Monti Cap Color issue, Newbie help

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Bboyeze57

Member
Hey guys, I am a newbie in this hobby.

I bought a red and green monti cap roughly 3 weeks ago. I noticed that the color seems dull and whitish color and not as vibrant as it was in the store i bought it from. What is happening? Please help me
Current parameters: Ammonia 0, Nitrate O, Nitrite 0, Ca 420, Phosphate 0.25, pH 8.0, Salinity ~1.025, kH 9. Temp-78-80 fluctuates at times

I have a 29 Biocube gal, i just changed my lighting (still stock Actinic and 10,000k white).

Thanks in advance guys!
 
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Bboyeze57

Member
thanks for your reply, I do a 25% water change weekly and i top off with RO/DI water as needed. I don't know my magnesium level, i bought both saltwater and master reef kit. I have to buy the magnesium test kit and test my level for it probably tomorrow. Is there anything else i should be testing for?
 
Bommie

Bommie

Active member
Right of the bat, I say your light is making a huge difference in the color is giving off. What type of light was it under at the store? I would try to mimic that to get that color back. Another thing to look into is your phosphate. Personally I believe phosphate plays a role in the corals color.

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Bboyeze57

Member
Its sitting mid to high in my tank, kind of directly under the light

- - - Updated - - -

As i mentioned, my phosphate has always been about .25ppm. Should it be higher? Also i read somewhere on the web that i could supplement with pottasium to bring the color back, is this true?
 
Bommie

Bommie

Active member
Phosphate is too high. You will start seeing better coloration around .05 ppm. Lower your phosphates XTRA SLOW over a period of 7-14days. If you bring it down to fast ..well....lol...you'll see.

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M

mannysmusic

New member
Be careful. If you lower phosphate to 0 You will also have issues. You always want to have some nutrients in your tank.

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bryman

bryman

New member
Zero nitrates can also cause issues. Either lower Alk to 7-8 or increase nitrates until they are at least detectable.
 
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Bboyeze57

Member
ninjamyst said:
how long has your tank been running? what's your alk and ca?
Click to expand...
Under my care, about 4 mos now. But the tank was up and running by another owner for over a year.
Currently my Ca- 450, Alk- 10.1 dKH, my Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite are all zero, but i've been having a stable measure of <0.25ppm of Phosphates.
My tank currently fluctuates in temperature from 72-78 at times, i do not have a heater in the tank.
Also i upgraded my biocube light to the AI prime HD recently, so i haven't observed any difference in the color or growth of my montipora yet, too early to observe at the moment. Although the upgraded led accentuates the color of the corals.
 
bryman

bryman

New member
Need to grab a heater - try to keep tank swing within 2 degrees per day.

Also paling can be caused by light shock, try turning down the Prime to acclimate your corals.
 
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