Keeping Acros...

[ShaunRobinson]

How difficult are Acros to keep exactly?

I don't dose anything at the moment and just do water changes to keep on top of my parameters however I will be getting into dosing in the new year when funds allow. I have a few sps frags at the moment, mainly plating montis and stylo which are all doing fairly well but I've just been offered a couple of acro frags. (Lime in the sky and blue tipped). Am I better to leave them for now or will I be okay?

Thanks in advance.

Shaun.

 

[tripdad]

How long have the existing sps frags been in the tank? If it's been a while, say 3 mos. then go ahead and give the new ones a try. Until you can keep a monti alive for at least that long I would hold off. It's not hard, just requires attention to detail and rock solid stability of parameters. Be careful, it's an addiction with no known cure.

 

[ShaunRobinson]

How long have the existing sps frags been in the tank? If it's been a while, say 3 mos. then go ahead and give the new ones a try. Until you can keep a monti alive for at least that long I would hold off. It's not hard, just requires attention to detail and rock solid stability of parameters. Be careful, it's an addiction with no known cure.

Thanks for the reply,

Coincidentally it is pretty much exactly 3 months since the montis have been in the tank.I have a piece of green plate the size of my fist which was around 50% brown when I got it. It is now completely coloured up bright green and has grown onto the rock by the side of it and taken hold. I'm also getting growth on the red plates too.

My lights are also currently only running at 50%.

 

[Fishfinder]

go for it

 

[BoomCorals]

Buying your first acros is like taking the red pill. No turning back.

 

[Bpb]

Love the red pill analogy. Acropora keeping is simple but difficult if that makes sense.

Low, but present inorganic waste levels (nitrate and phosphate), and high levels of actual food (high input high export)

STABLE major and minor elements in their ideal natural seawater concentrations range

FLOW (probably the most overlooked but most important “parameter” often overlooked by new sps keepers). High water volume turnover. Limit dead spots. Avoid direct blasts but the entire water column should always be moving, and fast.

Adequate light levels and spectrum.

Those areas are totally under your control and fairly simple to maintain. The challenge is keeping them stable in the long haul. Your tests will dictate everything. You won’t dose if you don’t test a regularly depleting calcium and alkalinity level. Water changes may be enough for a while.

To me the biggest challenge in acropora keeping is staying pest free. Acropora have so many pests associated with them it’s easy to wipe out a tank with a single new specimen, even if you dip it. Knowing where to source your acros and understanding good quarantine practices will help you succeed in the long run.

Also...some acros are just flat out more fussy. Even those of us with years under our belts will bring home the occasional frag to have it die overnight. It happens

 

[BoomCorals]

Just to reiterate what was said here - FLOW. It's probably one of the most overlooked causes of poor acro health or death. People always want to jump to lights and nutrients first.

Love the red pill analogy. Acropora keeping is simple but difficult if that makes sense.

Low, but present inorganic waste levels (nitrate and phosphate), and high levels of actual food (high input high export)

STABLE major and minor elements in their ideal natural seawater concentrations range

FLOW (probably the most overlooked but most important “parameter” often overlooked by new sps keepers). High water volume turnover. Limit dead spots. Avoid direct blasts but the entire water column should always be moving, and fast.

Adequate light levels and spectrum.

Those areas are totally under your control and fairly simple to maintain. The challenge is keeping them stable in the long haul. Your tests will dictate everything. You won’t dose if you don’t test a regularly depleting calcium and alkalinity level. Water changes may be enough for a while.

To me the biggest challenge in acropora keeping is staying pest free. Acropora have so many pests associated with them it’s easy to wipe out a tank with a single new specimen, even if you dip it. Knowing where to source your acros and understanding good quarantine practices will help you succeed in the long run.

Also...some acros are just flat out more fussy. Even those of us with years under our belts will bring home the occasional frag to have it die overnight. It happens

 

[ShaunRobinson]

Just to reiterate what was said here - FLOW. It's probably one of the most overlooked causes of poor acro health or death. People always want to jump to lights and nutrients first.

Got 2 mp40's running either side of my tank and a decent turnover from the return pump so flow should be good hopefully.

 

[Scorpius]

If you can burn a $100 bill and not cry you're ready for Acropora.

 

[tripdad]

Now that's funny.......

 

[reefguyty]

I personally don't think they are too hard to keep. I've never had an issue with keeping my tanks low of nutrients though. I actually dose nitrates which the acros love and gave them much more color. I've never had to battle with any pests either so my opinion may change in the future lol.

Heat is the biggest problem I've had. If my tank gets much above 82-83 my acros start dropping off quick. Mass extinction event :\

If I accidentally spike the Alkalinity the acros don't like it much either. But I've had some lps that faired worse than the acros.

I'm sure you'll do fine without dosing for a while and relying on water changes. I've had issues with my dosing system where for an extended period my Ca was down to 370 and alk dkh was 4.5. The acros still looked good and colored up, just didn't grow much

 

[ihavecrabs]

Be ready to commit to weekly testing and daily dosing (or setting up dosers). If you are there them you are ready!

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

The addiction is real. But due to some recent circumstances, always always always always dip and inspect. I just had an outbreak of flatworms and am currently removing all acro and having to setup a qt. They’re not that hard to keep, just have to keep stability as a key. Welcome to the dark side. Once I could keep acros, I tried selling most of my LPS and zoas. (To buy more acros)

 

[Flippers4pups]

Alkalinity, alkalinity, alkalinity must be stable. As others have stated FLOW is crucial as well. N03 at least 5ppm and P04 at trace. Calcium around 400 and mag around 1350.

Keep all that stable, with decent lights, dip everything you get for pests and you will have a good chance with them.

 

[truepercs]

Test often and keep track so you have a good understanding of what happens in your tank. As you can see I have had some fluctuations that I have had to deal with.

Start with an acro that is considered "easy" to keep.

 

[Scorpius]

^ What's your charting system? What program do you use? I like the color highlighted for warning areas.

 

[ShaunRobinson]

Start with an acro that is considered "easy" to keep.

What would be considered easy to keep acros?

 

[RussiReef]

I would say Green Slimer

 

[chema]

Light and flow are very important, but I would say that the most critic factor is alkalinity stability. I have lost many more acros due to rapid changes in alkalinity than to high nutrients (none, although they may get brown) or poor light and flow.

 

[reefwiser]

stability stability stability stability stability stability having keep SPS since 1990 I found that maintaining stability is the most important thing . One parameter being off will cause certain corals to become weak. Allowing bacterial infections to set in.