How to Keep Acros 101! | Coral Care Guide

What's going on reefers? Blaine here. In today's video, we are doing another coral spotlight series, but today we are talking all about Acroppora. In my honest opinion, we have some of the best acros in the entire nation. We are going to be talking about the ways to care for these corals properly, talk about some of the basics about Acroppora, and check out some of our favorites from TopShelf Aquatics. I know you all have been asking for this video, and we've been waiting long enough, so the wait is no longer. Let's dive in. [Music] In this video, we're stepping into the world of SPS and one of the most iconic corals in reefing history, the Acroppora. Known simply as Acros by most hobbyists, these corals are considered the crown jewel of reef tanks. Their incredible variety of shapes, colors, and growth patterns make them one of the most rewarding corals to keep, but also one of the most demanding. Acroppora come in just about every form you can imagine. Branching, tableabling, stagghorn, bushy, smooth skin, and everything in between. That structural diversity is what makes them so striking in a reef tank. A healthy acroppora colony not only adds insane color, but also creates the backbone of the aquacape, giving your reef that authentic reef crest look that so many strive for. When it comes to color morphs, Acroppora set the bar. From vivid greens and blues to high-end rainbow pieces like the home wrecker, Walt Disney, Strawberry Shortcake, and many, many more. These corals define the high-end SPS hobby. At TSA, we're constantly farming, trading for more, and testing different Acroppora strains. Hunting down the pieces that not only look incredible, but can also thrive in stable systems. Lighting for Acroppora is critical. These corals demand moderate to high PAR ranges, typically between 250 to 400, but we can even push that even further depending on the strain. Some of the more sensitive smooth skin varieties can't handle as much intensity. While classic stag horns and tables thrive under higher light. Acros don't just rely on intensity though. They rely on the spectrum as well. This matters. Strong blue channels are key to pulling out fluoresence. While a balanced daylight spectrum supports skeletal growth and coloration. Kevin is one that always says maintaining a solid 2-hour segment of white lighting, giving the acro some natural spectrum is key to their success and growth in the long term. Flow is equally as important to lighting. Acroppora demand strong, chaotic, and variable flow. Their fine polyps and tight branching structures need constant movement to prevent detritis buildup and to deliver nutrients across all surfaces of the colony. In our farm, we rely on alternating random flow patterns, gys, wave makers, and return pump flow, all working together to replicate the surge zone conditions that acros naturally come from. Without strong and varied flow, these corals simply won't thrive. For water chemistry, stability is the name of the game. It's something we talk about in every single coral spotlight video. Acroppora though require a narrow consistent range to keep both good coloration and growth on track. At TSA we maintain temperatures between 75 to 80° a pH of 8.1 to 8.4 a salinity of 1.0263. Alkalinity needs to be steady and maintained between 8 to 9 dKH. calcium at 420 to 450 ppm and magnesium around 1350 to 1450 ppm. Nutrients should not bottom out. Acros tend to lose their color in ultra low nutrient systems. We aim for nitrates between 5 to 15 ppm and phosphates between 03 to.1 ppm. To keep the colors rich and avoid pale or washed out colonies, nutrition for acros is all about a balanced environment. They are photosynthetic in nature and rely heavily on light, but they also benefit from dissolved nutrients and plonic food in the system. In our farm, they're constantly pulling nutrition from our broadcast feedings of phytolankton and coral foods. Spot feeding isn't necessary for across, but dosing amino acids and maintaining a healthy, well-fed system goes a long way in supporting the growth and coloration of acros. Placement is where you want to give these corals room to grow. Acroppora are fast growing when happy and colonies can easily shade out neighbors if they're not given the proper space from the jump. They do best higher up in the aquascape where flow and light are strongest and they should be positioned where they have room to table out, branch up or encrust without clashing with other corals. With Acroppora, pests and disease are always a concern. Acro eating flatworms and rud bugs are two of the most notorious threats in this hobby. Regular dipping, quarantining new pieces, and close inspection are essential for keeping your acros safe. Here at TopShelf Aquatics, all of our corals, not just the acros, go through a heavy, heavy regiment of quarantine to be able to get to the point where they're sold to the hobby. Tissue necrosis, RTN or STN, can also strike if stability is lost, making consistent parameters and redundancy in our reef system vital. At the end of the day, Acroppora may be one of the most challenging groups of corals to keep, but they're also the most rewarding. A thriving Acroppora reef with colonies grown in and coloring up under blues is the ultimate display of reefing success. Now that we've covered what makes Acroppora so difficult to keep and also what makes them so special, let's do my favorite part of these videos. Let's make our way around the farm and talk about some of our favorites. And trust me, Kevin picked some good ones. A longtime classic here at TopShelf Aquatics is the TSA Long Island. The baby blue alongside the pinks and oranges makes this a striking addition to any reef tank. One we talked about in previous videos and viewed as a good starting point for SPS collectors. One we no doubt needed to show off and one anyone needs to try out if they're getting into SPS. [Music] One of the all-time classics we will mention today is the O Pearlberry. A really unique mixture of blues and greens to form this outstanding piece. This is one of the examples of what I say the farm being a seedbank having a catalog of great specimens that we continue to grow out and offer to the hobby not only from TSA signature pieces but from all coral growers alike. The TSA mango passion is one of our many rainbow tenuous acros we are growing out here in the farm and the name speaks for itself. The mango colored polyps are truly something to witness. And personally, I feel the camera just never does these rainbow tenuras justice. And it's just one of these corals you need to see for yourself in person or get in your own reef. [Music] Next, let's talk about the TSA Fire Dragon. Dragons are some acros that are perfect for those lowlight areas in your tank, especially those SPS pack systems looking for more corals to put in. You can fit these into some darker areas. The Fire Dragon is a brilliant smooth skin that showcases a burgundy- like red that works itself into bright blue areas of new growth and orang-ish yellow tips to cap it off. [Music] The last one we'll talk about today and one of Kevin's personal favorites in the farm is the TSA Nightshade. A stunning Acroppora that has purplish tones that works into brilliant blue new growth. The tips are gorgeous burnt orange. Another acro that would be good as a starting point for reef keepers looking at dipping their toes into SPS into their reef tank. [Music] Now, I know this is a video we've been wanting to do for quite some time, and a lot of you have been asking about it. Honestly, though, TopShelf Aquatics is the premier spot to be picking up any Acroppora. If you guys are looking to snag any acros from us here today or any of the acros we talked about in the video, be sure to head over to the website now and check out our wide, I mean truly wide collection of acroppora. If you guys have hung out all the way till the end, I want to say thank you very much. Be sure to like, subscribe, and hit the bell notification so you don't miss out on any future uploads. [Music]