Encrusting Monti-what to do?

SouthFla · 06/27/2017, 04:22 PM

So in my rookie months with my reef, I bought a Montipora that I *thought* was a plating/scrolling Monti. A little over 1year later my 3" diameter Monti is now encrusting blob-like over everything and has reached a few of my favorite SPS colonies. To make it worse I split the Monti in two upon introduction so it's doing this in two places in my tank

I tried to break and pry it off with a screwdriver, but it wouldn't budge and I was afraid if disrupting the rest of the reef area with too much force.

What should I expect with it encrusting over the bases of my nearby colonies? Any suggestions to stop the advancement, or should I just let things play out?

Thanks for any help!

Potatohead · 06/27/2017, 04:32 PM

Easiest thing is to smother it in epoxy

cas1069 · 07/04/2017, 02:36 PM

let it play out, some of the corals may put up a good fight

SouthFla · 07/06/2017, 10:29 AM

Thanks for the input folks. I'm kind of a hands-off minimalist reefer, so I guess I'll let it play out a bit, with epoxy at the ready.

jda · 07/06/2017, 02:26 PM

You can kill it back pretty easy with kalk paste. You will need to turn the pumps off for a while, though.

Wazzel · 07/07/2017, 06:33 AM

Brake off what you can then epoxy or kalk paste the rest.

cobra2326 · 07/07/2017, 07:41 AM

Is that actually an encrusting monti or is it just growing strangely? It just looks like a normal cap. I have one of these too and if it starts doing this I'm gonna pull it out.

DivingTheWorld · 07/07/2017, 10:07 AM

I use a scalpel to trim back my monti's occasionally. Even the caps will encrust into other corals. I find a scalpel does a good job at chipping/scraping sps off the rock work. I've also used it to remove heavily encrusted acros I no longer wanted.

C.Eymann · 07/08/2017, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobra2326

Is that actually an encrusting monti or is it just growing strangely? It just looks like a normal cap. I have one of these too and if it starts doing this I'm gonna pull it out.

The ridges on the coenosteum tell me this is probably M. foliosa or M. hogsoni. Both species will encrust as well as plate. M. capricornis usually just has bumps, not ridges.

I'd use epoxy and regular fragging to keep it under control.

cobra2326 · 07/09/2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.Eymann

The ridges on the coenosteum tell me this is probably M. foliosa or M. hogsoni. Both species will encrust as well as plate. M. capricornis usually just has bumps, not ridges.

I'd use epoxy and regular fragging to keep it under control.

Thanks, great info!

C.Eymann · 07/09/2017, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobra2326

Thanks, great info!

Most welcome

SouthFla · 07/10/2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C.Eymann

The ridges on the coenosteum tell me this is probably M. foliosa or M. hogsoni. Both species will encrust as well as plate. M. capricornis usually just has bumps, not ridges.

I'd use epoxy and regular fragging to keep it under control.

Thank you all for the great info. Is the encrusting as opposed to plating growth a function of environmental conditions in my tank (placement/lighting/flow)? Certainly would love it to plate out instead of blob-like encrusting over everything

06/27/2017, 04:22 PM	#1
SouthFla Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Miami, Florida USA Posts: 256	Encrusting Monti-what to do? So in my rookie months with my reef, I bought a Montipora that I thought was a plating/scrolling Monti. A little over 1year later my 3" diameter Monti is now encrusting blob-like over everything and has reached a few of my favorite SPS colonies. To make it worse I split the Monti in two upon introduction so it's doing this in two places in my tank I tried to break and pry it off with a screwdriver, but it wouldn't budge and I was afraid if disrupting the rest of the reef area with too much force. What should I expect with it encrusting over the bases of my nearby colonies? Any suggestions to stop the advancement, or should I just let things play out? Thanks for any help! __________________ 125g mixed reef, Apex controlled, 30g sump, RO 150sss skimmer, Eheim 1262 return, NextReef MR1 reactor w/Rox C, (2) EcoDrift 8.0 1K-2K GPH, (2) Jebao PP8 1K-2K GPH, (5) 80W ATI T5s Current Tank Info: 125G reef, Alk ~8.1, Ca 410, Mg 1350, 1.025SG

07/06/2017, 10:29 AM	#4
SouthFla Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Miami, Florida USA Posts: 256	Thanks for the input folks. I'm kind of a hands-off minimalist reefer, so I guess I'll let it play out a bit, with epoxy at the ready. __________________ 125g mixed reef, Apex controlled, 30g sump, RO 150sss skimmer, Eheim 1262 return, NextReef MR1 reactor w/Rox C, (2) EcoDrift 8.0 1K-2K GPH, (2) Jebao PP8 1K-2K GPH, (5) 80W ATI T5s Current Tank Info: 125G reef, Alk ~8.1, Ca 410, Mg 1350, 1.025SG

07/07/2017, 06:33 AM	#6
Wazzel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Houma, LA Posts: 4,743	Brake off what you can then epoxy or kalk paste the rest. __________________ Mark Beware the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it's a train. Current Tank Info: 120, LED, Bare Bottom, SPS/LPS

07/07/2017, 07:41 AM	#7
cobra2326 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Spring Hill, FL Posts: 563	Is that actually an encrusting monti or is it just growing strangely? It just looks like a normal cap. I have one of these too and if it starts doing this I'm gonna pull it out. __________________ Jon Aquatic Log: http://www.aquaticlog.com/aquariums/cobra2326/1 Nuvo Fusion Build Thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2636370 Current Tank Info: Nuvo Fusion 10

07/07/2017, 10:07 AM	#8
DivingTheWorld Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: San Ramon, CA Posts: 1,963	I use a scalpel to trim back my monti's occasionally. Even the caps will encrust into other corals. I find a scalpel does a good job at chipping/scraping sps off the rock work. I've also used it to remove heavily encrusted acros I no longer wanted. __________________ Current Tank Info: LeeMar Rimless (40x24x22), ATI 8x39 Dimmable w/Reefbrite XHO, 2x Vortech MP40w QD w/ Battery Backup, Apex Gold, Trigger Systems Ruby30S, Reef Octopus POV-DC1 w/Auto Waste Collector

06/27/2017, 04:32 PM	#2
Potatohead Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Vancouver Posts: 1,596	Easiest thing is to smother it in epoxy

07/04/2017, 02:36 PM	#3
cas1069 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Fl Posts: 185	let it play out, some of the corals may put up a good fight

07/06/2017, 02:26 PM	#5
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	You can kill it back pretty easy with kalk paste. You will need to turn the pumps off for a while, though.