encrusting montipora care?

Hi Gexx

Im still very much a learner on the SPS and I have made a couple of mistakes whilst learning

if this coral was under PC lighting and now you have it under 150 watts of MH

moving it lower would be a good idea IMO ( Ive lost 2 corals because I assumed SPS = as much light as youve got as soon as you get them home)

start them about 1/3rd from bottom of tank, for 1 -2 weeks
then move to middle for 1 -2 weeks
then place where you want them

thats working for me , with 5 subsequent SPS additions after losing the 1st couple

flow, Monti caps dont do well if sediment or detrius can accumulate on them, so when they are placed lower ( many people have a water flow bias favouring the top 3rd of tank as then shrooms/ LPS etc are OK down at the bottom but the corals that like flow are catered for in the top 3rd)

you need to make sure there is good water movement, over them, so that the surface does not collect fish/ snail poop etc IM (limited) E

hopefully someone who really knows what they are doing will correct me, or add anything I have missed

Steve

 

ok moved it halfway and it looks happy there (as far down as i could put it without rearranging rocks)

 

hey steve if you see this i was just wondering if it was ok at the highest rock since the highest rock is halfway up my tank. just wondering.

 

FYI.... Im certain that your monti is a scrolling type. IMO those are more beautiful than encrusting montis. Looks like a an orange scrolling monti. Im almost sure. will know more in a bout a month or two.

 

excuse my ignorance but whats the difference?

 

encrusting montis.... encrust the surface they are on with little or no plating out.

scrolling produce multiple large plates growing off the surface.

 

ok sounds cool either way.

 

tatted forever is correct it is a plating.
to keep its color you want 14 k and actinics, for growth you want 10 k.
they can take a lot of light but it matters what it is used to in its previous habitat.
keep your kh, ph, and ca stable, the ca may fluctuate. Nitrates should be above 5ppm for long and they can take a lot of flow if it is alternating on a wave timer, violent to slow keep them on a alternating wave timer.

 

uh oh. i dont know what kelvin i have and i dont know if i have enough flow. well see what happens. looks fine so far!

 

will normal water changes help keep these stable? if so i do 10% weekly.