What makes acropora need an established or older tank?

[Ozonic]

I started cycling my 120g tank September 2nd with Marco Rock. I have now 20 sps frags and all are doing well,

 

[ScottB]

I started cycling my 120g tank September 2nd with Marco Rock. I have now 20 sps frags and all are doing well,

Keep checking in. Early success stories are kinda rare, but helpful to learn from. We can't all be @Roberto Denadai but we can all stand to learn.

 

[SPR1968]

It’s really just a matter of maintaining the correct water parameters and stability, assuming you have the correct lighting and also very importantly flow.

My new big tank which is just year old had SPS from the start which are now good sized colonies

If you can’t keep everything within parameters you will probably struggle and this is possibly why new reefers have problems.

 

[PeterLL]

I'm reading this and wondering what the heck must be wrong with my Acropora.
Added to a tank 2 months old that was started with dry rock and dry sand. I've never even kept an SPS or LPS before, just softies and macro algae's. Don't dose, the lights are cheap and chinese as are the powerheads. It's been stung my my anemone and smothered in Dino's and had a branch broken off. Even spent a day or so upside down buried in the sand after my golf-ball sized snail knocked it off the rock.
Must think he's a Kenya Tree

 

[Garf]

I started cycling my 120g tank September 2nd with Marco Rock. I have now 20 sps frags and all are doing well

You got a pic? Started my 60g around same time. Sps frags are doing fine. Another 9 sps frags en routier

 

[SaltISlife]

They dont.. just requires someone who knows what their doing.. Ive done fresh water 20 years.. salt only 2-3. But i knew the basics and did alot of research and the first salt water tank i did I went with live sand.. dry dead rock from instant ocean on amazon. And a gallon of fritzyme 9 to cycle the tank.. in 2 days ammonia was 0 had nitrates.. i tossed in 10 corals. 3 were acros, a leather, hammer and torch coral and zoanthids. And i still have them all 2-3 years later and of course a crap ton more now.

 

[Paul B]

What many people don't understand about this hobby and one reason there is so much mis-information and problems is because our tanks, and the ocean run in cycles. I have been diving all over the place for 50+ years and see it all the time in the sea and in my tank which is very old. Many cycles last for a few months or years and it drives us nuts, causes us to buy all sorts of "cures" and change massive amounts of water.

But if you only keep a tank 5 or 10 years you may not see this. In fifty years my tank has gone through all sorts of cycles, hair algae, bubble algae, acropora,s montipora's, leather corals, elephant ears etc.

Sometimes acropora will cover my tank and seemingly grow over night.



Then for no obvious reason it will die back and maybe leathers will grow to the top of the water. That may last a few years to have mushrooms take over. I don't know what causes it and neither does anyone else although we all have theories and they are probably all wrong.

Acropora's are growing pretty good in my tank now but 2 years ago montipora were covering everything.
Last year I had a sponge cycle where I couldn't keep this blue sponge from covering everything. Now the sponge is dying back and green star polyps as well as other things are taking over.

Here my acropora's were killed by clown gobies spawning all over them. They lay eggs every week and the eggs kill large parts of the coral. You can see her eggs over her.


Many years ago these leather corals grew to the top of the tank then in a few years died back to be replaced by something else.



Now this encrusting gorgonian is growing like weeds and I have to keep cutting it. For year I couldn't get it to grow at all.


This elephant ear seemed to grow overnight and covered a quarter of my tank, then it shrunk back to a tiny mushroom.



This blue stuff is sponge and it grew on everything.



This grew for years and now slowed down and some of it died back.

It all happens in cycles and it doesn't matter what you do or don't do. Don't go nuts.

 

[Reef GE]

I just want to say that Paul B is awesome. Every post I've ever read is just pure and simple. I'm a Paul B wannabe!

What many people don't understand about this hobby and one reason there is so much mis-information and problems is because our tanks, and the ocean run in cycles. I have been diving all over the place for 50+ years and see it all the time in the sea and in my tank which is very old. Many cycles last for a few months or years and it drives us nuts, causes us to buy all sorts of "cures" and change massive amounts of water.

But if you only keep a tank 5 or 10 years you may not see this. In fifty years my tank has gone through all sorts of cycles, hair algae, bubble algae, acropora,s montipora's, leather corals, elephant ears etc.

Sometimes acropora will cover my tank and seemingly grow over night.



Then for no obvious reason it will die back and maybe leathers will grow to the top of the water. That may last a few years to have mushrooms take over. I don't know what causes it and neither does anyone else although we all have theories and they are probably all wrong.

Acropora's are growing pretty good in my tank now but 2 years ago montipora were covering everything.
Last year I had a sponge cycle where I couldn't keep this blue sponge from covering everything. Now the sponge is dying back and green star polyps as well as other things are taking over.

Here my acropora's were killed by clown gobies spawning all over them. They lay eggs every week and the eggs kill large parts of the coral. You can see her eggs over her.


Many years ago these leather corals grew to the top of the tank then in a few years died back to be replaced by something else.



Now this encrusting gorgonian is growing like weeds and I have to keep cutting it. For year I couldn't get it to grow at all.


This elephant ear seemed to grow overnight and covered a quarter of my tank, then it shrunk back to a tiny mushroom.



This blue stuff is sponge and it grew on everything.



This grew for years and now slowed down and some of it died back.

It all happens in cycles and it doesn't matter what you do or don't do. Don't go n

 

[blasterman]

Green slimers and blue stags are hardier in my experience than some birdsnest and rarer montipora.

I've never found acropora as sensitive to alk levels as claimed. As long as you aren't running sky high alk to milk every molecule of growth they can handle alk swings as long as its a consistent range and you aren't ULN. Calcium is even less relevant.

Where I find most acros sensitive is sudden nutrient spikes. This is why more and more reefers seem to be moving towards higher stable nitrate levels and backing off alk. However, stable nutrient levels are tough to get in a young tank.