Tankguy001
Reef Hobbyist
I've noticed my acan colors really pop under LED lighting. They look fine under my 15K's but when the lights go out and LED's come on , thats really when I see them pop
My rainbow acan colony is losing its rainbow...
- Thread starter aerius007
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its fry
Active Member
Typical Color Killers:
MH (any non-20k MH that is...)
big swings in your ALK.
'too much light' is more like 'too close to the light source'
Temps over 79-80 degrees
stress from High Flow
Best:
t5 and/or LEDs
cooler tanks
higher magnesium levels
med flow
fed weekly
At the same time, there is nothing typical about them.
I've had 'em go 'all-red' on me, and then 4 months color back up.
So these are just some areas to keep an eye on and experiment with.
Good luck.
MH (any non-20k MH that is...)
big swings in your ALK.
'too much light' is more like 'too close to the light source'
Temps over 79-80 degrees
stress from High Flow
Best:
t5 and/or LEDs
cooler tanks
higher magnesium levels
med flow
fed weekly
At the same time, there is nothing typical about them.
I've had 'em go 'all-red' on me, and then 4 months color back up.
So these are just some areas to keep an eye on and experiment with.
Good luck.
THEMADREEFER
Community Member
I keep mine on the bottom roughly 20" deep with 250 hqi 20k ab bulbs in the sweet spot and they do fine.
Palancar
Aussie Acan Addict
I'm its fry on this one, right now I have ours under a 175 watt 20K MH in a 16" deep tank and with my Par meter I am right in there sweet spot for light. The only thing is the temp which stays normally at 78 to 79 degrees.
dbartkow
Community Member
RaysReef
Shazaam Extraordinaire
I guess its different with LEDs. Since its adjustable K rating + the intensity is not like MH I'm getting good coloration with direct light above. My tanks is 21" high with about 2.5-3 in sandbed and its about 6 in. high from the sandbed.
Temp @ 78, but I'm thinking of running it @ 76 and see how it goes
Temp @ 78, but I'm thinking of running it @ 76 and see how it goes
OP
OP
aerius007
Well-Known Member
I just thought I would throw out an update. I got my alk down some and moved the acan to a more shaded area. It seams to be far less orange now and the colors are starting to pop again. Sorry about the bad pics, my camera only takes good tank shots when im 2" away from the coral.
maus42
Active Member
I've been dealing with acans for years now and two things; the first is yeah you over lit the coral, even at the bottom of your tank it needs partial shade. Secondly, and contrary to popular belief, the old part of the colony that lost its color CAN get it back, it just takes months and is helped out a lot by feeding the acan.
minirex4777
unregistered
i love acans and the truth is when you buy them they are usually stressed and hungry.once they get health and expand the rainbow coloring can lessen and sometimes disssapear altogether.my guess is you have a healthy acan that is coloring up or down depending on how you look at it.starvation would probably bring the piece back but its not smart to deliberatly starve a piece even though some people never feed a healthy acan can put up more of a fight if water conditions become bad for any reason.good luck and im interested to hear how the shading works.the coloring is like a tan so it shoud change when in less light.
OP
OP
aerius007
Well-Known Member
Well considering my display tank is nearly impossible to spot feed are there any suggestions as to how I can feed it? What I normally do is wait until night when the polyps open and add reef chili or something like that. Is that good enough? My frag tank gets directly fed with mysis whenever I think of it.
rosebud161616
Active Member
My tank is very deep also. What I do is use a long piece of the larger rigid tubing. Think the tubing that was used in the old undergravel filters. I use a turkey baster to squirt some frozen food in it. It will slowly fall onto the coral and they gobble it up.
OP
OP
aerius007
Well-Known Member
Thats a good idea but here is my problem. My tank is an inwall, so the coral is opposite of the side I can reach. The top of my tank is also around 6'+ high with a fixture on top of it. So in order for me to spot feed I would have to get out the ladder and remove the 48" light fixture every time. Its a real pain.
Response to cooler waters..
Many Aussie acans are collected in extremely murky water, not necessarily deep, but silty and murky which cuts down light tremendously. Sometimes they'll even be buried in the silt, until the current sweeps it off of them. The water is also much, much cooler than most would think, never climbing above mid 70s. Most aquariums are nothing like their natural habitat...
No you're not...
Many Aussie acans are collected in extremely murky water, not necessarily deep, but silty and murky which cuts down light tremendously. Sometimes they'll even be buried in the silt, until the current sweeps it off of them. The water is also much, much cooler than most would think, never climbing above mid 70s. Most aquariums are nothing like their natural habitat...
This has been a really interesting thread to read, thanks for all the advice everyone 
hey man,
Ive got the same problems with my acans and maxspext razor 160k 16w.
Every Acan i add in my tank looses the bright green what is really sad to see.
My Lamp runs 55% white and 85% blue.
Look at this ... Day1 and Day 30 Almost the whole Rainbow and bright green is gone and they turn orange/brown - what can i do?
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170423/xs5tlhqk.jpg
Did you found a solution or the reason for your problem? Did she got her color back?
Im very thankful for your tips and pls excuse my english, writing from germany
Best Regards ... Chris
Ive got the same problems with my acans and maxspext razor 160k 16w.
Every Acan i add in my tank looses the bright green what is really sad to see.
My Lamp runs 55% white and 85% blue.
Look at this ... Day1 and Day 30 Almost the whole Rainbow and bright green is gone and they turn orange/brown - what can i do?
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170423/xs5tlhqk.jpg
Did you found a solution or the reason for your problem? Did she got her color back?
Im very thankful for your tips and pls excuse my english, writing from germany
Best Regards ... Chris
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