Do you consider yourself a successful acropora keeper?

Are you a successful acropora keeper?

  • YES

    Votes: 105 38.7%
  • NO

    Votes: 84 31.0%
  • Haven't tried yet

    Votes: 65 24.0%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 17 6.3%

  • Total voters
    271

Dburr1014

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2016
Messages
8,181
Reaction score
8,127
Location
CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
In the 2000's I had a reef tank and got into sps. They grew well for a few months and died. Tried again, same thing again.
Now, that I found this website, things are looking pretty good. I research a lot and learn the things I need to do to keep acros alive.
So on the graph, in 2000's I was a one.
Now I feel I'm a little past 5.

Screenshot_20220922_124258_Chrome.jpg 20220913_160026.jpg
 

Epic Aquaculture

The artist formerly known as SawCJack00
View Badges
Joined
Apr 23, 2017
Messages
3,118
Reaction score
11,273
Location
Surprise, AZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I voted yes because the corals in the picture that are in the OP are still alive and kicking LOL. I've actually had a great deal of success with SPS and I think the main reason is that I became fixated on them very early in my reefing journey which started in 1991. I really don't even know why but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE SPS. Because of that fixation I did a ton of research and was VERY fortunate to find an incredible mentor in MN named David Grigor (MASNA's 2017 aquarist of the year - although that was well after I started hanging around him :) ) who lived only a few blocks from me and who not only taught me everything he new, but basically became my partner in crime as we experimented with different equipment and ways of doing things. He also inspired me to start my first aquaculture business - North Star Corals. To this day my love of SPS has not waned. I actually Choose a frag each night from my system, bag it up, and sleep with it under my pillow so I can be closer to them... wait did I just type that out loud... Doh! Please disregard that last part :D
 

G Santana

Hospitality Elf
View Badges
Joined
May 20, 2020
Messages
8,352
Reaction score
45,556
Location
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/this-little-pigg
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I felt that I had made it, I had corals growing once my tank matured, then I went on vacation...
Never leave your tank in the hands of a relative that has no idea what their consequences or lack thereof can wreak in just one week.

Now I have a bunch of really sweet skeletons.
But not one zoa lost lol
 

njreefkeeper

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 14, 2013
Messages
301
Reaction score
632
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Actually, my acropora keeping abilities got much better when I started treating my tanks like brightly lit, high flow, well fed fish tanks. It was only after I stopped looking at nutrients as being bad (but within ratio of phosphate to nitrate) that things looked and grew their best. When I match filtration and maintenance to the amount of food it takes to keep my fish fat and nutrients stable, things always do much better.
 

design.maddie

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
690
Reaction score
994
Location
Louisiana
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Other

I have two acro frags. One is purple/greyish/brown base with a vibrant green/white/blue tip and a second on that is bright green with white/blue tips. Both seem to be growing but their color is just blah. I just bottomed out my nutes this past week though. Waiting on another dosing pump to start back on NP-Bacto-Balance.
 

Heabel7

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 10, 2018
Messages
424
Reaction score
383
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I chose other, I’ve had success that terminated abruptly twice. Meaning everything was growing rapid and looked better than ever and sudden RTN on 50% of my colonies with no explanation. Both times was end of fall/beginning of winter. My current theory is that closing up my house with 5 people and a dog dropped my PH to dismal levels. When I first got my apex I seen that I was dipping to 7.7 in the early summer at night. Now I’m never below 7.9 with kalk and skimmer running on outside air.

**** I just had a sps random RTN in the last two days. Everything is doing AMAZING. So I’m terrified to the reason why.
 

lost1317

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 12, 2020
Messages
39
Reaction score
16
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I started growing sps in 2004 and things have changed a lot lol. Alk targets and nutrient targets were way different back then. Stability is one of the biggest key factors especially with Alk. IMO Sps hate Alk swings and you will see the trauma/effects for a long period of time after an event. I attribute a lot of my success, especially with my current tank, to switching back to T5. Just my preference but I love the blanket of light and how even it is across the entire tank. It also prevents you from "tinkering" with the settings i.e. the stability argument. Raising nutrients has also been key especially for color. I like PO3 around .03-.05 but I like Nitrates between 10-20. I do get more algae growth but consider it totally worth it. For reference, I have a 60g cube with an 8 bulb ati T5 and 2 xho blue led strips. Lots of light is important for SPS and the more flow the better in my opinion. I run 2 mp40 at around 75% most of the day in anti-sync mode. This tank was grown from frags that were added 18 months ago. Sorry not sure why the pic is so blurry. Taken with my phone. Just added some older top downs too.


IMG_3586.jpg
IMG_1156.PNG
IMG_1163.PNG
IMG_1164.PNG
IMG_1607.JPG
 
Last edited:

Reefer Matt

Officially Official Account
View Badges
Joined
May 15, 2021
Messages
5,072
Reaction score
23,837
Location
Michigan, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have success with acros now. Mind you, I have lost over 50 acro frags in the past from stn. I find it easier to keep them in an all sps tank, rather than a mixed tank.
 

flyfisher2

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
1,764
Reaction score
2,829
Location
Central Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I voted "other" as I've only been keeping acros without major losses for just under two years and that's not a very long time to me. The new tank just made a year and is just now starting to take off. Ask me again next year.
Fingers tightly crossed, knocking on wood... etc,.etc.
 
Back
Top