How much do you really need?

[PointerReefs]

Hello All!

I’ve been recently getting into Acropora and transitioned my tank into mainly SPS with a few LPS. But I’m trying to figure out how much par I should be actually giving my Acro’s. Up top I have several Tenuis, a tabling Acro, Pc rainbow, rainbow loom for some simpler Acro’s so I’ve been told.. some branching Monti’s etc. got my flow right for now but I’m debating wether or not I need to give more par or not? They get anywhere from 400-450ish at peak, the Tenuis getting the higher end of that range. They seem happy but feel I could achieve better coloration, nutrients are about 5-7ppm Nitrate 0.10 phosphate. Have colorful tips but some of the main stalk will be brown. So I’m unsure if that’s light or nutrient related. Or both..? Or if it’s just because they aren’t completely acclimated to my tank yet. They’ve been in no longer than a few weeks now. So I guess my question is, should I increase my par? Or lower nutrients? Or just leave it where it is and let everything settle in. I could easily get 550-600 par if I need to.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I wish I could answer this for you, but I’m going to tag along for people’s thoughts.

 

[PointerReefs]

I wish I could answer this for you, but I’m going to tag along for people’s thoughts.

Understandable , I’ve seen everything from 200-900 get recommended at this point.. seeing some Acro’s need more than others.. I haven’t had the greatest luck finding solid information on which species of Acro’s want more Vs. Less. I mean it seems 400-450 is a good target but if 500+ will give me better coloration and growth that’s what I want to go for.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I have most of mine around 275-350 par if I recall. I participate in a few grow out contests and some people show 500+ par and others lower with great results. I often wonder if it’s nutrient and flow more than light

 

[PointerReefs]

I have most of mine around 275-350 par if I recall. I participate in a few grow out contests and some people show 500+ par and others lower with great results. I often wonder if it’s nutrient and flow more than light

Yeah, I’ve been reading about the effects of light/nutrients on the zooxanthellae in the corals and tissues. And I mean needless to say there is a balance, but seems the “balance” always changes from tank to tank. As does most things in this hobby. As people with greatly varied parameters get good results in both instances. Which would lead me to the fundamental that stability is king over all.

 

[exnisstech]

I get 500 + par at the top and 300 ish on the bottom. I've only been keeping acros for 3 years and have gotten decent growth. Colors look good to me but maybe they could be better I dunno. As mentioned I think lighting is only part of the equation.

Few close-ups grown from little frags

 

[rtparty]

Time. It can take months (sometimes a year plus) for corals to adapt and color up fully

 

[Reeferbadness]

i find that changing my light settings can higher can cause some issues initially. If/when i do raise par, i do so super slowly - like over weeks or months. I like to keep mine around 400-450 at the top.

 

[PointerReefs]

I get 500 + par at the top and 300 ish on the bottom. I've only been keeping acros for 3 years and have gotten decent growth. Colors look good to me but maybe they could be better I dunno. As mentioned I think lighting is only part of the equation.

Few close-ups grown from little frags

What nutrient levels do you run? Something close to undetectable? Sub 10 nitrate sub 5?

 

[exnisstech]

What nutrient levels do you run? Something close to undetectable? Sub 10 nitrate sub 5?

The tank runs low naturally. I only run a reefmat. I have a skimmer pulling outside air but never empty or clean it and N and P still run low. Im currently dosing ammonium and Phosphate to keep levels above zero. I don't really have target numbers as long as i can keep them above zero.

 

[PointerReefs]

Do you feel that benefits you more than if your nutrients went above 5ppm no3/0.1No4 ? Or just the consistency. Before I had converted to SPS I was running 0.10ish phosphate and undetectable nitrates and ended up raising the nitrate to around 7 and it’s held there now. But at that point I was more interested in my Goniopora (I say that point like it wasn’t a month ago lol) but now that I’m trying to keep an SPS heavy tank I’m looking more at low nutrients just above undetectable. Considering carbon dosing to get that result or maybe “watering down” my feedings so I can continue my twice daily feeding schedule.

 

[BriDroid]

By far no expert, and I only have one Acropora, a green slimer, but it looks best at anything over 250ish PAR. Under that it grows and has good polyp extension, but it doesn’t get the pretty purple tips that it gets in high PAR.

 

[slingfox]

It’s likely going to take more than a few weeks for SPS to color up. 400+ par seems in-line with what many SPS growers use. There are some very successful SPS farmers with crazy coloration which have SPS at 800+ or even 1000+ par but that is likely not necessary to get nice looking SPS. Those who run ultra high par also seem to running higher nutrients as well.

To get better coloration you need to also look into parameters, water quality (eg, do an ICP-MS), dosing, nutrient import/export, and flow. Also, unless you received all your SPS from sellers who quarantine and/or regularly Interceptor their tanks, you almost certainly have acro pests.

 

[exnisstech]

I'm a relaxed reefer (aka lazy) and tend to let tanks settle where they settle and roll with it as long as things look good. I have multiple tanks running and don't feel like trying to control everything. My acro tank has just always ran low so I really can't say if things would do better with higher levels or not. The only target number I have is anything above zero.

I have another tank running. Not an acro tank but everything does well with NO3 20-40 and PO4 0.4 - 0.9+ Again the tank looks good so I just keep rolling with it.

 

[slingfox]

Do you feel that benefits you more than if your nutrients went above 5ppm no3/0.1No4 ? Or just the consistency. Before I had converted to SPS I was running 0.10ish phosphate and undetectable nitrates and ended up raising the nitrate to around 7 and it’s held there now. But at that point I was more interested in my Goniopora (I say that point like it wasn’t a month ago lol) but now that I’m trying to keep an SPS heavy tank I’m looking more at low nutrients just above undetectable. Considering carbon dosing to get that result or maybe “watering down” my feedings so I can continue my twice daily feeding schedule.

I have run my tank higher nutrients (eg, 0.20ppm phosphate and or 20+ nitrates) and low nutrient (eg, 0.04ppm phosphate and zero or barely detectable nitrates via dosing). My SPS and polyp extension was much better in the higher nutrients so I am going back to those levels. The major caveat is I am only been on low nutrients for six months and after a tank reset. The tank has not stabilized and is in the middle of a 5+ week cycle of Interceptor so this is not a fair comparison.

 

[Marine Betta]

Hello All!

I’ve been recently getting into Acropora and transitioned my tank into mainly SPS with a few LPS. But I’m trying to figure out how much par I should be actually giving my Acro’s. Up top I have several Tenuis, a tabling Acro, Pc rainbow, rainbow loom for some simpler Acro’s so I’ve been told.. some branching Monti’s etc. got my flow right for now but I’m debating wether or not I need to give more par or not? They get anywhere from 400-450ish at peak, the Tenuis getting the higher end of that range. They seem happy but feel I could achieve better coloration, nutrients are about 5-7ppm Nitrate 0.10 phosphate. Have colorful tips but some of the main stalk will be brown. So I’m unsure if that’s light or nutrient related. Or both..? Or if it’s just because they aren’t completely acclimated to my tank yet. They’ve been in no longer than a few weeks now. So I guess my question is, should I increase my par? Or lower nutrients? Or just leave it where it is and let everything settle in. I could easily get 550-600 par if I need to.

I think almost any acro can handle 400+ par if you acclimate them properly. Some acros express different colors under different par. The red planet will become green with red polyps in sub 200 par and will turn red and pink in 250+ par and lose the green. Some of the higher end acros like the Walt Disney or home-wrecker will only express those crazy colors under 400+ par. Otherwise, they look mostly green. I’m not aware of any acros that benefit more in growth speed or color in par above 500, but someone else can chime in on that. It can definitely take time for an acro to acclimate and color for color to improve. Do you dose amino acids? And you may want to consider taking an ICP test. There are some trace elements that can affect acropora’s color.

Also, there is a lot of debate with nitrates and acropora. I think 10-15 ppm is a good target. It will improve color and PE, and your LPS will appreciate it too. I’ve heard that WWC runs some of their acro systems with nitrates as high as 30 ppm. Their corals are used to it though, and most people probably couldn’t mange to maintain that. Running your phosphates at 0.1 is not bad, but raising the nitrates to 10ppm may improve color. A good ratio to target is 10:1 nitrates to phosphates. You’ll find some really good threads on her discussing nutrients and acropora. Whatever you do, make the adjustments slowly. Acros thrive in stable environments.

 

[Red_Beard]

It is not uncommon for things to brown out temporarily while they settle in. Some of the finicky stuff can take upwards of a year sometimes. Stability is going to be king. I have had very good luck with N between 2 and 5, i run higher po4 naturally though, it rides about .2-.3 with no intervention. Flow is really important. The difference between 400 and 500 par won't make as big a difference as nutrient stability and good flow. Higher levels of light will also require more stability and everything will happen faster. Lower levels of light will give you a little more wiggle room to catch stuff before anything runs away, but things will happen a little slower.

 

[PointerReefs]

It’s likely going to take more than a few weeks for SPS to color up. 400+ par seems in-line with what many SPS growers use. There are some very successful SPS farmers with crazy coloration which have SPS at 800+ or even 1000+ par but that is likely not necessary to get nice looking SPS. Those who run ultra high par also seem to running higher nutrients as well.

To get better coloration you need to also look into parameters, water quality (eg, do an ICP-MS), dosing, nutrient import/export, and flow. Also, unless you received all your SPS from sellers who quarantine and/or regularly Interceptor their tanks, you almost certainly have acro pests.

I do monthly ICP and dose trace elements consistently, have an apex setup etc, most parameters are pretty stable for what they are at. I did see like
What you said more light with higher nutrients I’d assume to prevent bleaching with an increase in N/P consumption. Got most of my frags from TSA and a few from POTO, only dip I did was a 5-10 minute mixture of CoralRX with some Lugol’s

 

[PointerReefs]

Hello All!

I’ve been recently getting into Acropora and transitioned my tank into mainly SPS with a few LPS. But I’m trying to figure out how much par I should be actually giving my Acro’s. Up top I have several Tenuis, a tabling Acro, Pc rainbow, rainbow loom for some simpler Acro’s so I’ve been told.. some branching Monti’s etc. got my flow right for now but I’m debating wether or not I need to give more par or not? They get anywhere from 400-450ish at peak, the Tenuis getting the higher end of that range. They seem happy but feel I could achieve better coloration, nutrients are about 5-7ppm Nitrate 0.10 phosphate. Have colorful tips but some of the main stalk will be brown. So I’m unsure if that’s light or nutrient related. Or both..? Or if it’s just because they aren’t completely acclimated to my tank yet. They’ve been in no longer than a few weeks now. So I guess my question is, should I increase my par? Or lower nutrients? Or just leave it where it is and let everything settle in. I could easily get 550-600 par if I need to.

I think almost any acro can handle 400+ par if you acclimate them properly. Some acros express different colors under different par. The red planet will become green with red polyps in sub 200 par and will turn red and pink in 250+ par and lose the green. Some of the higher end acros like the Walt Disney or home-wrecker will only express those crazy colors under 400+ par. Otherwise, they look mostly green. I’m not aware of any acros that benefit more in growth speed or color in par above 500, but someone else can chime in on that. It can definitely take time for an acro to acclimate and color for color to improve. Do you dose amino acids? And you may want to consider taking an ICP test. There are some trace elements that can affect acropora’s color.

Also, there is a lot of debate with nitrates and acropora. I think 10-15 ppm is a good target. It will improve color and PE, and your LPS will appreciate it too. I’ve heard that WWC runs some of their acro systems with nitrates as high as 30 ppm. Their corals are used to it though, and most people probably couldn’t mange to maintain that. Running your phosphates at 0.1 is not bad, but raising the nitrates to 10ppm may improve color. A good ratio to target is 10:1 nitrates to phosphates. You’ll find some really good threads on her discussing nutrients and acropora. Whatever you do, make the adjustments slowly. Acros thrive in stable environments.

I do ICP testing as of the last 2 months every month and dose trace according to their recommendations.. as for amino’s I do maybe 1ml of Polyp Labs Polyp Booster and 20ml of Red sea’s AB+ daily along with a mixture of oyster feast/rotifers/mysis and phyto for the fish/coral twice daily

 

[PointerReefs]

I keep hearing/seeing posts about the use of interceptor, I should probably get this on hand I assume my usual method of dipping coral won’t have the same effect, coralRx/Lugol’s