New Acroporas Care requirements help

[VJV]

Hi, I have just made an online purchase of some SPS colonies and frags and was wondering if you guys could help out in terms of general placement tips for flow and light intensity.

Also if anyone can point out any books or resources that provide useful info in terms of species by species SPS care requirements I would appreciate it.

I live in Europe and ordered from one of the leading coral vendors, Whitecorals in Germany. This also means the names are mostly the scientific Latin version and not the “common” names mostly used. Once I get them I can post some pictures (the ones I have below are from other frags that are still for sale in the web). These are also Australian wild caught).

So these were the corals

Acropora Microclados (Strawberry Shortcake) colony.

(Picture pending)

Acropora plana

Acropora Aculeus

Acropora Insignis

Acropora latistellata

(Picture pending)

Acropora parilis

(Picture pending)

My tanks is a 200g peninsula that has been setup for 2 years now though the rock came from my previous tank and is 5 years old.

All my current SPS are thriving (some need frequent pruning) so I know these should be fine, but never had these species so I want to make sure I place them in the right conditions so they can also thrive.


Many thanks

 

[Reeferdood]

In a nutshell...
Bright lighting, high flow small traces of nitrates & phosphates. (5 ppm and .05)
Calcium @ 440
Alkalinity 8.6 Dkh
Mg 1400 ppm
There will likely be more to add but this is a start in the right direction..

 

[jda]

If you are currently growing acropora, then these will be OK too. If by saying "SPS" you mean montis, birdsnest, poci and stylos, then these acropora can be harder.

Strong light and natural seawater parameters. Very good stability is needed - it does not have to be perfect all the time, but it also cannot jump around all of the time.

 

[VJV]

Thanks. I do have a number of acros (tenuis, and others I can’t name) and are doing well and growing. Seriatoporas ans Montis are like weeds.

I run much lower Alk, always have. It is almost impossible to get it above 7,5sKH. Run it at 7,0 which actually is closer to Natural seawater (US reef tanks typically run higher under the assumption that it will provide faster growth and also to provide a bigger buffer against PH swings but natural sea water is closer to 6,5-7,0).

I typically need to dose Nitrates to get them to the 5-10ppm(which is where my tank is happier) otherwise it tends to drop to zero really fast. PO4 typically around the 0,03ppm.

Although high flow and high par are the general recommendations for acropora (along with stable water parameters) there are deeper water species (topically smooth skin acros) that tens to require less light and flow.

So my question regarding these specific species is whether they are deeper water (lower light and flow) species or shallower water, so I know if they will prefer to sit closer to the bottom or higher up.

Many thanks for the feedback thus far!

 

[jda]

There are no deep waters on that list. Deep waters are like the dragons, A. Lorpies, A. Granulosa, A. Simplex, A. Echinata, etc. with smooth skin. These can all be blasted with light. Even deep waters can handle a lot of light and grow fast, but they can lighten up on the color. All acropora need good flow.

I like to be around 7.0 with my alk too.

 

[VJV]

There are no deep waters on that list. Deep waters are like the dragons, A. Lorpies, A. Granulosa, A. Simplex, A. Echinata, etc. with smooth skin. These can all be blasted with light. Even deep waters can handle a lot of light and grow fast, but they can lighten up on the color. All acropora need good flow.

I like to be around 7.0 with my alk too.

Thanks! And regarding growth pattern, would any of these be particularly suited to be placed on a ledge (tabling growth pattern) ? I guess the shortcake would be right?

 

[chema]

Hi VJV. I'm also thinking about buying some Acros from Whitecorals . Was the shipping OK? How long did it take from Germany to your country? (I live in Spain)

Thanks

 

[VJV]

Hi VJV. I'm also thinking about buying some Acros from Whitecorals . Was the shipping OK? How long did it take from Germany to your country? (I live in Spain)

Thanks

Hi. I will be receiving them Thursday. But this is not my first order from them and I believe they are fantastic!

Shipping is always overnight. They ship at the end of the day and by mid day the following day you receive the corals

You set the date you want to receive the package. That is why I have not received them yet as I want to be home to collect them. So I bought them last week but chose to have delivery next Thursday. They will hold the corals for you until the night before when they ship them.

They will replace anything that does not look good.

 

[VJV]

So here are the pictures of what I will be receiving: