ACAN Pros/Vendors, give us lighting tips

its fry · Aug 23, 2009

This could also go into the lighting forum.
But since specifically related to the care of acans, I decided the LPS thread.
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Acan Pros, Vendors, and Sponsors,

Please give us all some tips/tricks/advice on keeping the proper coloration of acan lords.

Give us specifics on lighting advice, such as:
lighting needs
t-5 vs. MH, and their reactions
bleaching/lightening/morphing
bulb recommendations
fixture recommendations
t-5 bulb setup
LED thoughts

Eye Candy Coral · Sep 7, 2009

I personally think that we keep most of out acans in too much light i keep mine under t5 and found that the rainbows will turn all red if you keep them under too much light. That being said though higher light seems to bring out the orange acans beter

hansmtt · Sep 7, 2009

I had a dozen different acan colonies under my ati powermodule t5...on the sandbed & shaded (90g tank). Every one of them looked a bit washed out, and the polyps didn't open/plump up well. I put them in my fuge, under 2x18" t5's that are a year old...and they look better than ever though I have to open my stand and stick my head down there to even see them

I should think about doing a big trade...

macawmagic · Sep 7, 2009

this is lighting...but for flow I learned they deff don't like high flow. I had them in my 75 with 2 vortechs and they all barely opened. moved them to another tank with a lot less flow and they're opening like crazy! I was getting jealous of seeing all the acans in stores that puffed up like 1" so I figured I'd start moving them around to see what happened.

Acro76 · Sep 7, 2009

lighting needs

Low to moderate, keep it very blue.

t-5 vs. MH, and their reactions

I've had better results under t5, 20K halides also work decent, just keep them away from directly under the bulb center.

bleaching/lightening/morphing

Morphing can always happen with different lighting, flow, and tank parameters. Usually it's for the better, or just different. Bleaching and lightening are usually severe signs of stress and the acan should be moved. By the time they bleach you may have already killed the acan.

bulb recommendations

ATI blue plus, Aqua Science 22K, ATI 12K AquaBlue Special

fixture recommendations

Sunlight supply's Tek Light is excellent and reasonably priced.

t-5 bulb setup

On a 6 bulb, I run 4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI 12K AquaBlue Special, and either 1 KZ Fiji Purple or 1 ATI Pro Color. It ends up looking somewhere around a 14 K to 20K halide depending on the age and brand of bulbs.

LED thoughts

I have not run LED lighting long-term to make a judgement on these yet.

revhtree · Sep 7, 2009

Great thread!

Myteemouse · Sep 7, 2009

yes my orange ones are super bright under T-5 blue and 20k MH

Bio-nut · Sep 9, 2009

I have been keeping acans for more than Four years now and in that time I have learned that there is a multitude of factors that effect health, polyp extension and coloration.

They really should be kept with similar specimen (LPS) where you can give them the the appropriate flow levels which I run my 24 gallon at 300gph and that is all the flow that they recieve PERIOD and it is greatly diffused. I have seen polyp up to 2" on some of the specimen.
I run my acans and chalice under (2) ATi blue+ now and I have been able to get the acan to morph back to the orignial color that I originally recieved them in. If I could I would run them under only one bulb. It seems that the more blue and abient light they recieve the more they release various photosynthetic pigments into their tissue.

But one of the most overlooked factors in keeping acans is feeding! If you want them to grow feed them, but at the same time you can alter their metabolism in much the same way that high nutrient level will turn a SPS brown. In the case of acans over feeding will lead to a transition to a red coloration. But at the same time it is also what you are feeding them. I have seen all to many times individuals feeding mysis shrimp only to their acans and wondering why they will not grow. My feed is based on a full arrayment of nutrition and seems to have doubled the growth rate of my chalice at the same time with now ill effects.
Measurement are going to be given for what I use on my 30gal total volume system!
1/8tsp coral frenzy
1ml of Brightwells Coral amino
5ml of DT's reef blend live phyto
1tbs cyclopods
1tbs rotifers
1tbs adult frozen brine shrimp

This amount is feed twice a week!

I feed at two intervals once at mid -day lighting and once in the mid-night cycle. The second is more for the chalice since the fish are not out at that time and give the chalice the time to attain the food! I have target feed all my corals for the last two years and find that this is a much more effective method for feeding corals with out loss to filtration.

These are not scientificly proven just my simple obsevations in the last three years.

Good luck and Keep the info coming I am always looking for an excuse to try something new!