How to keep rainbow acans rainbow

[crazyfishmom]

So, there's a tiny pinpoint of what looks like a baby acan head growing at the edge of my existing acan. Do they start out that small?

Oh yes, they start out pretty tiny. Depending on the variety they can look like a little speck bursting through the skeleton.

 

[DIYreefer]

Out of curiosity, for the people who have lost coloration in their rainbow "micromussa", what are they doing to regain, and/or maintain? I'm genuinely curious. I love this Forum because we can all come together and share our experiences, in order to maintain these animals that we all cherish. I genuinely am curious what people are doing so we can all help each other.

I've successfully brought the rainbow coloring back in a few acans that have shifted to all red/orange a few times, and have had "regular" acans turn rainbow over time as well. The key is very low light and regular feeding. And when I say very low light, I mean sub 75 PAR and even shaded areas.

That stated, some of them simply won't regain color but I've found that alot of them absolutely will.

 

[ChiCity]

Anyone got any tips on how to keep them rainbow?

t5

 

[CrashTestBennie]

Oh yes, they start out pretty tiny. Depending on the variety they can look like a little speck bursting through the skeleton.

Yay,that's great news! Thank you. How are you at correcting bad parameters? So here are today's parameters: s.g. - 1.027
pH 8.66
Ammonia 0
Nitrates are flashing 75. So I built a refugium yesterday, and am doing 2g water changes every other day.
Dkh 8.2
Calcium 200ppm

I know I desperately need to get Nitrates down. But what surprised me was the low calcium. I have brightwell's coralline stuff that will raise calcium. Should I use something else instead for raising calcium? Sorry, I don't have nitrite checker. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[crazyfishmom]

Yay,that's great news! Thank you. How are you at correcting bad parameters? So here are today's parameters: s.g. - 1.027
pH 8.66
Ammonia 0
Nitrates are flashing 75. So I built a refugium yesterday, and am doing 2g water changes every other day.
Dkh 8.2
Calcium 200ppm

I know I desperately need to get Nitrates down. But what surprised me was the low calcium. I have brightwell's coralline stuff that will raise calcium. Should I use something else instead for raising calcium? Sorry, I don't have nitrite checker. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Let’s put our heads together and think about it a bit.

My first thought with calcium is testing error. How are you testing? Your corals would likely all be doing poorly if your calcium were really at 200.

The first two thoughts are: perform a large water change with freshly prepared saltwater. That’s the best way to get nitrates down quickly. Nitrates that high don’t really worry me but probably good to get them down to 20-30 to avoid other potential issues.

 

[CrashTestBennie]

Let’s put our heads together and think about it a bit.

My first thought with calcium is testing error. How are you testing? Your corals would likely all be doing poorly if your calcium were really at 200.

The first two thoughts are: perform a large water change with freshly prepared saltwater. That’s the best way to get nitrates down quickly. Nitrates that high don’t really worry me but probably good to get them down to 20-30 to avoid other potential issues.

I'm using hanna checker. Maybe I didn't get all of reagent b powder in the cuvette? It was the first time I hanna tested the calcium. I should do it again. I have a 25g lagoon, but it really only holds roughly 17g. When you say a large water change, do you suggest half? I really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness!

 

[crazyfishmom]

I'm using hanna checker. Maybe I didn't get all of reagent b powder in the cuvette? It was the first time I hanna tested the calcium. I should do it again. I have a 25g lagoon, but it really only holds roughly 17g. When you say a large water change, do you suggest half? I really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness!

The Hanna calcium checker is easy to get wrong. I am going to say maybe practicing a bit is a good idea. Test your freshly made saltwater until you get the procedure to give you within 20 ppm of manufacturer recommendations.

I agree that 50% would be a great start. If you can do 50% today and 50% tomorrow or the day after you should be in great shape from a nitrate perspective.

 

[CrashTestBennie]

The Hanna calcium checker is easy to get wrong. I am going to say maybe practicing a bit is a good idea. Test your freshly made saltwater until you get the procedure to give you within 20 ppm of manufacturer recommendations.

I agree that 50% would be a great start. If you can do 50% today and 50% tomorrow or the day after you should be in great shape from a nitrate perspective.

You're the bomb! Thank you so very much!!!

 

[crazyfishmom]

You're the bomb! Thank you so very much!!!

Any time. We are all here to help each other and freak out together!

 

[CrashTestBennie]

I've successfully brought the rainbow coloring back in a few acans that have shifted to all red/orange a few times, and have had "regular" acans turn rainbow over time as well. The key is very low light and regular feeding. And when I say very low light, I mean sub 75 PAR and even shaded areas.

That stated, some of them simply won't regain color but I've found that alot of them absolutely will.

Valuable information!

 

[CrashTestBennie]

Yay,that's great news! Thank you. How are you at correcting bad parameters? So here are today's parameters: s.g. - 1.027
pH 8.66
Ammonia 0
Nitrates are flashing 75. So I built a refugium yesterday, and am doing 2g water changes every other day.
Dkh 8.2
Calcium 200ppm

I know I desperately need to get Nitrates down. But what surprised me was the low calcium. I have brightwell's coralline stuff that will raise calcium. Should I use something else instead for raising calcium? Sorry, I don't have nitrite checker. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I replied to my own post...smh