Acros with too much random flow?

[smacrophylia]

On Monday I changed my mp40 schedule from short pulse all 24:00 to twelve hours of pulse thru the dark hours but thru light cycle having two hour intervals of reef crest and nutrient transport alternating. When I say the flow was strong, i mean it was mayhem in there. I should have taken a video of me dumping in some ab+ to show it.( I have a 6’ waterbox infinia frag tank with a gyre on each side glass with 4 mp40s across the back wall for reference.) I thought to myself heck yeah now that is some strong random flow. It wasn’t splashing over the rimless walls and it wasn’t blasting straight at any pieces and I thought this is gonna be my ticket to more growth. However, Wednesday I noticed Walt Disney colony and two pink Cadillac splice colony’s not having great color and 0 PE on the WD.

My initial reaction was test and then send off an icp test so I did. Great results from all Hannah tests just about the norm with nitrates slightly lower then normal at 17.4 so then I panic. Last time acros were dying in my old tank with good params it was metal leeching into the water from a blown up back wall pump on an old Red Sea system that I just didn’t remove. I was hoping for bottomed out po4 or something when I tested but it was beautiful too 0.09.

In fear that I might have some sort of metal leeching from something I have yet to find, I added some cuprisorb in the sump just to be safe while I wait for icp results. I have since bailed out on the new mp40 settings back to short pulse 24/7

Side note another finicky tenuis is fluffier than ever with nice blue tips so…Idk what else to check? Will it recover over the next few weeks now that the flow is well, back to NORMAL?

Additional information.. this tank was just moved two months ago and I’m sure it still isn’t entirely settled but I mean I have a hard time blaming the move when other acros are thriving

One other pic is of a colony that has little to no color on the tips

 

[smacrophylia]

Also tested ro and that was 0tds

 

[Necrodaemus]

Checked for red/white/black bugs?

 

[smacrophylia]

I’m maybe realizing I need a red light to check for them??? I use a flashlight

 

[Necrodaemus]

I’m maybe realizing I need a red light to check for them??? I use a flashlight

Here's how I discovered I had white bugs. At night, with tank lights off, I use my phone camera, torch on, then I zoom all the way in and sit watching for anything crawling on them.

 

[smacrophylia]

Yeah I wait for a few minutes scanning and staring but maybe I’m not waiting long enough maybe they are in crevices. I sure hope that’s not it. The bugs

 

[smacrophylia]

If you had to reference size would u say copepod size? larger? smaller?

 

[Necrodaemus]

If you had to reference size would u say copepod size? larger? smaller?

Smaller

 

[underwaterwonders]

To answer your question I don’t think you had too much flow, assuming it was indeed random on all the coral and not constant linear. Here is my Pink Floyd for an example of how much flow these guys like.

 

[exnisstech]

Hey OP sorry to side track but this is the first post I've seen about a pink Floyd and I'm struggling with mine.

To answer your question I don’t think you had too much flow, assuming it was indeed random on all the coral and not constant linear. Here is my Pink Floyd for an example of how much flow these guys like.

Any others suggestions on Pink Floyd success in addition to high flow? Maybe I need to move my Pink Floyd frag. Its been on a rack for almost two years and hasn't fully encrusted the plug. I'm not sure of the exact par on the rack but the coral up high are getting 500 par in the center and 400 toward the side. I'm 250 - 300 on the bottom. Tank is 36x22x22" running two photon 32s with two MP40s on the back wall running reefcrest at 55% and I see a lot of polyp movement on mounted pieces but now im wondering if I should move the PF to a rock to get more flow on it? Any suggestions appreciated. TIA

This is the tank for reference.

And the PF frag

 

[underwaterwonders]

Any others suggestions on Pink Floyd success in addition to high flow?

Ours is in about 500 par for 5 hours, 300 for remaining 5 hours. Flow needs to come from both sides and that’s the only thing that jumps out to me in your picture. I have found acros on the ends of tanks don’t do as well, and I suspect it’s because the flow tends to become one sided, if that makes any sense.

Also need to rule out grey bugs, nutrient levels(not 0 but not over .2 p04). Really no different then other Acropora, so if other acros are doing great and only he sucks id look at pest issues or maybe it was just a sickly frag when you got it, sometimes they never recover.

 

[exnisstech]

Ours is in about 500 par for 5 hours, 300 for remaining 5 hours. Flow needs to come from both sides and that’s the only thing that jumps out to me in your picture. I have found acros on the ends of tanks don’t do as well, and I suspect it’s because the flow tends to become one sided, if that makes any sense.

Also need to rule out grey bugs, nutrient levels(not 0 but not over .2 p04). Really no different then other Acropora, so if other acros are doing great and only he sucks id look at pest issues or maybe it was just a sickly frag when you got it, sometimes they never recover.

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll start by moving the rack to the front. With the powerheads on the back wall it should give it better random flow than being on the end which I hadn't even thought about.