Best way to light acclimate acros?

[aaron186]

I just purchased a few expensive corals online and I’m hoping for advice on how to avoid bleaching/browning out my acros. I’ve had success in past but have also ruined a few. I’m running lights with an acclimation mode and my par is about 350-400 at top of rocks.

Should I use a frag rack and move them from low to high?
Should I just place them in tank and run acclimation mode?
Is there a better option?

 

[christianscorals]

to be extra cautious, i would move them from low to high starting at sandbed. observe them and keep moving them up biweekly until you reach the top

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I just purchased a few expensive corals online and I’m hoping for advice on how to avoid bleaching/browning out my acros. I’ve had success in past but have also ruined a few. I’m running lights with an acclimation mode and my par is about 350-400 at top of rocks.

Should I use a frag rack and move them from low to high?
Should I just place them in tank and run acclimation mode?
Is there a better option?

You can do it either way, but it's important to know what PAR the corals are coming from. If the PAR in the sellers system is equal to or greater than yours, the light acclimation can be done quickly over the course of a week. In that case it's probably easiest to just use a frag rack and move it up each day. Do you have other corals in the tank currently? If so, using the acclimation mode on your lights may cause those corals to lose some color until the acclimation mode is complete. Personally with Acros I just use a rack and start them at the bottom then move them up.

 

[Lavey29]

I don't acclimate anything. I just put them in the par that is suitable for acros because that is where they came from.

 

[aaron186]

You can do it either way, but it's important to know what PAR the corals are coming from. If the PAR in the sellers system is equal to or greater than yours, the light acclimation can be done quickly over the course of a week. In that case it's probably easiest to just use a frag rack and move it up each day. Do you have other corals in the tank currently? If so, using the acclimation mode on your lights may cause those corals to lose some color until the acclimation mode is complete. Personally with Acros I just use a rack and start them at the bottom then move them up.

It’s from Battlecorals. He said he keeps most of his stuff around 400

 

[aaron186]

I don't acclimate anything. I just put them in the par that is suitable for acros because that is where they came from.

That’s what I have been doing but I’ve lost about 1/4 of them to bleaching or browning that haven’t recovered

 

[vabben]

That’s what I have been doing but I’ve lost about 1/4 of them to bleaching or browning that haven’t recovered

Sounds more like an issue with your water. Have you done an ICP or dose trace elements?

I don't acclimate anything. I just put them in the par that is suitable for acros because that is where they came from.

I do the same, no acclimation glue where I want them.

 

[aaron186]

Sounds more like an issue with your water. Have you done an ICP or dose trace elements?


I do the same, no acclimation glue where I want them.

ICP was good last time I did it 2 months ago. I’m using triton method but with auto water changes a filter roller and uv sterilizer

 

[Lavey29]

That’s what I have been doing but I’ve lost about 1/4 of them to bleaching or browning that haven’t recovered

After my tank passed a year it became much more stable and predictable. 38 SPS frags added and no losses. They are mini colonies and full colonies now. None light acclimated. Although it probably does not hurt anything to light acclimate either. Multiple areas in a tank can cause SPS frags to fail besides light. Shipping stress is the initial concern. I don't dip shipped corals either.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

After my tank passed a year it became much more stable and predictable. 38 SPS frags added and no losses. They are mini colonies and full colonies now. None light acclimated. Although it probably does not hurt anything to light acclimate either. Multiple areas in a tank can cause SPS frags to fail besides light. Shipping stress is the initial concern. I don't dip shipped corals either.

Shipping stress is the main reason that I support light acclimation. When those corals are shipped they travel in darkness for 18-24 hours (sometimes longer). They are also always stressed from the temp changes, rough handling, water degradation, etc. so placing them in lower light for the first few days helps reduce the initial stress of being introduced to a new environment.

 

[Lavey29]

Shipping stress is the main reason that I support light acclimation. When those corals are shipped they travel in darkness for 18-24 hours (sometimes longer). They are also always stressed from the temp changes, rough handling, water degradation, etc. so placing them in lower light for the first few days helps reduce the initial stress of being introduced to a new environment.

Sure that's possible but has not ever been a factor for me. My corals are in complete darkness 12 hours every night. A few more hours won't harm anything. Now sitting in a hot UPS truck all day getting tossed around is a different story though but darkness not a factor. Corals in the ocean experience darkness constantly with nightfall and big multi day storms.

I would add that my radion lights are weak par though and I only get like 350 par at the top of the tank. I added 3 ORA frags about 6 weeks ago with no acclimation after shipping and seem perfectly fine like everything else.

 

[Dburr1014]

I just purchased a few expensive corals online and I’m hoping for advice on how to avoid bleaching/browning out my acros. I’ve had success in past but have also ruined a few. I’m running lights with an acclimation mode and my par is about 350-400 at top of rocks.

Should I use a frag rack and move them from low to high?
Should I just place them in tank and run acclimation mode?
Is there a better option?

As others have said, it's good to know what par they are from.
But the spectrum could be completly different.

What I have been doing the past few years is to; float for temp, dip in revive, inspect for pests,(change out mount if needed) on the sand bed for a week. After a week if its going high up, I move up a few/6 inches for another week, then to it's spot. If it's a lower light frag it goes in it's spot.

 

[tmo65]

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