Montipora

[Gumby]

I bought this monti for $5 from a friend and I dont know if I have it in the correct spot in my tank or if I actually have enought light for it.

I currently have Power Compact with (2) actinic and (2) 10k white lights at 265watts in a 75g tank. The monti is about 4-5" from the top of the tank (the highest point in my tank) and is in direct current flow from my sump which hits it about every 10 seconds (I use SQWD).

Do I have enough (of everything) for it to grow?

[Techno-Vicki]

Montiporas need more intense light than you are giving it. T5's, Metal Halides, LED's are really what is required. It may live, but it will not do well.

[michael_cb_125]

Like Vicki said Montis need quite a bit of light. They do not need as much as many of the Acroporas but they do need more than PCs. Also dont put any coral directly in front of a return. The direct stream of water can blast the polyps right out of the coral. Good Luck

[Gumby]

Well that's a bummer....
The guy told me to get it close to the top of hte tank and i should be ok. He also said that it needed high water flow.

I will have to adjust my return line to go above the monti so as not to blast it.

[SaltwaterGeek]

I thought Montipora were the one exception to the Halide rule for SPS corals? I was informed that they are the only SPS that will do quite well under PC lighting... Of course they would obviously flourish under Halides. Have I been steered in the wrong direction as well?

Thanks,
Chris

[SneakyOwner]

Power compacts should be strong enough. If you said T5 can do it then I dont see why PC's wont cut it. I've got 600 watts of PC on my 125 and i will be getting some monti soon. Ill let you know how it goes.

[BigAl07]

I agree on the light (medium/high to high which does mean T5 or greater) but not about the FLOW. It depends on which one you have. Some like high flow, some medium and some medium/low flow.

If you get your light issues resolved then you can move the Monti around or you can look up exactly which one you have and research it's exact flow requirements. But until you get it enough light to THRIVE (remember we want our corals to THRIVE not just Survive) you can't tell if the flow is right for that one or not.

[Gumby]

I looked up my lighting on the internet as I wanted to be sure of what 9I had....They are Current's Nova Extreme .....They use T5 bulbs as 54watts per with the little white moon lights.

(2) 460 nm Actinics blue
(2) 10,000k slimpack High Output T5's

[BigAl07]

Very good. As long as your bulbs are in good shape you should be good with that light for this coral. Big difference between Power Compact and T5.

[Gumby]

With all this being said, what can i put in the tank and what can i not put in the tank?

I would rather know from the guru's here at Reef Sanctuary before I place anymore in my tank.

[mps9506]

I have grown monti's very well under similar PC lighting. They weren't colorful, but grew quite well with good water conditions and placement.

With all this being said, what can i put in the tank and what can i not put in the tank?

You should be fine with pretty much any other corals except for higher light loving SPS corals IE: acros, pocilipora, stylos etc.

[lcstorc]

Avoid clams and anemones as well. Both need high light.

[Frankie]

If you add one more lighting fixture over your tank bringing it to 4 t5's you will do well with most sps. You loose the shimmer from MH's and LED's but thats ok. There are some great tanks out there with just t5's. Remember that temperature plays a huge role with sps. You need to keep it constant. I would do some heavy reading in other threads successful with sps before spending all your money. There quite addictive!

[Frankie]

I would replace that skimmer first thing. A Prizm on a 75 is not doing much. Remember, low nutrients are key to keeping sps. Ditch the bio balls. You don't need them to feed the refugium and tey will cause your nitrates to go up over time.. The Coral beauty could be an issue later on. You won't keep any clams with that in there.

[kathywithbirds]

Cant' offer advice but I can tell you how mine are doing. I do have MH though.

I have one monti (a plating kind) and an acro (no idea what kind). The monti is kind of offset from the return flow and the acro is kinda sheltered in a rock indent. Both are high up in the tank under my 150w MH and both are doing great!

I also have ... Michael, what IS that pink and green one again? ... a flattish SPS down a little bit in a little more direct flow, doing well, growing but very slowly, and the pink stylo is a bit pouty, I have to move it every so often. Sometimes it wants more light/flow, other times not. Strange coral, changes from purple to pink depending on its moods.