Favia coral care and information

[finnley9]

I recently picked up this coral from a local reef show and I'm thinking it might be a type of favia - can anyone with more experience confirm if I'm correct? I've got it positioned high up in my 90-gallon display tank, under LED lights that run for 10 hours a day, set at around 30-50% intensity. The LEDs are approximately 10 inches above the water's surface.

The coral seems to be receding a bit, so I'm wondering if it's too high up in the tank. I've attached a photo of the coral, hopefully the link works.

My water's a bit cloudy at the moment, I think I stirred up too much of the DT during my last water change, which has led to a small algae bloom. I'm planning on doing another water change, probably tomorrow.

[zenoxa]

I'd say it's more likely a Favites, commonly known as war coral. Check this out for comparison: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=3159

[finnley9]

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it. I'm thinking I may have it in too much water flow, so I'm gonna move it away from one of the Tunze pumps. Had it for about a week now, probably just adjusting to my tank.

[felinxo]

"Rock looks new to me, personally. They do seem to prefer real low light and flow, in my experience. GL"

[finnley9]

I've had this tank running since August 2014, and I've never had a major algae or diatom issue. My stock consists of 2 clownfish and 7 corals now. I recently added 6 new corals about 10 days ago, including the war coral, ORA purple stylophora, reverse superman montipora, rainbow montipora, brain coral, and a soft coral. I also have a duncan coral that's doing great and adding new heads.

I moved the war coral to the bottom of the tank last night, so I'll keep an eye on it. If needed, I might dip it in Lugol's solution again.

I'm currently dealing with cloudy water and I'm trying to get it under control. I'll do another 25% water change today. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My water parameters are:
- Ammonia: 0
- Nitrites: 0
- Nitrates: 0
- Calcium: 420
- PH: 7.8
- ALK: 7.7
- Phosphate: 0 (Hanna Checker)
- Salt: 1.025
- Temp: 77-78 (Apex controller)

[felinxo]

If your tank's that clean, it might actually be a problem too. No detectable nitrates and phosphates isn't ideal. I'd suggest increasing feeding or adding some aminos. As for the cloudy water, it could be a bunch of things - bacteria bloom, etc. Do you run activated carbon? It could clear up the cloudiness pretty quickly.

[finnley9]

I haven't ran carbon yet, that was my next move. I'll give it a shot and see if it clears up the cloudy water.

As for feeding, I try to keep it moderate - just enough for the clownfish to polish off within a minute or two. The two cleaner shrimp I have seem to appreciate the leftovers, they snag a few pellets the clowns miss.

I had a bunch of trochus snails, 12 to be exact, but now I'm down to just one. Guess I overestimated how much they could eat.

[felinxo]

I figured as much, your tank's too clean. Get some food waste in there, it'll help.

[finnley9]

I've been worried about overfeeding, but I think I may have been underfeeding instead. I'll wait a couple of days and keep an eye on the war coral, if it continues to recede I'll dip it in Lugol's solution again.

I need to get a canister for the carbon, but for now I can just add some to my filter sock. I'll pick up a canister eventually, it's on my to-do list.