Acan Placement
 

I have Giesmann 250w HQI's and wondering how far up should I put an Acan. I have heard "on the sand" and I have heard "high up".

Confused...

Jim Mc

I have mine about 1/4 way up on a rock. They appear to be doing well and splitting. I have 6x54W T5s on a 72 gal.

I've got most of mine placed about 16 inches away from my 250W halide. I've found that the light preference will really depend on the piece. I've got some that do better in medium light, others in low light.

i had hundreds and most liked lower light and lower flow . all are different and can become accustomed to different levels over time so use your eyes and you can tell when they are happy . most really need hardly any light at all and will extend the polyps more under low light .

I had the same issues once before. I cooked several acans thinking they liked high light. I could never figure out why they would never inflate. I have 250's 14k about 12" above water in 25" tank. Acans on on bottom and doing the best ever. If you put them in the sand, don't let the sand touch the polyps. The sand will irritate them. Ok to touch skeleton but not polyps. Just my experience.

yes the sand around the bottom must not irritate the polyps or they will receed and die slowly . keep them up off the sand a bit and try to do your own experiment . put the same one high and then put it in the shade and you will find that they are twice as fluffy in the shade . it will not slow the growth if they are fed a couple of times a week . also about a half hour after they engulf the food it really helps to get some water movement on them for a few minutes to flush the defication off the polyps and you will see them grow faster . you can even use a turkey baster to lightly blow off the matieral at this time and it really helps out alot . give that a try and you will be delightfully suprised !