New Acropora Frag problem

[OREGONIC]

I have been in the hobby for 3.5 years. Honestly only the last 6 - 8 months have I been able to not only keep acros alive but growing. I struggled for a long time with my nitrate to phosphate ratio, nitrates 20+ and phosphates undetectable. Once I got those in balance my coralline algae exploded in my tank, I mean exploded, that is when I was really able to keep acros. Start with a cheap plating monti, they are tough and they will also explode in growth when your tank is mature enough and you can keep water parameters very stable. If you are looking for a branching coral that is easy to keep both branching psammocora and branching cyphastrea have a kind of acro appearance and are hardy. When conditions are right you will really notice them growing too.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Dont feel bad every Reefers first acro suffers RTN. I used to think I was ready for acros but I was not. My tank was established but my husbandry, equipment, and testing was not up to par. My second reef tank I was determined not to fail and become a master at keeping my Alk stable (testing 1-2 days), having the best flow and lighting yet still found a way to kill acros the first year. Doing the same thing the 2nd year I realized the rock has to be established or near established. Acros need good Liverock to stay clean. Focus on corals that don't need Liverock to thrive such as softies and LPS. They will do well after cycle because they are more adapt to survive in different environments (High light, low light, swinging parameters, nutrients poor and rich tanks, etc). Some SPS are forgiving but IME they all need established rock.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

A good indicator that a tank is ready for stony corals is the presence of coralline algae in the tank