Acan's not puffy...too much par???

Cbones1979 · Nov 4, 2020

Hello. I've been dealing with my acans retracting since moving them to new tank. They are the only coral in my tank that aren't happy. Everything else is puffy. I rented a par meter and they are in between 100-160 par. Is that too much for them?

alk 9
nitrate 5
phosphate .08
1.025

are parameters.

LiveWire · Nov 4, 2020

What was the par in the other tank before you moved them?

Also could something possibly be nipping at them?

Cbones1979 · Nov 4, 2020

LiveWire said:
What was the par in the other tank before you moved them?

Also could something possibly be nipping at them?

I didn’t measure par in old tank. At first in new tank they were fine but have gone down hill.
Since there a few of them doubtful something is picking on them all.
Saw video and a reefer said acans at 50 par so I was wondering if maybe I should move them to shade

LiveWire · Nov 5, 2020

Normally Acans do well in low to medium lighting but they may need a little time to adjust to the new lighting. A lot of times they will loose some color or even change color some when moved to another light or tank.
You can also dip them in an iodine dip to help them with the stress. That never hurts and has done wonders for me in the past with Acans and leathers as well when they are stressed.

Cbones1979 · Nov 5, 2020

LiveWire said:
Normally Acans do well in low to medium lighting but they may need a little time to adjust to the new lighting. A lot of times they will loose some color or even change color some when moved to another light or tank.
You can also dip them in an iodine dip to help them with the stress. That never hurts and has done wonders for me in the past with Acans and leathers as well when they are stressed.

Thanks man

I’m real bummed because my big green one was so high and puffy now is super small

so you think 160 par is too much?

I can move into shaded areas

Cbones1979 · Nov 18, 2020

still look the same

all else in tank are flourishing. almost want to hide them somewhere

Cbones1979 · Jan 4, 2021

So I moved them all to the back of the tank and instantly they are puffing up again. So weird because I measured par w meter and had them in a spot that was 120-140 ish on the sand. Now in the back I think it’s lower and they seem to be recovering

William Morris · Jan 4, 2021

I just went through the same experience.
I kept losing simple corals so I decided to really ramp my LED's down and shift to 95% blue.
Bingo - Acans growing new heads and really happy.
Not sure about the Par level - but as you have experienced here - the corals will tell you when their happy.

Cbones1979 · Jan 4, 2021

William Morris said:
I just went through the same experience.
I kept losing simple corals so I decided to really ramp my LED's down and shift to 95% blue.
Bingo - Acans growing new heads and really happy.
Not sure about the Par level - but as you have experienced here - the corals will tell you when their happy.

Yes. I run t5 hybrid with leds 100% blue 0 whites. Par meter had sand at 120 when I measured. Now they get a bit more shade

Macbalacano · Jan 4, 2021

Mine are the same, they seem happiest at the bottom of my tank even though I have radion xr15s only on 60% intensity. They do prefer low light and lower flow I find.

Cbones1979 · Jan 14, 2021

Macbalacano said:
Mine are the same, they seem happiest at the bottom of my tank even though I have radion xr15s only on 60% intensity. They do prefer low light and lower flow I find.

Yup, i have a couple spots with some shade i'm going to move them into. Currently you can't really see them behind that rock.