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
Favia, favites, and cyphastrea grow best in moderate light, moderate flow, and a tank that leaves them space to feed and inflate after dark. These are structure-building LPS corals that reward patient placement and steady chemistry.
At a glance
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Coral Type: LPS
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Scientific Name: Favia spp. / Favites spp. / Cyphastrea spp.
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Care Level: Moderate
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Light: 75 to 150 PAR
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Flow: Moderate, indirect flow
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Placement: Lower to mid-level with nighttime sweeper room
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.
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Temperature: 77 to 78.5 F
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Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026 specific gravity
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Alkalinity: 8.0 to 9.0 dKH
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Calcium: 420 to 460 ppm
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Magnesium: 1280 to 1380 ppm
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Nitrate: 5 to 15 ppm
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Phosphate: 0.03 to 0.10 ppm
Light, flow, and placement
Light: 75 to 150 PAR. Flow: Moderate, indirect flow. Placement: Lower to mid-level with nighttime sweeper room.
Plan for nighttime aggression. These corals can look compact by day and then extend sweepers well beyond the daytime footprint after lights drop. Leave enough room that feeding tentacles are not contacting neighboring tissue.
Moderate nutrients and occasional nighttime feeding keep tissue full and color separated. If the coral is paling or staying too tight, reduce light before you start moving chemistry around.
Feeding and acclimation
Feeding: Target feed at night 1 to 2 times weekly.
Acclimation: Start lower and let feeding response tell you when the coral is settled.
What to watch
Stability target: Steady chemistry and moderate nutrients.
Watch for: Night sweepers, shadowing, and direct detritus traps.
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 Favia & Favites. There are currently 18 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
Current availability
Use this guide against live inventory
The care guidance lives here. When you're ready to compare it against the corals currently available from Lunar Tide, jump straight into the matching collection.
