Acro question

[BeanMachine]

Not counting the light, how stable are your parameters ie Alk Cal and Mag? How much do you dose? How often do you check the paramters?

The corals you listed as doing well are much easier to keep, so I suspect your water parameters are the culprit as opposed to your lighting.

Also, what percentages are you running your leds?

 

[Rakie]

The man speaks the truth. Having a nano that is grown in, I've seen how tough it is, and how long it takes. You need about a year and a half of solid success to really have it feel "mature" like a reef. And that means very stable parameters and very little tweaking, both of which are particularly challenging in a nano.

You're spot on with the time -- Add to that the first 6/12 months of the tank and reef keeper maturing doesn't really count towards that time, lol.

Once you learn how to keep corals stable, happy, and reliably maintained the timer officially starts. Because until the tank is stable, the corals are pretty much being shocked from every little thing that isn't dialed in properly, and every little change you make to get things properly tuned.

 

[OG Reefs]

what about salinity? are you topping off every day? could be swings in salinity?

 

[brandon0350]

If your nitrates and phosphates are truly undetectable and you have no visible algae, I would recommend significantly dropping you dkh. 7.5-8.5 would be my recomendation

 

[organism]

78 Watts. Four colors red/white/blue/royal blue
Montis also do not survive with montis it does not matter what color.
What is interesting is gorgonians do well so does blue ridge and cup corals.
Is there any corals that I can pursue besides green ones.

Are the whites adjustable or is everything at 100%?

 

[SchnitzelReef]

If you don't have a doser and an auto top off, then it's your water parameters.

Stable is the key, and it always seems people with nanos tend to have a hard time keeping parameters stable. I figure most people assume since it's such a small tank, that they don't need a doser or an auto top off. Unless your topping off and dosing 5-10 times a day, your alk and salinity are not stable.

Regardless of the size of your tank, you will be much more successful with some sort of a controller for temperature, a doser or calcium reactor, and an auto top off. IMO, that's the minimum to keep SPS. Lighting isn't all that important. I've seen people keep Sps with all kinds of different lights, it's always ALWAYS parameters!!

Good luck to the OP

 

[Rakie]

SchnitzelReef is right -- I needed an ATO and that was obvious after a week. After that I realized I needed a doser for Alk but opted for Kalk in my ATO instead and it's helped a lot.

 

[drd]

All colors are at and with Rap coming in November
I really want to be able to buy some nice frags.
But I am reserved on buying any until we can figure what is going on.

 

[drd]

All led are at 20 Percent.
And I am wanting to buy more but not if I am just throwing more money out the window.
Especially since Rap is coming in November.

 

[ReefWreak]

All led are at 20 Percent.
And I am wanting to buy more but not if I am just throwing more money out the window.
Especially since Rap is coming in November.

As hard as it is to get good coloration in corals in a big tank, it's x4 harder in a nano. Growth, fine, survival, sure, but if you're buying expensive pieces, get ones that are known for keeping their colors and not browning out easily.

Many of my corals have gone through brown-out periods and have bounced back. This is with 4x daily dosing, ATO, temperature stability, flow stability, and otherwise consistency in the tank.

Your best bet, if you're looking for color, is look for the more bullet-proof corals. Birdsnests, pocillapora, stylophora, and slimers if you really want acros. Those are going to be the corals to keep their colors through the swings. A lot of the ORA corals should be good as well, since they've been aquacultured for so long, they've grown accustomed to being in aquariums in less than ideal conditions.

Don't get $1,000 first-release acropora pieces from JF or any of the other fancy places. You'll just be mad when they don't color up, and/or start to die away. Nanos and acros don't mix.