Monticaps turning white

[mankc]

Hey guys, good morning! I have a problem.. every time i place a monticap in my tank it dies.. Color start fading away and eventually dies Ive spent quite a bit $ on many monti frags, N have lost every 1 of them.. I recently purchase a purple monticap and notice this morning that a small area on the tip was turning a lil whitish.. I do have other sps frags in my tank which are doing great... What should i do??? Below is a spec list of my tank, hopefully somone can help me w this problem.


90 Gallon Pre-Drilled w/Mag 9 Return Pump, Black Stand, and Canopy

Filtration:

• 20 Gallon Refugium with three chambers. Live Rock, Chaeto and 2-3" Sand Bed​
• 3X Turbo Twist - UV Sterilizer with 9W Bulb​
• Eheim 2217 Canister for mechanical filtration (Mainly Carbon)​
• Aqua C Remora Pro Protein Skimmer w/Mag 5 Pump & check valve
  ​
  
  [*]
  Somewhere between 150-180lbs of Live Rock​
  [*]
  100lbs of Live Sand​
  [*]
  2 Maxi-Jet 1200 PH, 1 AquaClear 50, 1 Acuaclear 70​
  
  

Lighting:​

• 48" Current USA Outer Orbit Unit with two 150W 10K Metal Halide's, two 130W PC Actinic, 6 Lunar Lights.​

Chiller/Heater:​

• 1/10 HP Current USA Chiller with Rio 2500 in Refugium and 300W Heater connected to Chiller. Current Temp is 78/79​

What's Inside:​

• 2 Perc's: 1 Orange, 1 Black (Odd Pair)​
• 3" Hippo Tang​
• 3" Purple Tang​
• 2.5" Powder Blue Tang​
• 3" Blue Throat Trigger (Reef Safe)​
• 5" Foxface​
• 4 1/4" Baby Banggai Cardinal's (in Breeder Tank for now)​
• 2 Pajama Cardinal's (about 5 years now)​
• 1 Bi-Color Blenny (Love's Monti's.....Bastard) could it be him??​
• 1 Lawnmower Blenny​
• 1/2" Baby Asfar Angel (Bastard picks on my Zoo's...if u get him out, you can keep him for free. I've tried)​
• Various Turbo Snails, Hermit Crabs, Sand Sifting Snails, 3 Bumble Bee Snails. ​

 

[Iseayu]

I'm no expert but I'll shoot and say too many fish. Way too heavy bio. Nitrates have to be extremely high. And that just a start from a fool who never listens and is finally trying to slow things down to get better results.
Hope that helps.

 

[vanceny]

Where are you putting the monti when you first introduce it into your tank? It could be a light acclimation issue depending where the monti is coming from. Start it at the bottom and work your way up.

Other suggestions:
- your flow seems a bit low
- the 2-3" sandbed in your refugium isn't doing anything. Either remove it or add more sand.

 

[vanceny]

I'm no expert but I'll shoot and say too many fish. Way too heavy bio. Nitrates have to be extremely high. And that just a start from a fool who never listens and is finally trying to slow things down to get better results.
Hope that helps.

Also what he said!

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

What's your calcium, alk, and magnesium levels? Also what lighting did they come from? What is your lighting? Where are they placed in your tank?

 

[mankc]

What's your calcium, alk, and magnesium levels? Also what lighting did they come from? What is your lighting? Where are they placed in your tank?

Hey chief! I purchase the sweet frag pack from "JHALE"... His lights are 14k i beleive, and mine R 10k... I used a color range test and the results were within normal parameters the last time i checked, i did order a more advance testing kit... Will run another test today... They were on the top of tank, but lowered them this morning to the middle of the tank.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

What s the wattage of the lights?

 

[Craig]

can you be more specific on the test results including the brand of test kit, also include nitrate levels.

 

[charile1]

I think it's just growing.

 

[mankc]

What s the wattage of the lights?

Lighting:​

• 48" Current USA Outer Orbit Unit with two 150W 10K Metal Halide's, two 130W PC Actinic, 6 Lunar Lights.​

 

[NYreefNoob]

Caps

Do You Dose The Tank ? Alk Cal Or Mag ? This Could Be The Problem, As Caps Are More On The Easier Side To Keep. And If It Is Just The Edges Turning White Thats From Growth

 

[fali]

I agree with the fact it may be growing. As long its only the tips. I have 3 montis and growing good. All the tips are lighter/whitish in color when growing. Just a thought.

 

[mankc]

Do You Dose The Tank ? Alk Cal Or Mag ? This Could Be The Problem, As Caps Are More On The Easier Side To Keep. And If It Is Just The Edges Turning White Thats From Growth

I purchased the 2 step process from b ionic which consist of calcium and alkalinity... I also dose phytoplankton... Is this bad?

 

[jhale]

hey kenny can you take a pic of the cap?

i don't think the edges where white when it was in my tank, it would not start growing that fast lol.

phytoplankton is not bad, some people think it helps others think it just adds to the nutrient levels of the tank.

if your around tomorrow bring over a sample of water we can test it and see what's going on in your tank.

 

[mankc]

hey kenny can you take a pic of the cap?

i don't think the edges where white when it was in my tank, it would not start growing that fast lol.

phytoplankton is not bad, some people think it helps others think it just adds to the nutrient levels of the tank.

if your around tomorrow bring over a sample of water we can test it and see what's going on in your tank.

Hey John... Thanks so much, that will be awesome... Ill call you tommorow.

 

[SuRFeR BoY]

whats ur phos and nitrate levels? also what type of skimmer are you running?

 

[mankc]

whats ur phos and nitrate levels? also what type of skimmer are you running?

I currently have an AcuaC Remora Pro with a Mag 5 and a check valve hanging in the sump. I collect a bunch of nasty stuff. About every three or four days I have a 3 liter bottle full. I will be going over to someones place with my water so I could test it now. I'll post results when I get back. Thank you all, you have been of great help.

 

[mankc]

Calcium was at 420 I believe and Alkalinity normal as well. JHale knows exact parameters. My problem are Nitrates. Ding Ding Ding. Thank you guys. I have my hands tide this weekend. I just sold the 5" Foxface and will try and catch a few more today. Reducing the bioload and changing massive amounts of water are my main concerns this weekend. Thanks again guys.

I will soon be tossing the AquaC Remora Pro for a larger skimmer too. Don't be afraid to let me know what you guys have laying around. Anything as good as AquaC EV 120-180 would be ideal right?

 

[Bob 1000]

I may be wrong because I'm new to reef, but 150watt mh is not that much for 90 especially if you water parameters aren't really good...I had 8 pc's, 8 48in t5's...And got it to grow but when I put 400watts which is probably overkill all my sps change colors and grew like crazy...

 

[mankc]

I may be wrong because I'm new to reef, but 150watt mh is not that much for 90 especially if you water parameters aren't really good...I had 8 pc's, 8 48in t5's...And got it to grow but when I put 400watts which is probably overkill all my sps change colors and grew like crazy...

It's 150W X 2. 300 MH and 260 PC for a total of 560. Sounds about average/suffice. My problem isn't the lighting if not the nitrates.