correct light level (and there are sufficient nutrients in the tank) then you'll see the orange color return and the green polyps should remain metallic green. I have two colonies in low and higher light (lower light is orange-grey, higher-light is deep orange). Too much light and the orange starts to turn cream-white.

[newf99]

You may have nudis...check for pests.

[gulfsurfer101]

I can tell you right now it was the alk. You burned your monti and your monti doesn't like to be burned. If your going for accelerated sps growth then keep your dkh at 9 but not any higher. 500 calcium isn't bad but you want to keep your mag basically three times as high to be ionically balanced. 1500 mag is pushing it. Any bryopsis is now clearing up along with many other macro you keep. Be careful because if your macro dies then the nutrients they absorded are now released back into your tank. I like my mag at 13-1400. Best of luck and that is a hardy one that should make a complete recovery once you get your issue straightened out.