What to try a acro sps?.?

[Kgtrains2]

Well so far my 2 birds nest and Monti have been doing great and I want to try the next challenge of an acro sps in my nano tank I am running a fluval evo v nano tank and upgraded the light to a kessil a80 parameters have been well also . I plan to use a small Frag rack to place it on but what is a good beginner acro to stay with?pictures are shown of the status of my sps corals in my tank now
Sal 1.023-4
ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Phos .25
Cal 440
Mag 1450
Alk 12
Temp 77
I do 1-2 gallon water changes weekly run purigen and chemicals-blue also

 

[reefndude]

I think your alk may be on the high side especially looming at your nutrient levels.
Validas and staghorns have always been on the easier side for me

 

[Kgtrains2]

is there something I should dose my tank with for those issues? I have only been in the hobby for about 6mo. and have done alot of 101 research to keep a stable tank.
for the corals and 2 fish I mix up the feeding with LRS reef frenzy or 2-3 times a month reef roids( target feed the corals ). for the fish I hand feed the clown and firefish omega one marine garlic pellets( so i dont overdose the tank with food ).
Only thing I do dose is Balance for my PH during water changes or calcium depending on the status of it. For nutrient levels what do I add? I will look into those 2 choices though of Acros though. I know my tank is small but I am upgrading in the next month or 2 to a IM 20 or 30 gallon.
Thanks

 

[Tahoe61]

Very nice little tank.

What salt mix are you using? Are you dosing?

That alk is at the high end, you really have no room for error, mag is fine but on the higher end. I would also bring up your SG to 1.025.

The corals you have appear to be doing well, strange range of parameters though.

Some easier Acropora ime are Valida ( you might see it listed as a Tri-color), readily available. ORA has some easier acropora that are tried and true.

 

[XNavyDiver]

I think your alk may be on the high side especially looming at your nutrient levels.
Validas and staghorns have always been on the easier side for me

Agree with @reefndude.

 

[Kgtrains2]

Right now I am buying my saltwater from my LFS by the 5 gallons right now due to I dont know how to mix yet or what salt to buy. only thing I have dosed is the Cal and PH, I use an API saltwater and reef test kit to check all my parameters, are these reliable test kits or should I upgrade to a better kit? Is there something else I should dose? I do a water change every Saturday and also I do rinse the purigen /chemi-blue and sponge out in my saltwater I take out every week too. is that too much? or should I wait to start into an acro?? I sure dont want to get greedy and kill something, just looking for something new and unique in the tank now to enjoy and to grow.
I do appreciate all the input.

 

[reefndude]

Alk may be on the high side from whatever you are dosing for ph. I personally wouldn't be dosing anything at the moment.

 

[Kgtrains2]

ok I will test it out. I was told by my LFS to use this if my PH is down:
aquavitro balance is what I use.

should I stop using it for now?

 

[Kgtrains2]

Also should I start mixing my own R/O and salt for better quality of water? and which salt should I go with?

 

[reefndude]

I don't think it's necessary to raise ph with any sort of buffers. I always think it's better to mix your own salt water. That way you know exactly what's going in your tank. Instant ocean has been good to me

 

[jda]

Do not chase PH. Ever. Keep alk in line and forget that PH exists. Seriously. (unless you are dosing kalk)

If you alk gets low, just use a bit of baking soda dissolved in water.

I would keep the alk up above 10 in this tank. If you do not have a dosing regiment, then it will keep you from a potential crash. 10-12 alk is not a huge deal unless you are trying to fine tune, or your tank is otherwise unstable from being new or from low quality lights - 10-12 was the target for decades with nice SPS tanks.

Green Slimer would be my choice for an acro in a nano tank. However, I would get more branching montis instead.

 

[BoomCorals]

If you’re looking for a few easy sps frags I can put together a pack for you. I do it all the time for people starting acros. :)

 

[jda]

Most of the acros from ORA are easier. They are not as easy as montipora and will get mad at swings, but they are tried and proven more than others to be beginner friendly.

 

[Kgtrains2]

I don't think it's necessary to raise ph with any sort of buffers. I always think it's better to mix your own salt water. That way you know exactly what's going in your tank. Instant ocean has been good to me

Instant Ocean Reef crystal salt or just the regular Instant Ocean salt?

 

[reefndude]

Instant Ocean Reef crystal salt or just the regular Instant Ocean salt?

I use regular

 

[vetteguy53081]

Easy are staghorn, Pocci, stylo and bonsai

 

[sango]

My advice: ignore pH, pay attention to alkalinity. Get yourself an RO/DI system (I got mine from BRS) and some lower alkalinity salt. I suggest Instant Ocean (not Reef Crystals) or Red Sea (blue bucket, not "pro") salt. Then gradually (over the course of a week or so) do multiple water changes. That
will bring your alk down to "safer" levels. Then: wait a month and confirm that your birdsnest corals are encrusting/growing before adding acros. Then: test alkalinity weekly and look into automatically dosing 2-part.

 

[markalot]

To echo what others have said,

Acros are a whole new game. You cannot rely on someone else making water for you and you can't go adding PH adjusters to you rtank. Basically you must learn to ignore all advice your LFS gives you because anyone who would recommend a PH adjuster has no clue what they are doing. PH can only be safely adjusted by bringing in outside air via the skimmer or running air through a co2 removing media.

Other SPS can stay somewhat healthy with unstable KH, acros cannot and will either stay brown or slowly die. You will need to lock in your KH at a number, I prefer 7, and hold it there as steady as possible. Any dosing should be done with 2 part, dosing equal amounts based on Alk usage. I was where you are once, not too long ago. I killed a lot of acros. :(

Good luck!

 

[Ashish Patel]

Your not ready for acros yet. Reason I say this is because your tanks parameter will be an instant ALK shock. Most acros are coming from 8-9DKH tank and trying to acclimate them to your 12dkh would be a challenge. Test your ALK, phosphate, temp and salinity and record it daily for 1-2 week and see how much it swings. Over 1 month period try to bring you alk down to 9DKH, nothing faster regardless of anyones recommendation it may do more harm then good to your existing corals. The more your test and record the more you will understand how to dose and how things like your nutrient import/export is being effected by your feeding. If your salinity is not stable then your other parameters will fluctuate also and acros like stable temp, salinity, and alk. The secret to keep acros is finding a good balance between nutrients, alk, and lighting and keeping them stable long term. Give it another 1 month (if not longer) then have boomcoral make you a starter pack, his stuff is hardy.. Good luck

 

[Vaughn17]

is there something I should dose my tank with for those issues? I have only been in the hobby for about 6mo. and have done alot of 101 research to keep a stable tank.
for the corals and 2 fish I mix up the feeding with LRS reef frenzy or 2-3 times a month reef roids( target feed the corals ). for the fish I hand feed the clown and firefish omega one marine garlic pellets( so i dont overdose the tank with food ).
Only thing I do dose is Balance for my PH during water changes or calcium depending on the status of it. For nutrient levels what do I add? I will look into those 2 choices though of Acros though. I know my tank is small but I am upgrading in the next month or 2 to a IM 20 or 30 gallon.
Thanks

If you are using an ATI NO3 test kit, your nitrate levels may be higher than zero as this test kit seems more suited to measuring higher levels. Your corals look really happy, which, IME, never happens when PO4 is higher than NO3. If you need to raise your NO3, I recommend sodium nitrate. Food grade brands can be purchased on Amazon. Sodium nitrate is used to make corn beef, I think (and other things that are illegal and bad). As for test kits, I have used ATI Alk and CA kits for five years with no problems (and ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate for qt tanks or tank cycling). For my DTs, I use Salifert for NO3, PO4, Mag, Strontium, Iodine, and K.

Also, don't underestimate the amount/quality of light that many species of acropora require to grow and thrive.

Your tank looks beautiful, btw!