Acan woes...

[BadgeNC]

I received this acan from a fellow reefer about a month ago and dipped it in Revive and it was open/puffy for the first couple days I had it. However, it's been like this for the past month with little change.

Is there anything I can try to save it? I have this sitting on the sandbed with 144W LEDs on a 60 gal tank. All my other corals and fish are doing well.

Current Tank Params:

SG: 1.025
Nitrate: 4ppm
Phos: .08ppm
Calcium: 440
Alk: 10dKH
Magnesium: 1100

 

[nuvuku]

Are the polyps dying? First thing to look at is your parameters as well as temperature and placement/lighting. Test your water or take it to your LFS and post your numbers as well as anything else you think may be helpful.

 

[BadgeNC]

Numbers were posted in OP.... Temp is 79F

 

[Reef Bass]

Mag is too low. May not be the only issue, but definitely low.

I personally prefer my alk closer to 8, but there are those who run at 10.

Are you confident your salinity reading is accurate? Using a calibrated refractometer?

 

[rt67ghy]

I can't see the pics.

 

[Reef Frog]

Mag is too low. May not be the only issue, but definitely low.

I personally prefer my alk closer to 8, but there are those who run at 10.

Are you confident your salinity reading is accurate? Using a calibrated refractometer?

^ Agree. Lots of my LPS & even SPS did best when I corrected a Mg level like yours and dialed back the ALK level.

I would also add:
-Feed them occasionally
-They can definitely be at risk from too much light, even on the bottom in some cases, depending on your light fixture.
-They naturally encrust on rocks. sand can irritate the polyps if it's touching it.

Good luck.

 

[Bill Nye]

As long as you acclimated the acans to the light they should be fine. My acans are in high light and are growing fast. My biggest colony is sitting in the sand and the polyps are growing over the sand bed now.

I would imagine its pretty hard to kill an acan off from my experience. I've had some of my acans through 3 tanks multiple moves with no problems.

What other coral do you have? Do you have other acans that are fine? As long as no tissue is dying and they are just retracted it should be ok. This happened to me and I never knew what was causing it (I suspected the phosguard that I was using). Eventually they returned to normal and I still have the colony that was doing it 4 years later.

As long as its not bleaching or dying I would leave it alone.