Will Achros straight out die with low light?

[Ballyhoo]

i've had my tank about eight months now I've had good luck with soft corals and lung meat, corals, etc. but every achro I buy has died. I'm wondering if it's because I set the flow in lighting for the softies which is lower flow lower light. Will that actually kill the acro or would it be something in the parameter? Can't really find anything in my parameter that's out of whack except phosphates are usually about .15. I prefer not to spend a ton on my electricity bill and have highlighting? I don't know how much difference it makes.

 

[tbrown]

Acros require higher light but typically they won't just die overnight from lighting. Alkalinity spikes, rapid pH changes, and large temperature fluctuations can cause pretty quick decline. Lack of light will usually cause them to darken and slowly waste away.

 

[Ballyhoo]

so I've got something else going on, fluctuations that my LPS can handle,but achros cannot. I don't know what would be the most common thing. I mean I've a pretty straightforward tank I do water changes every week. I check the phosphate with a Hannah. It's got Coraline. I use blue bucket salt so I don't know why it would be. temperature fluctuation maybe 2° F at night.

add:
The only thing I can think is, I do have a gfo reactor but I think maybe the phosphates spike when I feed the fish in the morning. I think the phosphates fluctuate somewhat maybe from .08 to .20.

 

[tbrown]

so I've got something else going on, fluctuations that my LPS can handle,but achros cannot. I don't know what would be the most common thing. I mean I've a pretty straightforward tank I do water changes every week. I check the phosphate with a Hannah. It's got Coraline. I use blue bucket salt so I don't know why it would be. temperature fluctuation maybe 2° F at night.

I'm not saying you have fluctuations, those are just some of the things that can kill Acros pretty quickly.

The only parameters you mentioned was phosphates. My Acros were thriving in 0.14 phosphates so I don't find that out of line.

What are your other parameters? Alk, Cal, Mag, Nitrates, pH?

How is your flow?

Are you placing the Acros as high as possible in the tank or lower in the tank?

What are you using for lights?

 

[Kasrift]

Agree with everything @tbrown has said. SPS are just less forgiving on parameter fluctuations. I'd say low light just causes them to go brown, low flow though will definitely be the death of them. Branching SPS need high flow to go through the coral structure to keep it clean and to bring needed nutrients to them. I've had stable happy SPS die when one of my powerheads went out while I was away from home. The others on the other side of the tank did fine since I had a powerhead over there.

 

[Ballyhoo]

I guess it was mentioned to me at LFS that acro's are like the sports cars of corals and I suppose I have to be much more technical and I've been and maybe it's just not for me again as I try sometimes and it doesn't work as for lights I have a nice red sea max G2 light set up. I just don't set it very high. I have a reef wave that I said it 10 to 20% and a Nero mini pump that I set very low so the flow is not high at all. The acro is pretty low in the tank, but as you can see it bleached out.

I have another SPS coral you can see in the foreground. I don't know the name of it, but I've had it for a while and it seems to do OK though.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

There are some easier sps such as montipora's, but acro's are the hardest corals of all. I don't even think it comes down to parameters, I've never been successful with acro's in a tank less than 2 years old, they like mature stable systems.

 

[Kasrift]

I guess it was mentioned to me at LFS that acro's are like the sports cars of corals and I suppose I have to be much more technical and I've been and maybe it's just not for me again as I try sometimes and it doesn't work as for lights I have a nice red sea max G2 light set up. I just don't set it very high. I have a reef wave that I said it 10 to 20% and a Nero mini pump that I set very low so the flow is not high at all. The acro is pretty low in the tank, but as you can see it bleached out.

That is a semi true statement. There are more forgiving branching SPS, like birdsnest.

 

[Ballyhoo]

i'm not sure, what is the most common parameter out of whack to kill an SBS? Or really is a matter of my tank is just too young?

 

[Kasrift]

i'm not sure, what is the most common parameter out of whack to kill an SBS? Or really is a matter of my tank is just too young?

Alkalinity not being stable. Second most would be low calcium.

 

[Ballyhoo]

so low Ca+ will cause a achro to bleach? i just woulda thought with regular water changes using blue bucket i wouldnt get radical shifts since i don't have that many species.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Requirements vary wildly even between different Acropora. Spathulata, for example, is from shallow, turbulent water and needs a ton of light and flow. Yongei, on the other hand colours and grows well in relatively low light/flow tanks.

 

[joseph.timbs]

Flow.. Acro’s gotta have it, similar to suffocation without. Add the lil things that aren’t quite right for sps and they don’t stand a chance.
IMO with your setup just go for a softy dominant tank with applicable LPS. Some LPS need a bit more than what your tank is offering also. Softies and some LPS are more tolerant to high light/flow than acros are to low light/flow. Try softies/lps low in the tank. Acros/SPS high in the tank.
If you desire acro’s, adapt the tank’s focus around them (might have to open the wallet), then find areas of the tank (less light/flow) that will support other non-acro/sps corals you like if you want a mixed reef. Also, a very key tip for reef keeping, especially Acros is stability. Alk, calcium, magnesium are the most important and Alk the most important of the 3. Really need a doser in order to properly keep up, all-for-reef is an excellent option for beginners, while experts also use it.

Good luck

 

[Pod_01]

Just my opinion, I find fluctuating PO4 to be detrimental to across. Especially when the PO4 is below 0.1ppm and dropping.

You mentioned GFO and that can impact PO4 available to corals in the water column. I never could grow across when I used GFO.

Good luck,

 

[Ballyhoo]

well, I don't know if this is answerable, but would moderate fluctuations of phosphate cause my achro to die? today I measured again. The phosphate is .03 which is low. But sometimes it's high is .22. And I'm thinking the GFO reactor may be causing swings or phosphate. And I know this is mentioned in the thread post above. So I'm just wondering if daily phosphate shifts from like .03 to. . 20 would be the problem?
maybe I need to buy a Hanah alkalinity tester as well.

 

[Pod_01]

well, I don't know if this is answerable, but would moderate fluctuations of phosphate cause my achro to die? today I measured again. The phosphate is .03 which is low. But sometimes it's high is .22. And I'm thinking the GFO reactor may be causing swings or phosphate. And I know this is mentioned in the thread post above. So I'm just wondering if daily phosphate shifts from like .03 to. . 20 would be the problem?
maybe I need to buy a Hanah alkalinity tester as well.

I would measure the residual PO4, measurement before any food additions, early in the morning. Or long after food is added, late at night. That is what corals see most of the time.

I wouldn’t count the spike caused by food.

 

[Tamberav]

so low Ca+ will cause a achro to bleach? i just woulda thought with regular water changes using blue bucket i wouldnt get radical shifts since i don't have that many species.

Do you test alk, ca, and mg?

your coralline can suck alk/ca/mg down... maybe water changes are not keeping up.

 

[bobnicaragua]

If you want to grow acros, set up your tank for a mixed reef.

High flow up top.
250 par ontop of your rocks, where your acros should be.
Lots of LEDs to minimize shadowing .
Test alk.
Get a doser.
Run carbon.

 

[Tamberav]

Also I have found frags don't need that much flow be fine... so if they are dying as frags... not sure I would blame flow yet.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Also I have found frags don't need that much flow be fine... so if they are dying as frags... not sure I would blame flow yet.

Lights and power heads are set “very low”. My 6 foot SPS tank has six power heads. The surface flow looks like a hot tub!

If you want to grow acros, you have to do it right. The acros are your focus.