Acropora Care Guide

This guide is structured for reef keepers who want the husbandry targets first, then the inventory. Use it to decide whether the coral fits your system before you buy or move it.

What this coral wants

Acropora care is about process control. Strong gas exchange, precise alkalinity management, and gradual lighting changes matter more than chasing headline PAR numbers without the system stability to support them.

At a glance

• Coral Type: SPS
• Scientific Name: Acropora spp.
• Care Level: Advanced
• Light: 220 to 350 PAR after acclimation
• Flow: Strong, chaotic, high-oxygen flow
• Placement: Upper rockwork in a stable high-energy zone

Target water chemistry

These are Lunar Tide Aquatics holding targets for stability, then cross-checked against peer-reviewed coral physiology literature on flow, calcification, feeding, and nutrient stress.

• Temperature: 77 to 78.5 F
• Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026 specific gravity
• Alkalinity: 7.8 to 8.6 dKH
• Calcium: 420 to 460 ppm
• Magnesium: 1300 to 1400 ppm
• Nitrate: 2 to 10 ppm
• Phosphate: 0.02 to 0.08 ppm

Light, flow, and placement

Light: 220 to 350 PAR after acclimation. Flow: Strong, chaotic, high-oxygen flow. Placement: Upper rockwork in a stable high-energy zone.

Place acropora where flow is chaotic enough to keep the colony clean from every angle without creating dead pockets around the base. When a piece browns, pales, or burns at the tips, look at alkalinity drift and abrupt energy changes before moving the coral again.

Acropora reward disciplined consistency. Stable nutrients, repeatable maintenance, and measured acclimation will outperform frequent corrective moves almost every time.

Feeding and acclimation

Feeding: Stable dissolved nutrients with optional fine broadcast feeding.

Acclimation: Ramp PAR in measured steps and let color plus polyp extension set the final placement.

What to watch

Stability target: Tight alkalinity control and repeatable export are mandatory.

Watch for: Alkalinity drift, tip burn, dead spots, and abrupt light jumps.

How Lunar Tide uses this guide

We use these ranges as decision support, not as random numbers to chase. Stable chemistry, predictable placement, and consistent observation usually outperform aggressive adjustments after a coral lands.

If you are ready to compare this husbandry target against what is currently available, browse the current Acropora. There are currently 2 pieces in that group.

Scientific references

• Jokiel PL (1978), Effects of water motion on reef corals
• Anthony KRN and Fabricius KE (2000), Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity
• Houlbrèque F and Ferrier-Pagès C (2009), Heterotrophy in tropical scleractinian corals
• Holcomb M, Tambutté E, Allemand D and Tambutté S (2014), Light enhanced calcification in Stylophora pistillata
• Jokiel PL (2013), Coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification
• Page TM, D'Angelo C, Wiedenmann J and Foster GL (2025), Changes in host gene expression patterns underpin responses of the coral Stylophora pistillata to nutrient stress