I'm struggling with acros!

[Reefer Matt]

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/demystifying-sps-coral-care.987/

 

[backbayreef]

The reason I asked and likely what the OP is wondering — how do I know WHEN I can start adding SPS, assuming params are stable?

Here is my 150gal SPS tank - started with all dry rocks. Yes, things took off after a year but why? What’s so special? Biome that we can’t test for? My CaRx was already kicking in and I was on autopilot.

I’m trying to start growing SPS on my 6mos tank and some SPS are doing well while others STN over time. Question is: why?

 

[JonoH]

The reason I asked and likely what the OP is wondering — how do I know WHEN I can start adding SPS, assuming params are stable?

Here is my 150gal SPS tank - started with all dry rocks. Yes, things took off after a year but why? What’s so special? Biome that we can’t test for? My CaRx was already kicking in and I was on autopilot.

I’m trying to start growing SPS on my 6mos tank and some SPS are doing well while others STN over time. Question is: why?

I dont think there is any specific measure for it, as others have said, best to start with easier SPS to test.

I believe its probably just a bacteria maturity thing, and also being able to sustain things like a good population of Pods - not having outbreaks of pest algae etc.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

The reason I asked and likely what the OP is wondering — how do I know WHEN I can start adding SPS, assuming params are stable?

Here is my 150gal SPS tank - started with all dry rocks. Yes, things took off after a year but why? What’s so special? Biome that we can’t test for? My CaRx was already kicking in and I was on autopilot.

I’m trying to start growing SPS on my 6mos tank and some SPS are doing well while others STN over time. Question is: why?

People who start with live rock and experience seem to have no issue in general adding sps fairly early. There's a lot going on different between dry and wet. Diversity, micro fauna, bacteria etcc.

It would be awesome b if someone could pinpoint it though.

 

[DeSoDo]

What kind of light do you have? The tank seems a little dark for Acros to me. Light could just be turned down though.

Honestly man, idk. Found them on sale like 2 years ago and they're not made anymore. Opened the boxes for the first time 6 months ago when I set the tank up. It's controlled by wifi and smart app, brand is Fregenbo 165w. Par at the bottom of the tank is 75 with blues and purples at 100 and whites at 15%. Par at top is 225. 65g tank, so it's 2' tall, lights are 10"above water, and using egg crate with window screen because of jumpers. Par numbers are going through the screen.

 

[DeSoDo]

I think one of my issues is i didn't build the rockwork high enough. That's why I have it on racks at the top of the tank. I can run additional small powerheads and just point it directly at them. Small as in, I use them just to keep flow in the 2g bowl I'm trying to raise copepods in. Maybe the gentle flow from that plus the Hygger sine WaveMaker i have will be enough. 65g tank, 36x18x24.

That's the best way to get started on acro , cheap and hopefully hardly as testers.
Acro love light and flow. My tank is 36x22x22" running two photon 32s and two MP40s. My pieces at the top are getting 400-500+ par
Recent

That's the best way to get started on acro , cheap and hopefully hardly as testers.
Acro love light and flow. My tank is 36x22x22" running two photon 32s and two MP40s. My pieces at the top are getting 400-500+ par
Recent

A few months in

PS. I dose AFR in this tank and keep alk mid 8 dkH. N and P run very low at times showing zero. I was dosing N and P but have recently started dosing ammonium.

A few months in

PS. I dose AFR in this tank and keep alk mid 8 dkH. N and P run very low at times showing zero. I was dosing N and P but have recently started dosing ammonium.

 

[DeSoDo]

I'm sorry but I found that funny, that's a pretty broad range. You may want to invest in some test kits.
Keeping a mixed reed can be very challenging IME especially mixing acros with LPS because the requirements are very different. Its not impossible but is not easy. I tried early on and failed so I ended up setting up a tank for acros.

PS. My tank really struggled for the first year or so with quite a few losses. Be prepared for those if you want to keep acros. Nothing like going to bed at night and waking up to a dead coral all nice and bone white. Its often a single pieces while everything else is fine with no reason why that one died. Not trying to discourage you just speaking from my experiences. I've only kept acros for two years but from the reading I've done my experiences are not unique.

I usually use salifert test kits for everything, but never bought salifert phosphates kit. I was using strips, which i recently found out were all soaking wet. I had that aquacheck one that i just found. Ordered a salifert already that'll be here Saturday.

 

[DeSoDo]

That's the best way to get started on acro , cheap and hopefully hardly as testers.
Acro love light and flow. My tank is 36x22x22" running two photon 32s and two MP40s. My pieces at the top are getting 400-500+ par
Recent

A few months in

PS. I dose AFR in this tank and keep alk mid 8 dkH. N and P run very low at times showing zero. I was dosing N and P but have recently started dosing ammonium.

So acro need ammonium? dang, I should've researched them more.

 

[backbayreef]

I usually use salifert test kits for everything, but never bought salifert phosphates kit. I was using strips, which i recently found out were all soaking wet. I had that aquacheck one that i just found. Ordered a salifert already that'll be here Saturday.

For N&P - I use Hanna

 

[bubbgee]

So acro need ammonium? dang, I should've researched them more.

No, it's only for supplement instead of nitrate dosing at low nutrient tanks.

 

[exnisstech]

So acro need ammonium? dang, I should've researched them more.

No no . I went into too much detail. Your tank looks great and it's only 6 months old so let it roll.

 

[DeSoDo]

No no . I went into too much detail. Your tank looks great and it's only 6 months old so let it roll.

Crazy thing is, I removed my ricordea out of my 30g hex that had been in the tank for over a year, stayed a single mushroom. Less than 2 weeks after moving it to my 65g, it split into 3 and still growing.

 

[exnisstech]

That's one of the nice things about having more than one tank, they each seem to be different in some way. I have coral that will barely survive in one tank and thrive in another so I move them around.

 

[DeSoDo]

That's one of the nice things about having more than one tank, they each seem to be different in some way. I have coral that will barely survive in one tank and thrive in another so I move them around.

I might try to move my acro into my hex. I want to break that tank down because I have a RIDICULOUS amount of vermitid snails and green bubble algae. It's in the room with all of my freshwater shrimp breeding tanks, so very bright. I can't get rid of the algae.

 

[Dburr1014]

There's been a hermit crab that's constantly on it, seems like it ate it.

Clean up crew, that's what they do, clean up dying things. I highly doubt it was eating thriving flesh of a coral.

This tells me there's not much flow.

Lots of debris floating around.

 

[DeSoDo]

Clean up crew, that's what they do, clean up dying things. I highly doubt it was eating thriving flesh of a coral.

It was looking the best it had looked since I got it. The anacropora was in the tank for over 2 months and was 2x the size it was when I received it. I guess everything can change in a reef tank overnight.

 

[Dburr1014]

I edited my last response. ^^^^

 

[DeSoDo]

I edited my last response. ^^^^

Oh, I had just fed the tank freeze dried mysis. Some was still floating around.

 

[Dburr1014]

Tank is 65g, 3ft long. I have a few extra wavemakers, don't know where to place them without sacrificing all of my LPS.

Try different areas. Find something that works. Can they be programed to turn on/off?

I put all my LPS next to rock to protect from flow and SPS in the open.

 

[Dburr1014]

Oh, I had just fed the tank freeze dried mysis. Some was still floating around.

Still no ripples.... Or did you turn off flow?