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Bleaching montipora problem

CookieJar

CookieJar

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Over the past few weeks I've had two of my purple haze montiporas have increasing large white spots in the middle. One is a frag in a frag tank, the other is a larger piece in my display (see pics below). Interstingly enough, my 2 other encrusting montiporas don't have the same problem and I don't see any monti eating nudibranchs, although I'm not sure I'd be able to identify them as I've never seen them before live. I'm wondering if this species of monti is sensitive to my parameters, which I found out are a little out of whack with low dKh and i'm in the process of readjusting.
dKH 4.2
Ca 500+ (could be 600+)
Mg 1410
salinity 1.025

Maybe related is an orange chalice frag I recently got that has a line in it where the tissue has receeded. :O Any thoughts on either of the problems? The rest of my corals seem to be doing fine, I can't figure out why the white, bleached area of the purple haze monti are gradually increasing. I haven't changed anything signficiant- light bulbs, salt, temp, water changes, etc.

frag:


colony:


chalice frag:
 
The first thing that pops into my head are Ca and Mag, double check those and your salinity.

Other than that, have you been spot feeding?
 
I really don't know what to suggest, but I would like to clarify your kH. You state it is 4.2. Do you mean mean your Alkalinity? If your kH is 4.2 then it is too low and I see that as being a problem. :)
 
Yeah, kH is 4.2 and is too low. Hopefully when I get it back up to a normal level that might solve the problem. I wanted to post to see if there's something I'm not thinking about. I do spot feeding but for a lot of other corals, not the montis or the chalice frag which hasn't shown it's tentacles yet.
 
I hope you can bring this one back....

My Purple Haze has been doing well with these parameters:

KH 8-9
Mg 1350-1400
CA 417-425
PH 8.3-8.4
SG 1.024 @ 78.4 degrees
Sal 35

This Monti prefers strong lighting (MH) and moderate to strong flow (but not direct current) and to be kept mid reef rather than top of the reef. I find that mid reef brings out the luminescence better (less color shift). I didn't catch if your lighting is current or if the bulbs are old. Low KH can do some nasty things. You may want to consider Drew's Doser at Bulk Reef Supply to maintain your KH better. Temp comes to mind too: Are you getting really hot weather where you are, and are you chilling?

Good Luck,
Joel

My picture is a little over exposed (I shot this earlier before posting this to you) but it gives you an idea of how it's doing with these parameters. I hope it helps you.

Attached files /attachments/sites/default/files/IMG_3363_0.JPG
 
I use the Litermeter III dosing pump and it's been a great addition for dosing 2 part. The main problem is I had the dosing amounts out of balance, or the alk line has buildup and is getting less 'alk water' than it should. I'm not great at water testing because I can't always read the color change, or I don't trust the kit so I rely on observation, which I'd rather not do because of situations like this, but overall I haven't had anything too bad happen.
Until recently, the Purple haze has done great for me about 10" from the water line, and it's under 250W MH, 12K bulb.
 
Gotcha.

I was using API's KH test kit for a long time, and it was fairly accurate giving a clear / noticeable color shift. Now, I'm using Seachem's MG, Borate and Alk test kit. I love it. It's like a mad scientist's kit (lots of bottles and stuff to do). At first, I did not think I was going to like using it because it's more involved than the API kit. But now I have really gotten into to it. The MG test part is really accurate and showed me how off the Red Sea MG kit is (still a very good kit Red Sea has but it was off by almost 200 pts - that's bad) Over the years, I relied on Seachem's CA test kit, so I knew the MG / Alk kit would take getting use to, but it's been worth it. I'll note that the API KH test kit was only off .5 vs Seachem's MG / Alk test kit (taking the same reading at the same time, API was 8 Seachem was 7.5 because API does give gradations like SC. Overall, for a person who doesn't want to spend a lot of time or money testing, API will give you decent KH test results instantly and this could be a good way to take a good snapshot of your water.

I read, soaking your dosing hoses in warm water, when they're new, will help avoid clogging. I think I read this on Marine Depot's site, or it may have been Randy in M.D.'s Tech Support department that told me this. May be worth a try .

Lastly, these Monti, like most of them, don't like sudden shifts of light, (going higher or lower on the reef in less than 1-2 week's time) so try keeping them with strong light like, your 250s, but not blasting them with it: Try mid way and off to the side for a while - if you haven't already. This is a nice coral and is hardy. I think it'll come back if you baby it.

Good Luck and Good Reefing,
Joel
 
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