Acroporas lighting preferences by species...

[aqua80]

Ok so we all know acroporas in general love high lights and high flow, and we can even throw in some PAR numbers to try to define what is really high light.

But let's see this another way....
What I would like to do/know is sub-categorize acroporas species in the high light spectrum, for them to be at their best. so in an all-sps tank we could make easier decision on vertical placement...

I don't know if such a list exist, but if not we just have to build it !
So I'll give a shot of the categories as I see them :

- the all you can eat : the more they get the better they look

ex. oregon tort ?

- reasonable high light: love high light but don't abuse...

most of the species ?

- those that don't care : those that look equally good in high or medium light

- bottom of the tank : those that do better with lower lighting...

ex. garf bonsai - more purple

would be also interesting to tell about the differences the coral gets with change of lighting :
ex: red planet redder in high light, greener with lower light
I know for most of the species it will be difficult to say, but there is surely some species/named corals that can be fit in one category !

 

[squirt22]

I'm with you on that. It would be totally helpful.

 

[AMedinas]

I will follow this post

 

[Allmost]

great IDea.

would be good to include pics too.

 

[29reef]

The only thing is there's so many variables, one acropora might be happiest in my tank under 250 par; but in another tank the same acro may have adapted to like 400+ par. I don't mean to take away from posts here, but the relevance of the information is not ideal.

There's also the variance of a coral thats been in captivity for years vs the same species that's been recently imported.

I like idea of helping people understand the needs of their coral, but I think a list will be more misleading than helpful.

I'm off to pour myself a half empty glass....sorry guys.

 

[aqua80]

The only thing is there's so many variables, one acropora might be happiest in my tank under 250 par; but in another tank the same acro may have adapted to like 400+ par. I don't mean to take away from posts here, but the relevance of the information is not ideal.

There's also the variance of a coral thats been in captivity for years vs the same species that's been recently imported.

I like idea of helping people understand the needs of their coral, but I think a list will be more misleading than helpful.

That's what I think too for most of the species, but there are certainly some trends for certain corals that we can observe and share and that's what interest me...

we can then use this info as a starting point and look make adjustments as necessary if the coral tell us he is not that happy after all...

I agree that in this hobby using any list rigidly will be misleading, but there is a way to use it that can be helpful....
and the process of sharing observation/knowledge with pics will be interesting too

 

[RichardinMa]

The only thing is there's so many variables, one acropora might be happiest in my tank under 250 par; but in another tank the same acro may have adapted to like 400+ par. I don't mean to take away from posts here, but the relevance of the information is not ideal.

There's also the variance of a coral thats been in captivity for years vs the same species that's been recently imported.

I like idea of helping people understand the needs of their coral, but I think a list will be more misleading than helpful.

I'm off to pour myself a half empty glass....sorry guys.

This could be said of any question regarding reef keeping. Should I dose carbon? Should I run gfo? What is the best lighting? Etc... Why bother answering any question? I think the important thing to remember is that values should not be taken as absolute but rather guidelines to start off with. Hearing what others have been successful with can really help someone starting out with something they have never worked with before. Perhaps it will not be their stopping point but it can at at least be a good starting one. If all of our research only nets us possibility and meaningless conjecture then how can we ever expect to exceed a 25% survival rate of anything.

 

[RichardinMa]

That's what I think too for most of the species, but there are certainly some trends for certain corals that we can observe and share and that's what interest me...

we can then use this info as a starting point and look make adjustments as necessary if the coral tell us he is not that happy after all...

I agree that in this hobby using any list rigidly will be misleading, but there is a way to use it that can be helpful....
and the process of sharing observation/knowledge with pics will be interesting too

I agree and think PAR ratings would be interesting to see although I am afraid that they will be sorely lacking simply because few people actually test their PAR. When someone says that something is growing well under bright light or high up in their tank it means nothing, really- talk about variables.

 

[Soy]

majority if not all can color and grow between 200-300 par provided you have a mature and stable system

 

[Soy]

the coral in my avatar was known to be a high light coral but its receiving between 180 to 230. didn't measure with pumps off.

 

[aqua80]

ok so maybe categories are too hard to put corals in, but some experienced sps reefers out there must at least know 1 or 2 species that absolutely love light...
maybe we can list them here ?

I'm relatively new to reefing (1 year and a half...) so I don't have that kind of experience yet...

 

[rsteckly]

Following along

 

[karsseboom]

Yeah a list would be sweet but there many things to consider when talking sps and required par.

 

[RichardinMa]

There are many things to consider in every aspect of reef keeping and no two tanks will behave the same. I guess there is really no point in sharing any information about anything we do since what happens in our tanks will have little bearing on what will happen in yours. The rule should basically be if it grows well in your tank you are doing it right, if it dies you weren't doing it right. What I find works should mean nothing to you and what you do should mean nothing to me. There are just too many variables to suggest any sort of guidelines so every man for themselves.

 

[aqua80]

Yeah a list would be sweet but there many things to consider when talking sps and required par.

agreed !
that why I want to hear about others observations/impressions...
isn't what this forum section is about ?

There are many things to consider in every aspect of reef keeping and no two tanks will behave the same. I guess there is really no point in sharing any information about anything we do since what happens in our tanks will have little bearing on what will happen in yours. The rule should basically be if it grows well in your tank you are doing it right, if it dies you weren't doing it right. What I find works should mean nothing to you and what you do should mean nothing to me. There are just too many variables to suggest any sort of guidelines so every man for themselves.

guessing you're ironic ... if not it's the end of reef central !!

 

[stubby 58]

I think this is a good ideal and would be well worth the info but you have to remeber that these are closed artifical systems that we try to replacate oceans. Any indiviaul wanting to keep SPS's should first of all read and read then continue to read more. Then buy a small frag of what ever they want and check what works best as far as placemnet. No identical frags will react the same in totwo different systems. JMT


stubby

 

[aqua80]

I think this is a good ideal and would be well worth the info but you have to remeber that these are closed artifical systems that we try to replacate oceans. Any indiviaul wanting to keep SPS's should first of all read and read then continue to read more. Then buy a small frag of what ever they want and check what works best as far as placemnet. No identical frags will react the same in totwo different systems. JMT


stubby

exactly what I did, and I'm keeping sps successfully for the last year, but know I wan't refine the knowledge we have on these animals...
But maybe I'm wrong and every acropora frag of let say red planet behave differently in every system... but that's not my impression based on what I read here on RC: ie. it has more pink in high light and greener base in lower light...
that's the kind of trend I wan't to hear about !

I am fully aware of the multitudes of other factors affecting growth/coloration, but I suspect we can find some general behavior in regards to ligthing for some acroporas for sure !

 

[aqua80]

this is the thread that made me think of opening this thread (about garf bonsaï and coloration) :
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1921365

and this thread lacks pics for sure !

so here is my Garf Bonsaï soon after receiving it :

and about a month later it is now paler...

it gets about 400 PAR of t5h0 and that seems consistent with what others have noticed ie, paler color in higher light...
but as I said I know many other factors affect colors ! just wanting to get some trend in regards to lighting...
and have a reason to share pics and observations