Acros Basing time?

nova65ss · Aug 2, 2013

Looking for a new topic to discuss for the Tunze promotion:thumbup: I have been wondering how long it usually takes for everyone's acros to start shooting up and out. I have had a few that are going on well over a year with only basing and next to nothing in upward growth and new branches. I know they are all different but would like to hear some thoughts? I have tons of others that grow up and out fine.

Here are a few that I have.

JKRs Rainbow growing like a monti

Shades of fall had it over a year

BCs nuclear shortcake

Pink lemonade in a different tank you can still see the original frag on top with nothing but encrusting and no new upward growth?

-Logzor · Aug 2, 2013

It's really difficult to say what the normal time is. My vivids rainbow tool two years to begin shooting up branches. Other corals grow fast. I think it's a matter of nailing the placement, amount of light, and amount of nutrients. These vary depending on the type of acro.

-Logzor · Aug 2, 2013

Generally a month before it has any significant base that could yield branches. Maybe at least two or three before any solid branches begin to develop, in the best scenario.

nova65ss · Aug 2, 2013

Kind of what I figured thanks for the reply. I wonder how important flow is in the upward growth? Too much flow maybe encourage more basing? I don't know just thinking....

bct15 · Aug 2, 2013

Clipping the nubs can get it to stop basing and start growing out.

nova65ss · Aug 2, 2013

Interesting not sure I have the guts for that on some of them!

Mike J. · Aug 2, 2013

nova65ss said:
Kind of what I figured thanks for the reply. I wonder how important flow is in the upward growth? Too much flow maybe encourage more basing? I don't know just thinking....

Looking at your photos, I was wondering the same thing. High flow might encourage them to encrust due to self-preservation? Your corals sure look healthy.

Mrfresh · Aug 2, 2013

I have the same issue.
I think it's bc I have to much light.
I feel with to powerful of a light the coral has no urge to reach up to the light.
The reason I came to this... I have a orange monti cap that grows flat
A frag I put on the other side of the tank it's actually growing downwards away from the lot...

Just my thoughts

islander84 · Aug 2, 2013

I have a few different pieces that were introduced at the same exact time and 2 of them are still frags encrusted at the base and couple others are nice colonies.

nova65ss · Aug 4, 2013

Mrfresh said:
I have the same issue.
I think it's bc I have to much light.
I feel with to powerful of a light the coral has no urge to reach up to the light.
The reason I came to this... I have a orange monti cap that grows flat
A frag I put on the other side of the tank it's actually growing downwards away from the lot...

Just my thoughts

Interesting what kind of lights do you have?

Not sure about that in my case I run a 6 bulb t5 and the JKRs rainbow and the BCs shortcake are both down low kind of out of the light (hence the reason the shortcake is a tanish pale color) I would think they should be reaching for the light and the shortcake edges are string to plate up toward the light just no branches. Thanks for the reply!

twiggyb · Aug 4, 2013

Mrfresh said:
I have the same issue.
I think it's bc I have to much light.
I feel with to powerful of a light the coral has no urge to reach up to the light.
The reason I came to this... I have a orange monti cap that grows flat
A frag I put on the other side of the tank it's actually growing downwards away from the lot...

Just my thoughts

I think the reason for your monti doing that is flow. My monti in my 65 was developing a nice stair pattern, I change the powerheads around and the monti started growing downward thus making it one whole piece with no pattern. Kind of ugly. I think it bases so it has a stable structure for when they do branch out and get heavy, by the time it branches out big enough to be heavy, the base would be super thick and very structural.

Jimbo · Aug 6, 2013

I have the same issue. Huge bases and branches growing thicker rather than longer . I'm hoping its just a stage and the outward and upward growth will catch up. I've been thinking its due to the high flow I have going in my tank. Here's a couple of bad pics but you can see the big bases.

bct15 · Aug 6, 2013

Maybe not enough light, since it is increasing its light contact surface area...that tells me it's trying to get more light.

Mr. Microscope · Aug 7, 2013

Some seem to do it more than others. My Garf Bonsai only encrusted. After having it 1 year plus it's just now starting to shoot up. Infact, most frags I've gotten don't grow from the initial frag, but shoot up from the encrustation after the plug is covered. I think the best way to go about it is to force to acro to grow up. Put it on rock where there are overhangs on all sides. Then, once it has encrusted all the way, it has to either go down (where there's no light) or start shooting up. I'm attempting to do with with another heavy encruster, the Tierra Del Fuego. Here's some before and after how I did it:

It hasn't encrusted the whole top yet, but I'm hoping it will start shooting up after it does. This was several months ago. Hoping to see something soon.

pickupman66 · Aug 8, 2013

I have a few corals that LOVE to encrust, but wont go up. one in particular is a Tyree Pink lemonade. 1/2" stalk, 5" encrust. pretty pitiful. then I have a coral right next to it (of a different SPS variety that has 7-10" branches and a 2" encrust. go figure.