monti help please

[isistius]

ok.. i just started getting into sps. over the last 2 weeks i have put 4 frags of montis in my tank. 3 caps and what i think is a pelitformis (has little purple polyps). i did not light acclimate cause they came from systems that had stronger lighting. now they are not looking so great.
here are my specs:
135g - been set up since last june
about 4500 gph throughout the system (about 3800 in the dt)
2 x 150 de xm mh 15000k (switching out to 10000k ab tomorrow or tuesday)
2 x 130 dual actinic
turboflotor 1000 multi
quiet one 6000 return
temp: consistantly about 82
ph: 8.3
alk: 11.8
ca: over 500
mg: 1170 (working on getting this up. was 1000 on wed)
no3: undect.
po4: undect
sg: 1.026
just started testing and raising mg this past wed. just started dosing kalkwasser yesterday.
the caps seems to have lost their color (is bleaching possible b/c of the lack of light acclimation????) and the pelitformis seems to have lost all polyps. what can i do to save these corals. i really want to start keeping these in my system.

 

[teen]

did they bleach, or just brown out?
if they just browned out, they probably didnt take to your tank well. just keep them in good conditions and stay on top of your paramaters and they should come back. could take a few weeks or could take a few months. (or possibly never).
and your calcium is a bit high imo, should be at arrund 430 and dkh at 9 rather than high 11's.

 

[isistius]

i can't get my calcium down. it's been at that level for about a month!!!
as far as the color goes, they've faded out. does that make any sense?

 

[teen]

from your description, it sounds like they just browned out. its better than them bleaching, but now you have to play the waiting game and hope the color comes back.
if i was you, i would stop dripping kalk for now. your dkh and calcium are to high, that could have caused this.
if you stop dripping the kalk, the corlas will naturally bring down the dkh and the calcium. just monitor them both because you dont want them to drop dramatically.
like i said before, you want your calcium at about 430 and your dkh at 8 or 9.
once the corals start to really deplete your calcium levels, then you can start with the kalk drip again.
if your dkh starts to fall, try adding some baking soda to bring it back up. do a google search on this so you dont overdose. its better than adding the kalk though becasue thats bringing up your calcium as well.

 

[jocoxvt]

that would mean that your corals arent using the calcium if it is staying at that level without buffering.
As for your alk I run mine at 11-12 as i feel I get the best colors aroung that range I know many other reefers who try to keep their alkalinity in that range as well. In my mind with alk/dkh everyone has their own opinion on where to get it and whatever works for your tank (assuming it is in balance with your calcium) is where you should keep it

 

[volcom69]

I keep my alk around 10 dkh and calcium about 450 and my sg at 1.027, as long as ur lighting and flow are good the color can come back just keep ur eye on these things, and make sure ur parm. are not changing like crazy either. Just wait alittle bit i just took a nice peice of acro which was bleached and now its brown and its purple tips are coming back and it took a little bit of time so just keep ur eye on it.

 

[tahoetanks]

What kind of salt are you using? I just figured out not too long ago, that my salt was the culprit of my calcium running so high
Not that I am saying that is your prob. Just a question

 

[isistius]

Originally Posted by tahoetanks
What kind of salt are you using? I just figured out not too long ago, that my salt was the culprit of my calcium running so high
Not that I am saying that is your prob. Just a question
natural sea water. i don't make my own, i let nature do that. gonna do a water change in the next couple of days too.

 

[puffer32]

What are your nitrates at?

 

[isistius]

undectable nitrates

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by jocoxVT
that would mean that your corals arent using the calcium if it is staying at that level without buffering.

(Hi neighbor)
I had a LOT of corals before I noticed any significant depletion in calcium... Maybe 15 or so is where I started seeing it... 15 pretty large corals.

 

[isistius]

just got home and looked at the orange and red cap. actually appears to be bleaching. gonna move them down lower for a while and see what happens.