Feeding schedule for Acropora

[finwave]

I've been keeping Acropora for about six months now, and I'm still figuring out the best feeding schedule. Right now, I'm dosing amino acids twice a week and spot-feeding reef roids every other day. My tank is a 75-gallon mixed reef with T5 lighting, and params are stable, 8.1 pH, 1.025 salinity. Anyone got a better routine?

[mirroron]

Acropora are pretty sensitive to overfeeding, so less is more. I'd cut the reef roids to once or twice a week and focus on water quality. What's your nitrate and phosphate sitting at? High nutrients can mess with their growth. I've had success with weekly amino acids and bi-weekly phytoplankton.

[finwave]

Acropora are pretty sensitive to overfeeding, so less is more. I'd cut the reef roids to once or twice a week and focus on water quality. What's your nitrate and phosphate sitting at? High nutrients can mess with their growth. I've had success with weekly amino acids and bi-weekly phytoplankton.

Thanks for the tip. My nitrates are around 5 ppm, phosphates 0.03. I'll try scaling back the reef roids and see how they respond.

[LuminAxe]

Spot-feeding can be hit or miss with Acropora. I've found broadcast feeding works better for me. I use a mix of amino acids, phyto, and a tiny bit of powdered coral food twice a week. Tank's a 120-gallon with LED lighting, and my Acros are thriving. Key is consistency and not overdoing it.

[burrower]

I'm kinda new to this, but my Acropora seem to dig the occasional mysis shrimp. Is that sketchy? I've got a 40-gallon with a cheap LED setup, and they're growing slow but steady. Nitrates are like 10 ppm, phosphates 0.1.

[flair9]

Mysis can work, but it's risky if you've got other corals that might get aggressive. Acropora prefer smaller particles. Maybe try blending the mysis into a paste and target-feeding. How often are you doing water changes?

[FlynnRode]

Honestly, I've had Acropora that thrived on neglect. Fed 'em once a month, and they grew like weeds. Other times, I babied 'em, and they browned out. Reef keeping's weird like that. Your mileage may vary.

[sunup]

Lighting plays a big role too. If your PAR is too low, feeding won't help much. What's your light schedule like? I run my Radions for 10 hours a day, peak at 80% intensity.

[Divine]

I agree with mirroron on the overfeeding risk. Acropora are more about stability than fancy diets. Keep your alk steady, and they'll do the rest. Mine get amino acids once a week, and that's it. Tank's been running for three years with no issues.

[bridget]

Has anyone tried dosing trace elements alongside feeding? I've heard iodine and strontium can boost growth, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. My Acropora are healthy, but I'm always looking for ways to optimize.