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
Goniopora and alveopora do best when reefkeepers understand that these corals need stable nutrients, broad flow, and consistent feeding discipline. They are not impossible corals, but they do punish starvation and abrupt environmental changes.
At a glance
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Coral Type: LPS
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Scientific Name: Goniopora spp. / Alveopora spp.
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Care Level: Moderate to advanced
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Light: 80 to 150 PAR with a gentle ramp
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Flow: Low to moderate, broad turbulent flow
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Placement: Lower to mid-level on a stable platform
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: 80 to 150 PAR with a gentle ramp. Flow: Low to moderate, broad turbulent flow. Placement: Lower to mid-level on a stable platform.
Think in terms of constant, soft movement rather than blast flow. The polyps should extend and wave freely while staying clean of detritus and film. Fine particulate foods and measurable phosphate matter here more than they do for many easier mixed-reef corals.
Once extension becomes regular, resist the urge to keep moving the colony. A stable perch, repeatable feeding cadence, and a nutrient floor that never crashes usually outperform constant experimentation.
Feeding and acclimation
Feeding: Fine particulate foods 2 to 4 times weekly.
Acclimation: Start in gentler flow and raise light slowly only after daytime extension is steady.
What to watch
Stability target: Measured nitrate and phosphate should stay available.
Watch for: Bottomed-out nutrients, sediment buildup, and rapid swings.
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 Goniopora. There are currently 9 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.
