Photo adaptation - how quickly do you move up?

[agiacosa]

Hi all,

Hoping to get some advice from experienced SPS keepers.

When you get new frags, how quickly do you move them up from the sand to their ultimate location?

My current thinking is to move them up a couple of inches every week until they sit where I want them.

Thanks in advance.

Art


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[nmotz]

You're going to get a lot of different answers on this one. Depends on the coral, your lighting system, the depth of your tank, and where you want to put the coral.

I always buy frags locally so I can see where they sit in the frag tank at the LFS. They usually don't respond negatively to being placed wherever I want them in my tank. Granted, my tank is fairly shallow at 16" deep and I don't have the option of placing them dead center under my lights because of my aquascape.

For example, I bought a sunset monti that was probably a good 30" below a T5/LED combo system at my LFS. I brought it home and put it about 15" below my LEDS but slightly left of center. It has full PE, and I'm not seeing any bleaching.

Another example though, I bought a mystic sunset monti that was growing on the bottom of a tall tank. It showed some browning as a result but when I brought it home and put it on the sand in my shallow tank, it initially started to bleach before recovering. For me, noting the corals' placement in its holding tank at the LFS is crucial to knowing if I need to acclimate or not.

So I guess just be smart about it. If you buy a frag from a dimly lit corner of an LFS tank and put it top center underneath metal halides, you'll probably have an issue. If you're ordering online then this is difficult to know, but I'd send an email/call and ask the vendor about it.

 

[JB NY]

If I am not being lazy, within a week or two. But I generally move them up in quarters (1/4 up the tank at a time) and just leave them there a few weeks to see what they look like under the lighting. If I think they might look better I raise them 1/4 again and repeat.

 

[itz frank]

I, personally, just place them where I want them unless they're shipped to me. Then, they'll sit on a frag rack on the side wall about half way up. The rack side on the far right of the tank. After a week's time, I'll move them to where they go. Otherwise, the corals aren't usually stressed much coming from another local reefers tank and they're lights might be within 100 par of where I'm homing them.

 

[agiacosa]

Thanks, guys.

 

[Piper27]

I have 400w halides, t5 and leds for supplements. Here is what I do...

Aquacultured frags - I place them on a frag rack and watch them for less than a week or just a few days if bought straight from a friend's tank, sometimes they go right into place. Then I place them where I know they can handle the light and grow correctly which would be different for all kinds of corals. Depends on what lighting they ran though. If it was leds I have to aclimate on the rack for longer or they get burned up.

Mariculture colonies - I will aclimate them to light only if they are lightened up from shipping and they look pale. Thoes times vary on many things. If they are bright and colored up well and not stressed from multiple shipping stops I will basically place them right at the top or where the colony can handle the most light. Maricultures get blasted real good and can handle a lot of light.

Wild collected - I watch them for a few weeks in a lower light area if they are not 100℅ healthyand move them up to the top once they start growing or showing full health.
If they are bleached this process takes longer and I slowly move them up.
If they are brown from not being in the proper water or lighting at a lfs or something I let them aclimate to the tank for a couple days and move them up in two steps, sometimes all at once depending on the acro and how healthy it is.

Moving new corals up is a practice of reading corals and what they tell you they need. It takes some time to understand what a coral needs from just looking at it. Also knowing aquarium lighting helps a lot as well as what certain subspecies of acropora can handle and need.

 

[Bdial]

I put all my new pieces on the sand for 1-2 weeks depending on what they are and size. Then I move them to the spots I want them at and watch them closely for a couple days for bleaching or unhappiness. After a few weeks I'll frag a tiny piece and move it somewhere else to watch how it changes.