Acropora- What Does It Really Take To Succeed?

[fcmatt]

Grown from frags

Your acro that fall into the back of the tank and get lost probably look better then mine. Lol.

You forget to mention a lotta work ;-)

How will you handle coral warfare down the road? Just let the strongest win? I cannot imagine trying to prune them constantly. They will all end up looking like a shrub.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Let me apologize. I realize some people can start a tank and toss in coral in a few months and away they go. It can work out that way. We probably both know that the average person who gets into the hobby cannot. Never a good idea to promote doing such things. In the end most will have all that coral over grown by algae or dead to a rookie mistake. That is a lot of money to lose for most people...

Yes like I said it requires knowledge. I spent a month introducing various bacterial strains, phyto plankton, corraline, macro algae’s, sponges and filter feeders. Additionally I test alk daily and ICP monthly. All before introducing my first fish abs coral. Not my first rodeo

 

[PatW]

I find that I have good luck making sacrifices at midnight by the light of a full moon in the latter part of the month.

Really, acropora can be a major PITA.

You need stability with alkalinity especially. Auto dosing is good once you get some demand going.

I find that calcium is not that critical. I keep it in a range.

I keep my temperature pretty stable but I don’t think that is a really big item.

Having the right bacterial diversity is really important and it is hard to figure. I bought supplements and dumped them in and saw a big improvement. I used to have cyano but inoculating with bacteria got rid of It.

I would suggest starting out with easier SPS like montipora, birds nests and so on, Once those start thriving, I would try some of the relatively bullet proof acropora.

 

[Rmckoy]

OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bar •Orphek

Orphek OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bar, OR3 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 for Coral Pop Fluorescent Color Growth and Illumination – 5Watt Dual Chip LEDs

orphek.com

Are these only to supplement and in addition to other lighting or sufficient alone ?

 

[Rmckoy]

I got plenty of Coraline in DT. My green slimer + various other SPS did fine in QT for 45 days. 3 weeks in DT and they're all dead. Just about everything I know how to measure is pretty darn stable.

I'm not concerned about wasting the money I spent because I knew that was a possibility going in. I feel a bit bad that I killed my frags. But what's killing me is that I have no idea why the heck they didn't make it. I feel like one of those mice in an experiment where they deliver shocks completely at random and watch the mouse slowly go crazy.

So my answer to your original question: I suspect there's a large component of just dumb luck involved.

Now I have to go back to work. To make more money. To waste on this hobby. Which is still better than leaving it to my kids.

Are the qt and dt completely different setups ?
If for any weird reason one isn’t exactly the same as the other I always slowly drip acclimate acro frags .
As silly as it sounds , if I drop them is from one system to mine , they brown and die in weeks.
Drip acclimating and they don’t die .

my dt I maintain 7 dkh
Cal is 425

 

[LegendaryCG]

Are the qt and dt completely different setups ?
If for any weird reason one isn’t exactly the same as the other I always slowly drip acclimate acro frags .
As silly as it sounds , if I drop them is from one system to mine , they brown and die in weeks.
Drip acclimating and they don’t die .

my dt I maintain 7 dkh
Cal is 425

Dipping acros can really hurt some of them too. I find tenuis to be particularly sensitive.

 

[Rmckoy]

So far I haven’t had any issues .
more deaths if I add them without drip acclimating

 

[DothanReefer]

When you start growing coraline consistently you’re ready

I thought this too, and them all my new SPS sticks are dying. Coralline growing like crazy...ive order ICP to have levels professionally checked, but coralline certainly isn't the end-all-be-all....just sayin

 

[LegendaryCG]

I thought this too, and them all my new SPS sticks are dying. Coralline growing like crazy...ive order ICP to have levels professionally checked, but coralline certainly isn't the end-all-be-all....just sayin

Try dosing phyto if you arent.

 

[DothanReefer]

Hmm. Haven't tried that. What will that do? Thanks for offering the idea...

 

[LegendaryCG]

Hmm. Haven't tried that. What will that do? Thanks for offering the idea...

It’s a foundational food source. It’s one of the most essential and overlooked things in my opinion.

 

[melanotaenia]

The only "fancy" equipment I would even go so far as to say is essential is a doser if using two part, or a CalRx if going big. Other than that good husbandry wins the day 99% of the time.

 

[DothanReefer]

It’s a foundational food source. It’s one of the most essential and overlooked things in my opinion.

Thanks! I'll give it go and let u know. Any recs as to how much? 100g mixed reef...

 

[LegendaryCG]

Thanks! I'll give it go and let u know. Any recs as to how much? 100g mixed reef...

I put about 15ml in 90g a day.

 

[Mellotang]

There is no be all End all

but at least when you can consistently grow coraline then for the most part you know your Kh, Ca and Mg are in check and stable

 

[Mellotang]

Phyto feeds zooplankton

SPS feed on zooplankton, not phyto

Im not saying feeding phyto Is not beneficial, but sps a Don’t consume It directly

 

[WallyB]

Hey, I appreciate the heck out of your response. I would love for you to elaborate. Myself, I am going with CaribSea life rock and some other bacteria, so what you are saying is very important.

I can introduce actual live rock, just like anyone else, and I would love to hear the rationale. Wider variety of bacteria, overall diverse ecosystem, etc.

Thank you.

Well I'll give you a warning about Carib Sea Rock.

Simply don't expect it to perform even close to live rock.

Just to give you an example, I had maybe 100lbs of Live rock. Decades old.
I added a couple of Carib Sea rock Arches since the shapes were perfect.

At the start it was misery. The Carib Sea went thru a terrible ugly stage.
So bad I removed it and aged it after in a bucket for a few weeks, then put it back.
The slightly bucket aged rock, started a 2nd ugly stage, but not as bad.

Of course it went away after a few months.


This old photo may give you an idea of what to expect. You see see the difference between the CaribSea Arch and the Rest of the Live Rock.

However even a year later the carib sea rock always seems to be the location of problem. Cyano, etc.
It's not as porous as live rock (from my experience).

 

[LegendaryCG]

Phyto feeds zooplankton

SPS feed on zooplankton, not phyto

Im not saying feeding phyto Is not beneficial, but sps a Don’t consume It directly

yes it’s indirect, it mostly feeds pods and filter feeders which increases the population and become a food source for coral. It also reduces nitrates ans phosphates and oxygenates the water and pushes pH up. It’s very important to biodiversity.

 

[Rmckoy]

W

yes it’s indirect, it mostly feeds pods and filter feeders which increases the population and become a food source for coral. It also reduces nitrates ans phosphates and oxygenates the water and pushes pH up. It’s very important to biodiversity.

Why not just buy zooplankton and dose it ?

if dosing phyto , to feed zooplankton
Would zooplankton and phytoplankton both need to be dosed weekly ?

 

[LegendaryCG]

W

Why not just buy zooplankton and dose it ?

if dosing phyto , to feed zooplankton
Would zooplankton and phytoplankton both need to be dosed weekly ?

You can - those are pods. I initially add them when starting a new tank but then through feeding phyto you can establish an ongoing population. You also are likely to have some hitchhike in on a frag or macro algae so its not necessary to add them directly in most cases. But if you want to kick start microfauna (which I do) you can seed them.