red-orange montipora 4' cap

[cecilio]

hi
im going to buy a 4' orange-red montipora cap, can you advice me where to place it, how much flow etc, i will like to do everything correctly
thanks

[JaxReef]

A few questions to help answer your question

1)what do you have for lighting?
2)How big is your tank?
3) what are you using for flow?

[cecilio]

hi
jaxreef
my tani is a bowfront 155 gals, i have two tunze streams 1600 with a multicontrol, i have a corallife 72 inches hiq lighting fixture,
water parameters
cal 420
mag 1250
kh 10
ph 8.35
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
phosphate 0
temp 76
salt; tropic marine pro 20% water change bimonthly
please let me know if you need other information

[cecilio]

hi jack ; tunze streams two of them are the 6100 ,the multicontoller is tunze 7095,it is set at sequential mode ,set at 30 seconds interval for each pump, i also use the night mode after lights go out ,the power for the pumps is set at minimum power ( i have lot of mushrooms) the lighting fixture is coralife aqualight pro hqi with 3 metal halide 150 watts, 4 96 watts actinic 03 blue and 3 #53061 lunar moon lights, the pumps are placed on the top of tha back of the side glasses, the salinity is 1,024

[cecilio]

hi jackreef
lighting period is as follows
actinics 2 pm to 12 am
metal halide 3 pm to 11 pm
moons lights 12 am to 1 am

[JaxReef]

sounds like a good setup you have. I would put the cap middle to high in a moderate to high flow area. The tunze will provide great flow and you do have metal halide lighting. Just make sure you allow the coral to adjust to your lighting, this may require you to start the coral closer to the bottom of the tank and moving it up slowly. Monti Cap is a hardy coral and can over run a tank if not trimmed back but nothing like xenia.

Also your pH seems a little low

[cecilio]

hi jack
what p.h. do you think i should have?
thank you

[JaxReef]

sorry i miss read your post, its fine. for some reason I thought it said 3.5

[prow]

one thing i see is your temp is a little low. most reefs run a temp of at least 78. better if its up around 80. i keep mine at 79-81 in winter and 80-82 in summer. i have a few montis all doing great. of course there are cold water reefs but i dont think montis belong in one. i am wondering what is the swing of your temp. how high does it get during the day and how low does it get during the night?

also what are you using to test your salinity? if a refractometer than try to get it to 1.026-1.027. if your using a swing arm, well trow it out and get a refractometer. your reading are going to be way off with the swing arms.

your ph isa little too high also. when did you test it. need to know the swing of your ph like your temp. what is it in with lights on just before they go off, and what is it in the moring after no lights through the night?

your kh i think is ok if that reading is in dkh, if ppm way high.

one commet about your salt. i have heard tropic marine pro cause lots of algae growth. when i tried it i found this to be ture. what experence do you have with it, as far algae growth??

[cecilio]

hi
i will check the ph swings, my temperature is 74 in the morning and the 79 to 80 at nights with lights on, i dont have any problems with algae, do you think i should correct the temperature,my kh is in dkh, what do you believe is the best temperature swing and p.h. swing?

[JaxReef]

your pH seems fine imo. I keep it around 8.2

Temp is important to keep constant. I keep it around 79

Your alk is fine also

How long has your tank been running?

[prow]

hey how goes it.
that is pretty chilly for a reef. montis are pretty adaptible but thats mighty cold. try to keep the swing to +or- 2to3 degrees. 79-81. i would not let go below 78 or above 84 unless your doing it for specific reasons.
the ph IMO shouldn't swing any more than .2 one way or the other. my tank runs 8.0-8.2. however i am using a Ca+ reactor, it cause my ph to run on the low side. with just a Ca+ reactor this is actually pretty good. are you dosing Ca+ with lime water? if not what are dosing with for Ca+ and alk? at any rate the acceptable ph range is 7.8-8.5, what you are using to dose will affect the best range for you, just try not to let swing more than .2.

[cheeks69]

Monti caps aren't very light demanding and can become very light in color if placed high in the tank under MH's so I would keep them about mid to lower level. Your parameters are fine but agree you should try to keep the temp in the 78-80* range and avoid drastic swings.

[cecilio]

hi
thanks for all your advices, i believe i must high my tenperature to 78-80
thanks again to all