I'm struggling with acros!

[Dburr1014]

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.

Sounds like black boxes, they should be okay, more par will come with turning up the whites. 225 par at the top should be fine though for sps at the top like you have.
Could bump it up some, shoot for 300 over the next couple weeks.

 

[DeSoDo]

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.

I have my lps all over the place and not 1 centralized area. I originally didn't plan on doing anything other than lps, then I started seeing cool acro and won them really cheap on auctions.

 

[DeSoDo]

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

I turn off flow for feeding. It stays off for 10 minutes.

 

[DeSoDo]

Sounds like black boxes, they should be okay, more par will come with turning up the whites. 225 par at the top should be fine though for sps at the top like you have.
Could bump it up some, shoot for 300 over the next couple weeks.

I'll give it a shot.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Overall the tank looks very clean. I don’t see a spec of coraline. Two things I didn’t see and which are on the top of the list for being important. Stability. Use reputable test kits. Don’t allow alk to
Fluctuate more than .5 in 24 hours. Nutrients. I know lots of successful sps keepers. We all keep nitrates 7-15. phos .1-.3. Seems high but it works. As soon as my phos bottoms flesh melts off my tenuis.
You could always send a ICP to make sure there’s nothing in the water. I’m assuming you’re using 0tds to/di water for your salt mix?

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Also there is a balance between alk and nutrients. If you want 9dkh you’re going to need high nitrates. If ur alk is 9 and nitrate under 5 that could also be why they are bleaching.

 

[DeSoDo]

Overall the tank looks very clean. I don’t see a spec of coraline. Two things I didn’t see and which are on the top of the list for being important. Stability. Use reputable test kits. Don’t allow alk to
Fluctuate more than .5 in 24 hours. Nutrients. I know lots of successful sps keepers. We all keep nitrates 7-15. phos .1-.3. Seems high but it works. As soon as my phos bottoms flesh melts off my tenuis.
You could always send a ICP to make sure there’s nothing in the water. I’m assuming you’re using 0tds to/di water for your salt mix?

Yes, rodi system with instant ocean reef crystals. I use a heater and circulation pump overnight-10 hours, depending on what time I go to sleep. I don't know why I don't have a lot of corraline growing, I used the booster, scraped it off of shells and plugs. Numbers have been stable, only issue I've had lately was sg dropped to 1.022 topping off with rodi. I ordered a salifert phosphate test kit, so I'll revisit that when it arrives.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Sounds good! How did salinity get so low? Did your ato fail, or do you manually top off?

 

[DeSoDo]

Sounds good! How did salinity get so low? Did your ato fail, or do you manually top off?

I manually top off. Have a spot marked on the tank where it shows where it should be to keep it stable. No clue why it dropped so low for certain, there is more salt creep than I would like though.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

An ato will help with stability. They are 30-40$ on amazon for a cheap one that will work. But you must remember when ur salinity drops like that all elements fall out of balance.

 

[Dburr1014]

An ato will help with stability. They are 30-40$ on amazon for a cheap one that will work. But you must remember when ur salinity drops like that all elements fall out of balance.

Not to mention acros don't like that low sg.

Mine get upset @ 1.023, you can see they stop the pe.

 

[DeSoDo]

An ato will help with stability. They are 30-40$ on amazon for a cheap one that will work. But you must remember when ur salinity drops like that all elements fall out of balance.

I've had 2 and they both stopped working. Figured I'd just manually top off every few days.

 

[DeSoDo]

Not to mention acros don't like that low sg.

Mine get upset @ 1.023, you can see they stop the pe.

I got it back up to 1.025 over a 3 day period.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

I've had 2 and they both stopped working. Figured I'd just manually top off every few days.

I’ve had a smart micro ato for about 5 years!

 

[DeSoDo]

I’ve had a smart micro ato for about 5 years!

I'll check into that one. The ones I had were like $25. 1 lasted for 6 months, the other lasted 4 months. I had them both on my 30g hex.

 

[Dburr1014]

I got it back up to 1.025 over a 3 day period.

That's good but, getting that low will set them back for a week.
Now imagine that happening every week....

 

[DeSoDo]

That's good but, getting that low will set them back for a week.
Now imagine that happening every week....

Topping off with an ato and manually doing is basically the same thing though, right?

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

You will have less of a swing with ato. They are light sensors and when there is a minimal drop it with pump. You will have minimal swings with ato. Besides that’s more time you now have to focus on the other 1000 elements of owning a nice reef.

 

[DeSoDo]

You will have less of a swing with ato. They are light sensors and when there is a minimal drop it with pump. You will have minimal swings with ato. Besides that’s more time you now have to focus on the other 1000 elements of owning a nice reef.

Lol, dang right about the 1000 other things to worry about. Much more complicated than freshwater shrimp breeding tanks!

 

[CHSUB]

Imo, Acros and SPS’s in general are easy; in most cases easier than some torches and LPS if you realize their requirements. No guessing on light and flow because they need both robust; placement is high for best light and flow. Parameters need to be solid, stable and consistent with nature: temp, salinity, Alk, pH, calcium, mag, and trace elements in range, otherwise you’re guessing what the problem is when they happened. If you can’t maintain your parameters in range you are doomed to fail. Ime, inorganic nutrients need to be very low. Po4 below .1 but available if you want “good” growth; it’s scientific fact that high po4 weakens SPS and slows growth and I have observed this personally. No3 is best undetectable with hobby test kits and fed fish, no reason to justify higher levels. Finally feed them directly and often with very small particle foods.

No reason to find the guy that does it differently when it’s easy to follow their natural environment. Some of the difficulties with Acros are pest and overgrown if you follow nature and not the “guy”, Ime.