When Acros FAIL: What are the most common reasons that acros don't make it?

How is your success rate with keeping acros in your reef aquarium?

  • Almost perfect

    Votes: 19 4.3%
  • Pretty darn good

    Votes: 167 38.2%
  • Not that great

    Votes: 118 27.0%
  • No success

    Votes: 40 9.2%
  • Haven't tried acros yet

    Votes: 82 18.8%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 11 2.5%

  • Total voters
    437

revhtree

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Happy Monday! This week we're kicking off a series of questions that revolve around a type of SPS Coral called ACROPORA or ACROS for short! Keeping acros healthy, growing, colorful and even alive can be somewhat of a challenge. Many have tried and many have failed! But why? Let's talk about it!

What do you think are the most common reasons that acros don't survive in aquariums?

How is your success rate with keeping acros in your reef aquarium?


image via @TopShelfAquatics
50482886976_63ce1771ac_b.jpg
 

Crustaceon

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Stability, nutrients, lighting and flow. When I say stability, I don't just mean keeping alk/cal/mg, n03, po4 at consistent levels. I also mean not physically changing things in your tank. Don't constantly adjust your lighting and where the wavemakers are pointed/settings. Don't do a large water change to bring parameters closer to where you want. THIS is instability and will set you back WEEKS before seeing further growth or coloration.
 

HankstankXXL750

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Not sure. I have a birds nest that had some tissue loss when I got it lfs said it would be ok. After putting it in my tank it seemed to get better. Then it was showing some die off. Then got better. Not sure the issue.
bought some bright green sticks in May in Denver and they seem to be growing. Also have some that are growing on an old fragging rock that I bought from an lfs. It’s blue and green and just appeared. However the two I bought on R2R on a special sale haven’t made it.
 

ReefGeezer

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I'm gonna go with "Not that Great". Voting "Perfect" or "Pretty Darn Good" in a forum poll will surely cause a mass bleaching event! That's a new cause added to the list. Others include making direct eye contact and wearing the wrong color shirt.

Stability in all things, measurable or not, is the key. For example: I wear the same black shirt and dark glasses anytime I'm around the tank. :cool:
 

Labridaedicted

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By in large I've had great success keeping many species, however I have also had catastrophic losses when I let things slide. I always say Acros will be the first thing to tell you something is off with the tank.

As long as you can keep everything fairly stable in terms of numbers, they are fairly bulletproof, though.
 

adsf430

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I've found the most important thing is PH. If it goes too far below 8 it leads to instant losses. Keep the tank stable and above 8 PH acros stay happy.
 

brucey

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By in large I've had great success keeping many species, however I have also had catastrophic losses when I let things slide. I always say Acros will be the first thing to tell you something is off with the tank.

As long as you can keep everything fairly stable in terms of numbers, they are fairly bulletproof, though.

Acrosare certainly better at telling you if pollutants are present or a metal

Zoas are the worst when your phos bottoms out (acros do much better - in my tank at least…)
 

shwareefer

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I voted 'not that great'. I only have one acro frag that was traded to me. The base spreads and spreads and is encrusted all over the frag rack now but the top does nothing and has algae growing out of spots. Living and growing but far from ideal.
 

vetteguy53081

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What do you think are the most common reasons that acros don't survive in aquariums?

High alk
Low calcium
Temperature too warm
High salinity
Pests
Unstable paraneters
Inexperience
Lack of nutr

How is your success rate with keeping acros in your reef aquarium?

Good. Once in a blue moon, I get one that goes south and I BBB remove dead area. Since the trident unit, that has diminished
 

Reefer Matt

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My secret is that I keep corals of a certain type in their own tank. SPS, LPS, softies are all separate parameters and tanks. My acros don't like the 30 nitrate my zoas and LPS do, and the zoas and LPS don't like the 5 nitrate the SPS tank has.
 

Sharkbait19

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I’ve only tried an acro frag once, but it was in a rather young system, and then it got knocked out of flow and I never fixed it - didn’t end well.
I now have an anacrapora and a bird which are doing well so far.
 

mermaid_life

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Stability, nutrients, lighting and flow. When I say stability, I don't just mean keeping alk/cal/mg, n03, po4 at consistent levels. I also mean not physically changing things in your tank. Don't constantly adjust your lighting and where the wavemakers are pointed/settings. Don't do a large water change to bring parameters closer to where you want. THIS is instability and will set you back WEEKS before seeing further growth or coloration.
All said here. Only thing I would add is maturity of the tank. Notice I said maturity and not age. If you moved your build from an older tank or had all live rock, etc that's a more mature tank day 1 than a 9 month old dry rock tank.

When I first started with sps, I would have them stn overnight sometimes despite months of stability. Didn't know what else to do. Then at a certain point, they just took off. Now I have had intermittent instability a few times and the sps would sulk, but not completely stn like before. I have to believe that tank maturity allows sps to tolerate some unexpected stability.
 

The_Skrimp

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Trying to balance too much light for LPS with just enough light for SPS in my mixed reef means that my acros are slow growers but they’re growing happy, brightly colored, and healthy. The only one I’ve lost so far (fingers crossed) fell into a hammer coral and never fully recovered. As long as you’re on some kind of dosing and testing schedule that keeps your alkalinity stable, and you keep nutrients in check, they’re not too hard to keep. I’ve had a harder time with zoas than acros to be honest.
 

X-37B

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What do you think are the most common reasons that acros don't survive in aquariums?

High alk
Low calcium
Temperature too warm
High salinity
Pests
Unstable paraneters
Inexperience
Lack of nutr

How is your success rate with keeping acros in your reef aquarium?

Good. Once in a blue moon, I get one that goes south and I BBB remove dead area. Since the trident unit, that has diminished
Curious, whats to warm?
 

mattdg

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I think the main reason people view acros as difficult is due to the fact that you have to be on top of everything, as a hobbyist. Can't be lazy or cut corners on the purity of the water, flow, dosing, lighting and keeping rock solid parameters. Your coral let you know, when you are.

Once you finally nail it, then you have to address nutrient uptake.. which is like a major phase 2 for an established reef, where all of the larger SPS colonies are sucking the good and bad stuff out of the water. Much of that you have to figure out how to put back in, but not too much. It's a balancing act. When you get right, it is very rewarding.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 66 34.0%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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