Why can't I grow monti caps?

[Mark75]

I have three caps in my tank and they are the slowest growers out of all my sps. My acros and milles grow faster than the caps? The caps are also thicker than normal and what growth I have is downward.

[Eklikewhoa]

Hmmmm....I can't seem to keep them alive...

I have Milles, acros, birdsnest that encrust like crazy but the monit frags I get usually die.

[carman9941]

what lighting do you have?

[hobogato]

i have the exact same issue in my tank - all of my montipora grow slower than my acros.

Originally posted by Mark75
I have three caps in my tank and they are the slowest growers out of all my sps. My acros and milles grow faster than the caps? The caps are also thicker than normal and what growth I have is downward.

[Oldude]

How is your flow around the caps?

[hobogato]

Originally posted by Oldude
How is your flow around the caps?

i have em in varied amounts of flow. they seem to spread out at the same rate regardless, but the ones in higher flow grow very thick (about 1/4" tick at the edge)

[ddresch]

I'd suspect too much light. Mine are growing well under vho bulbs. They are higher, but not in the center of the tank. The green cap grows slower than my orange. The orange cap grows about at least 1/2 inch in each direction each month.

[xtm]

Anecdotal experience for me... I lost 2 Monti caps when I cleaned up the tank (lowered nutrients by addition of GFO) and I mean, killed them both in a span of 3 days, from green to totally white.

[hobogato]

mine seemed to grow fine when i had more of a mixed reef and not very many sps. since shifting more to sps dominant and increasing my population of acros, my caps' growth slowed. i wonder if they are being out competed by the acros for calcium and nutrients. i also wonder if it is because my overall increase in water cleanliness (much higher ORP now) is more optimal for acros than montipora.

[Mark75]

I have 4-39watt T5's over a 30 long. I have 3 different caps, all are still alive after 4 months but show very little growth. What growth they do show is down at the edges and they are getting thicker (3/8 of an inch thick.) . The tan with purple edge shows more pe than any I have ever seen. Day or night it has so much pe it looks like some type of lps. Any idea why?

[acrodave]

sometimes i wish mine would die or stop growing. 4 months is not a real long time for growing especially if you look at the tank all the time. try taking a pic of them wait about 3-4 week then look back at the pics i bet you will see growth

[hobogato]

Originally posted by Mark75
more pe than any I have ever seen. Day or night it has so much pe it looks like some type of lps

are you sure you arent talking about my tank? similarities are striking, my caps are the same way

[Mark75]

Originally posted by hobogato
are you sure you arent talking about my tank? similarities are striking, my caps are the same way

If you happen to find the solution before I do let me know!

[Flint&Eric]

what salt do you use? potassium may be worth looking into...

[Mark75]

Reef Crystals, I know of others using this salt with no problems. I am leaning towards lighting being the problem. I am not happy with T5's!! I miss metal halides.

[Sk8r]

Mine grew great in my 54g under an Ushio 250 10000k. They went to blazes under a Reeflux 12000.

[Mark75]

What about the extreme PE on my tan w/purple rim cap? To give you an idea of how extreme imagine a flower pot coral shaped like a monti cap. The entire cap is covered in this huge polyps night or day, know that I think about it I have never seen it with its polyps retracted. It has been this way for at least 4 months.

[osprey77]

PICS, i have t5's and growth is ok but slow i think especially the caps.

[deep6er]

I think the reason they are thicker is because of your water flo.
The sps grow thicker structures if they are in a high flo area. They do this to prevent them from breaking.

[Mark75]

Here are some pictures, with actinics and then with flash. (my daylights have already went off). Does that look like a lot of PE on the tan one?

[Purple Haze]

I have the same problem.

A pink/purple polyped cap just spreads slowly and doesn't do anything else.

I also have a frag on a plug up higher and it does the same exact thing.

55x turnover and 250w DE over my 24" tank. One piece up high, the other halfway up.

[Mark75]

Originally posted by Purple Haze
I have the same problem.

A pink/purple polyped cap just spreads slowly and doesn't do anything else.

I also have a frag on a plug up higher and it does the same exact thing.

55x turnover and 250w DE over my 24" tank. One piece up high, the other halfway up.

Maybe it is not a T5 problem?

[chessmanmark]

If you have a lot of flow then your caps will grow flatter and thicker IME. If your cap is growing thicker then doesn't it make sense that your growth would be slower than a cap that grows quickly but thinner. Originally I had less flow in my tank on the right side and my cap grew "cup-like" and quickly. I put a piece of it on the right side where my Tunze Stream blew at it and the cap grew slower, thicker, and flatter. Same coral different growth pattern.

[b16drag]

I honestly doubt its the T5's. I have overdriven T5's with individual reflectors. My monti cap grew about 1.5"-2" within 2-3 months. Not sure if thats fast or slow... I'd say thats decent growth, esp since for about a good 1 month there Mg was low at 1000. My cap is about midway up the tank though and has good flow from my Koralia 4's in my 90g.

[Mark75]

Any comments on the PE of that tan/purple rim cap in the first photo?