Acan Looking Bad. Any Suggestions? (Pics)

[SelectedByNature]

Here is a pic of my Acan today and a pic from two weeks ago.

 

Two days ago it started looking very deflated and also a bit deformed and it's colour was off. The feeding tentacles haven't been coming out last few days. I was concerned about it and I dipped it yesterday while I inspected it but I can't see anything wrong (with my limited knowledge). It seems to have red/pink inflammation between the polyps.

 

Today is doesn't look better, if not worse.

Any thoughts?

[Nidilsky]

I would feed them. See if that perks em up. 

My acans are my tanks barometer on the condition of the water. It seems they are the first to squinch up when something is amiss (usually temp). 

[SelectedByNature]

43 minutes ago, Nidilsky said:

I would feed them. See if that perks em up. 

My acans are my tanks barometer on the condition of the water. It seems they are the first to squinch up when something is amiss (usually temp). 

I feed mine but this one hasn't put out feeders in a few days.

 

I dunno my parameters are stable and my other Acan Lords are fluffy. :[

[SelectedByNature]

Just fed some corals today and there was zero feeding response and it look almost green tint now. Still deflated. Should I dip it again? Bacterial maybe?

[ninjamyst]

check your water parameters to see if anything is off.  

[SelectedByNature]

27 minutes ago, ninjamyst said:

check your water parameters to see if anything is off.  

My nitrate is a bit down compared to normal (currently 5, normally 15)  and my alk is higher than normal too (10.4 vs 9.2).

[Clown79]

No. Over dipping and touching it/moving it will not help. It will further irritate it.

 

Its alk swings

[SelectedByNature]

26 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

No. Over dipping and touching it/moving it will not help. It will further irritate it.

 

Its alk swings

Okay. So I should leave everything (alk level) as is and not do a WC?

 

If it doesn't improve should I consider iodine in case it's bacterial?

[burtbollinger]

I had a painful experience with acans.  You really need to get that Alk locked down.  Highly recommend a Hanna checker and 2-part or something 

[SelectedByNature]

20 minutes ago, burtbollinger said:

I had a painful experience with acans.  You really need to get that Alk locked down.  Highly recommend a Hanna checker and 2-part or something 

Yeah I remember you had them all die and swore them off :[

 

What do you mean locked down? Like pick a number and keep it there?

[Clown79]

22 minutes ago, SelectedByNature said:

Yeah I remember you had them all die and swore them off :[

 

What do you mean locked down? Like pick a number and keep it there?

Yes.

 

Fluctuations in alk is one of the main causes for lps and sps going down hill.

 

Waterchanges only maintain alk if:

 

1 - you have very little to no lps/spd

2- you do many waterchanges throughout the week.

 

Once alk starts fluctuating every day due to consumption from corals- dosing becomes necessary

[SelectedByNature]

9 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Yes.

 

Fluctuations in alk is one of the main causes for lps and sps going down hill.

 

Waterchanges only maintain alk if:

 

1 - you have very little to no lps/spd

2- you do many waterchanges throughout the week.

 

Once alk starts fluctuating every day due to consumption from corals- dosing becomes necessary

Yes. I find Red Sea Coral Pro salt water changes always cause fluctuations for me. But generally is around 9.

[burtbollinger]

Yeah.  I now test with a Hanna checker a few times a week and picked Alk to stay between 8.5 and 9.  To do this I switched salt to Fritz RPM which mixes to @ 8...(no more RSCP which mixed too high) then carefully dose small does of ESV 2 part once a week or so.  

 

Im committed to staying on top of alk....for me the big thing is that Hanna checker.  Huge game changer IMO.  Makes daily or multiple weekly tests a breeze

[SelectedByNature]

4 minutes ago, burtbollinger said:

Yeah.  I now test with a Hanna checker a few times a week and picked Alk to stay between 8.5 and 9.  To do this I switched salt to Fritz RPM which mixes to @ 8...then carefully dose small does of ESV 2 part once a week or so

I may try out a Hanna Checker at some point but testing doesn't really bore me. Red Sea test kits are pretty easy to read too.

[burtbollinger]

Just now, SelectedByNature said:

I may try out a Hanna Checker at some point but testing doesn't really bore me. Red Sea test kits are pretty easy to read too.

Game changer, bro.

 

you need one...

[Nidilsky]

6 hours ago, SelectedByNature said:

I feed mine but this one hasn't put out feeders in a few days.

 

I dunno my parameters are stable and my other Acan Lords are fluffy. :[

I would still try and get something to stick to em.

[Clown79]

I no longer use rscp because over 3 mnths my alk went from 9(using previous salt) to 12.5

 

Using aquaforest my salt stays 8.4 and drops due to coral consumption which i use esv daily to maintain alk.

 

I use red sea test kits. Great kit.

 

Its really determining what your corals are using and maintaining that. 

Your alk may be fluctuating every day due to the consumption. 

Incorrect dosing can also cause fluctuations

[vegasgundog]

I dose about 20 mil a day of alk and keeps it prety consistant. Acan garden thriving. Lighting was a big factor keeping them for me to. Whites were to high for a long time.

[SelectedByNature]

6 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I no longer use rscp because over 3 mnths my alk went from 9(using previous salt) to 12.5

 

Using aquaforest my salt stays 8.4 and drops due to coral consumption which i use esv daily to maintain alk.

 

I use red sea test kits. Great kit.

 

Its really determining what your corals are using and maintaining that. 

Your alk may be fluctuating every day due to the consumption. 

Incorrect dosing can also cause fluctuations

Yeah RS CP salt is a bit troubling for that reason. I have a lot of LPS now so there could be decent consuption. I had high nitrates for a long time and did a lot of WC to try to bring it down and my params always fluctuated so I don't know the exact consumption rate yet.

 

I have Red Sea dosing too.

4 hours ago, vegasgundog said:

I dose about 20 mil a day of alk and keeps it prety consistant. Acan garden thriving. Lighting was a big factor keeping them for me to. Whites were to high for a long time.

How did the light change or too much white affect them? I have non-customizable LEDs so it's running 100%

[Clown79]

Acans are known to not like intense lighting. 

 

Depending on the light you have 100% could be too much for lps. Most don't require high light.

[SelectedByNature]

27 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Acans are known to not like intense lighting. 

 

Depending on the light you have 100% could be too much for lps. Most don't require high light.

Well I have the LED Biocube and they are on the substrate so I doubt it's too intense lighting. Like 50 PAR maybe.

[SelectedByNature]

Has anyone else noticed Acans lose their colour or the colour changes a lot under LEDs?

 

I wonder if there are better LEDs than others for Acans. I absolutely love my Acans and could never not have any, but it's weird not knowing what you're buying or paying premium for nice colours only to have them totally change under LEDs.

 

Unless I buy Acans grown under LEDs. 

[burtbollinger]

I'd get your parameters dialed back in, not move or mess with anything (dips, etc) and then give it time...if you lose a colony you lose it....in the meantime monitor existing colonies and dont buy any more for now...just observe for a bit...certainly dont buy crazy rainbow ones or anything...I'm dabbling in acans a bit, but steering away from really crazy premium colored ones, when you do deep reading on rainbows, etc...a lot of common themes start to emerge about them...tossing big money at fancy acans like that just sounds like a bad idea IMO....especially when youre still figuring everything out AND have a non controllable LED lighting set up.

 

as far as wondering about biocube LED lighting being ideal for what youre doing...yeah, youre not crazy...it would def. be a concern of mine, as would figuring out what exactly is going on with your alk...and what kinds of swings are taking place and why.

[SelectedByNature]

1 hour ago, burtbollinger said:

I'd get your parameters dialed back in, not move or mess with anything (dips, etc) and then give it time...if you lose a colony you lose it....in the meantime monitor existing colonies and dont buy any more for now...just observe for a bit...certainly dont buy crazy rainbow ones or anything...I'm dabbling in acans a bit, but steering away from really crazy premium colored ones, when you do deep reading on rainbows, etc...a lot of common themes start to emerge about them...tossing big money at fancy acans like that just sounds like a bad idea IMO....especially when youre still figuring everything out AND have a non controllable LED lighting set up.

 

as far as wondering about biocube LED lighting being ideal for what youre doing...yeah, youre not crazy...it would def. be a concern of mine, as would figuring out what exactly is going on with your alk...and what kinds of swings are taking place and why.

Yeah for sure. Luckily the Acans I have I got super cheap from another hobbyist. I wouldn't buy the crazy ones. Ahem. Okay well I'll try not to and remember this conversation.

 

I definitely have concerns about the stock lighting however, in all honesty, these lights have surprised me a lot. Everything grows. Obviously I don't have SPS or any corals very demanding of light, but still.

 

My alk fluctuates mainly because of how RS CP mixes, and frequent water changes (like more than 1x/week). I'm now doing 10-20%/week depending, but you're right and I need to find out what my daily consumption is and try to dose accordingly. I have to feed less too. I enjoy feeding, especially Acans, and I try to work-around the nitrate increase with WC or No Pox which inevitably causes additional issues.

 

So far, my experience with Acans is feeding is 10x more important than lightning.

[Clown79]

I agree with burtbollinger.

 

Getting your alk stable will be better for all lps. They need stability.

 

I never had issues with rscp causing fluctuations after normal 15% waterchanges, just over time my alk increased greatly.

 

You need to test alk everyday to see what the consumption from your lps is and dose accordingly to maintain the number.

 

The best way is to:

 

Test after a waterchange. 

Test the next day at the same time.

Test everyday at the same time.

 

This will determine what your alk starts at and what the corals use everyday.

 

If there is daily consumption without dosing, by the end of the week the alk will drop significantly and then when you do a waterchange, the number will be different again. That will effect the corals.

 

 

Corals when purchased will look different in the store depending on the lighting they are under, compared to in our tanks. Then there is the lighting temp they are under.

 

I buy my corals from a store which runs their tanks with radions set very blue, like 20k. My tank is 15k. There is a difference in the look/colour pop.

 

It also depends on what your settings are. If you run high whites they fade more than running high blues. Same with 50/50.