New to SPS. Montipora Health Check! help. New Frags. (With Pictures)

[HingleMcCringleberry]

Hi. I'M new to the forum and was hoping some experienced reefers could offer some advice on my coral health!

 

 I have a 20 gallon DIY mixed reef tank that has been running for about 6 months. I have about 1 year experience running a 75 gallon reef tank that I took down about 6 years ago when I left for college. Everything I have added (soft corals, LPS, fish, inverts, nem) seems healthy and has been a pleasure to watch. Up until now I have never tried any SPS corals. 5 days ago I decided to venture into some "beginner" SPS. I don't have very accurate water testing kits so I am not looking to advance any further with difficult corals until I can at least better monitor my water parameters. I have a very large amount of live rock for the tank size and two hang-off-the-back filters (in case one ever fails). My heater is a decently stable and my digital thermometer always reads 78.4-78.8. My lighting is not very strong: Marineland LEDs rated at about 100 par at 12 inches and 6000K. It is also not diffuse at all and has almost spotlights of higher intensity throughout the tank. (yes, I plan to upgrade my lighting when I have the funds in about a month).  

 

I bought two montipora frags 5 days ago, one large orange monti cap and one small sunset monti. Both came from my LFS and were not shipped (at least not any time recently). To compensate for my low lighting I placed them about 5 inches down in the water directly under the "spotlights" from my LEDs. 

 

I really don't know enough to tell if they're doing ok or not. given that my situation is atypical bordering on stupid (I know it sounds bad) I want to make sure Im not killing the frags. I have a friend with a very successful SPS tank who will take them if I'm hurting them and I just don't want to see them die! I think they might be doing ok. I'll be watching for long term signs of health but I just wanted to ask if there are any issues visibly indicating immediate shock from new/bad tank conditions.

 

Please don't be too hard on me. I know you'll want to know my water parameters and more details than I can probably measure. I don't want advice on keeping them alive as much as advice on how to tell if they're healthy (although all input is appreciated). If they aren't healthy I will rehome them at the first clear sign they're declining.

 

I have attached pictures. 

[HingleMcCringleberry]

FYI I am picking up a 32 gallon Biocube I found on craigslist (FOR FREE) that comes with an upgraded, powerful, LED light and is currently running. It could also be a new home for these corals if something goes wrong so I am more concerned with signs of health (or lack thereof). Does polyp extension = healthy/ growing coral?

[WV Reefer]

35 minutes ago, HingleMcCringleberry said:

Hi. I'M new to the forum and was hoping some experienced reefers could offer some advice on my coral health!

 

 I have a 20 gallon DIY mixed reef tank that has been running for about 6 months. I have about 1 year experience running a 75 gallon reef tank that I took down about 6 years ago when I left for college. Everything I have added (soft corals, LPS, fish, inverts, nem) seems healthy and has been a pleasure to watch. Up until now I have never tried any SPS corals. 5 days ago I decided to venture into some "beginner" SPS. I don't have very accurate water testing kits so I am not looking to advance any further with difficult corals until I can at least better monitor my water parameters. I have a very large amount of live rock for the tank size and two hang-off-the-back filters (in case one ever fails). My heater is a decently stable and my digital thermometer always reads 78.4-78.8. My lighting is not very strong: Marineland LEDs rated at about 100 par at 12 inches and 6000K. It is also not diffuse at all and has almost spotlights of higher intensity throughout the tank. (yes, I plan to upgrade my lighting when I have the funds in about a month).  

 

I bought two montipora frags 5 days ago, one large orange monti cap and one small sunset monti. Both came from my LFS and were not shipped (at least not any time recently). To compensate for my low lighting I placed them about 5 inches down in the water directly under the "spotlights" from my LEDs. 

 

I really don't know enough to tell if they're doing ok or not. given that my situation is atypical bordering on stupid (I know it sounds bad) I want to make sure Im not killing the frags. I have a friend with a very successful SPS tank who will take them if I'm hurting them and I just don't want to see them die! I think they might be doing ok. I'll be watching for long term signs of health but I just wanted to ask if there are any issues visibly indicating immediate shock from new/bad tank conditions.

 

Please don't be too hard on me. I know you'll want to know my water parameters and more details than I can probably measure. I don't want advice on keeping them alive as much as advice on how to tell if they're healthy (although all input is appreciated). If they aren't healthy I will rehome them at the first clear sign they're declining.

 

I have attached pictures. 

 

Welcome to NR! 😊 

 

the montis look fine so far but you will need to get some better light soon. Everything in there looks pretty healthy so don’t stress too much! 🙂

[pokerdobe]

Nothing that looks glaringly wrong. 

 

When it comes to SPS, stability is paramount. Invest in a decent testing kit. You'll want to track the big 3 (Alk, Ca, Mg) and probably Nitrates and Phosphates. More so Phosphates. 

[mcarroll]

Corals won't look good for very long under 6000 K lighting… Their health may even degrade soon.   either get that bio cube or add a cheap blue LED strip to your marine land strip to balance it out. (That really will work by the way.)