Favia-Bleaching-Lighting? -03/28/08
I recently got a Favia specimen. It is about the size of my fist, and is for the most part a powder blue. It has long brown splotches around the ridges, but I am sure that this is the natural coloring. Though especially around the top and not around the sides of the coral it is beginning to become pale around the ridges, but not in the mouths. They are still very brilliant. I think that lighting is the issue. Is it possible for a Favia to have to much light?
<Yes and no. They can acclimate to just about any level of lighting (even intense lighting). However, this takes time. It sounds like the coral is starting to bleach in response to a sudden change in lighting.>
How much is good. The coral was about a 10 inches form the surface where there are two VHO bulbs. One is actinic and the other is 50/50.
<What was it under previously, when you purchased it?>
I recently moved it to the sandbed, which is about 18 inches from the surface.
Was this right? What should I do? Are there anymore details I should include?
<Again, if it's a lighting issue, it's an issue of *change* in lighting. You should find out what kind of lighting the coral was under previously, then try and place the coral under similar lighting before slowing moving it to where you want it. If it continues to bleach, be sure to feed it well. Bleaching is not a death sentence. Corals "often" bleach out, then recover. Please see here for some additional info on Faviid health:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faviiddisfaqs.htm
Best,
Sara M.>

Caulastrea, Faviid gen., sys.   - 04/17/07
Hello crew,
<Hi Nick, Mich with you today.>
  First off I just want to thank you all for such a great site.
<Welcome!  Glad you find it helpful!>
It's been a very long time since I last wrote do to all the great info you guys provide. After many hours of reading on this site and others I would like some clarification on a couple of Q's.
<Go for it!>
First the stats; 55gal. with 29 gal. sump\refuge with 20 lbs. LR Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha in the fuge, 4"-6"DSB in main and refuge, 70lbs. LR in main, Pipe organ (doing great), purple mushrooms (doing great), Vietnamese Zoanthids (doing O.K.), Caulastrea (doing O.K.), small piece of some kind of Porites (doing good), 1 neon blue velvet damsel (starting to morph:(, 1 copperband butterfly ( not eating Aiptasia :( 1 scooter dragonet (just now eating prepared foods) <Wonderful!> 1 algae blenny, 1 peppermint shrimp (also doesn’t eat Aiptasia :(
<Mmm, I sensing a trend...>
and 1 blue hippo tang (I know I know tank is to small but no fear my friends it is small yet and there is a brand new 125 gal. mega flow in the garage waiting for a stand which is on its way.
<Yay!>
This will be the future home for all fish except the copperband. Ammonia 0,Nitrite 0, total Nitrate 10-20ppm (is this still too high?)
<Zero is better, but this isn't bad.>
dKH 9, ph 8.0 in the morning and 8.2 at the end of the light cycle, temp. is a steady 79-80deg. Lights are PC 260 watt (130w 10,000k white and 130w actinic) this is a Coralife deally. The actinics come on 1hr. before the whites and stay on 1hr. after, 12hrs. of total run time. The fuge has a 40w 5,000k N.O. setup that stays on 24/7
<Chaetomorpha does better with a dark period, but if you have Caulerpa in the fuge also I would stick with the 24/7.>  
and works quite well (coralline algae even grows down there). Whew!! think that covers it for the stats. Oh yeah also has a canister filter for bio media and polyfilter. I perform a 10gal. water change twice a week with IO/DI water to keep nitrate in check. Clean my wonderful Seaclone 150 every 3 days to keep this wonderful technology working. By the way I was being sarcastic!!
<Heeeeeeeeeeeee!>
Although it does pull 2 cups a week of dark gunk a week if I stay on top of it.
<Wow!  I'm impressed!>
I clean my canister out once every 2 weeks and replace the polyfilter once a month. The tank has been running for a year before any coral was added.
O.K. time for the Q's. First I bought the Caulastrea about a week ago and I have been researching them for a couple of months. I have gotten some mixed suggestions but the general consensus is that it needs moderate flow and moderate light. So I placed it yesterday (after QT) in the middle of the tank about 10" from the light in a pretty low flow area. I have 2 MaxiJets one 1200 and one 900 pointing at the front glass at a 45 deg. angle. It is unobstructed and has direct light. Also I feed it once a day with mysis but after it eats, the mysis, about 30 min.s. later it pukes it back up. Is this because the food is too big?
<Nope, what goes in must come out.>
One more question if I may.  The zoanthid I bought about a month ago is in the same type of conditions as the Caulastrea and in the first week had some die off and some polyps won't open.
also there is some curling over of one side of several polyps. Any ideas on what this could be?
<Not exactly, but try placing it in an area of higher/high flow at least temporarily.  This often seems to help.>
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time
<Welcome!>
and hope you all have great day!!
<I wish the same to you!  -Mich>
Nick
P.S I don't use any supplements and only proper ph 8.2 for my water 24 hrs. before use.
<Very good.>

Favites brain coral frag
Hello All,
<<  Blundell here. >>
Love your website. I have an 85 gallon flat back hex tank. It will be a reef tank. << Difficult to light. >> I currently have about 50 lbs of live rock and a 4" DSB. A Remora Pro protein skimmer. I only intend to keep LPS corals and some zoanthids. The lighting is a single 175 watt MH with two 32 watt PC actinic bulbs for supplement. The light is hanging 6 inches above the tank. The rocks are situated in a mound under the light. The tank was cycled for four months before any fish were added. The current occupants are two Saddleback Clowns and two Neon Gobies. I only intend to add a couple more fish. Last Friday I was able to win a Favites - Abide and a button polyp in an auction from the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. << Hey, I almost came to speak there... I wonder whatever happened. >> It seems to be doing well about 12 inches from the top of the tank. Last night for the first time I was able to see it's sweeper tentacles.  The Button Polyp opened right away and is the size of a half dollar and there seem to be four more polyps at its base. I have few questions, should the Favites be placed on the sand bed instead of on the rock. I know that open brain corrals should be placed on the sand, but does the same rule apply to the Favites. << In this case, I'd say up on the rocks so it is closer to the light. >> Should each green center be fed or does the whole colony benefit from an individual mouth being fed.  << The whole colony benefits from a feeding, but I like to rotate feeding each mouth. >> Also, the Favites frag had a small half inch piece fall on the sand. It seems to have part of the brown wall and some of the neon green center. I also saw it extend very small, what I think are sweeper tentacles. And there is another piece that is about a quarter inch in size that has some neon  and some brown wall. Can both these pieces survive? << Yep. >> I believe that both pieces were frags that were loose on the 3" frag that I won. Should I leave them on the sand or should I mount them on the rocks. << I'd probably mount them. >> Thank you very much in advance for all your help.
Dan
<<  Blundell  >>

Favia care
Hi guys, been a while since my last question to you.  Hope you can help out...
<< I hope so to. >>
Picked up my 1st true coral about a week ago, a Favia Pineapple Brain. About 2 inches in diameter, lovely fluorescing yellow-green in color. At the time I was also replacing my light hood from one 10K white + Actinic (40W ea) with a PC hood, 2 10K white + 2 Actinic (65W ea) + lunar led lights. I was hoping this would be sufficient to sustain my brain. << That is something you should check BEFORE buying the coral. But in this case I think you'll be fine. >> To recap the tank real quick, its a 72 gal bow-front << Not much light for a 72 gal. >> + 10G ' fuge, approx 60lbs live rock. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10-15 nitrates. In my recent war against Cyano, I made sure I have aggressive circulation in the tank. 2 Maxijet 1200's, 2 MaxiJets 400's, & an Eheim compact (60gph) all on a Natural Wave time, arranged for an oscillating effect both high & low in the water column (high-left + low-right go 1st, then high-right + low left, on about 1 minute cycles). Filtration includes an Eheim Professional II (2 chamber, heated, marine compatible) & an AquaC Remora w/Maxijet 1200 + prefilter compartment. I placed the brain as high as I can currently, which is about 10 inches below the water surface (water column is approx 22 inches high overall). << Yeah keep it up high. >> I have not once seen my brain extend itself (sounds like a motivational issue, eh?). I've been feeding the tank about twice a week (beside regular fish feedings) alternating between ESV spray dried phytoplankton & Sweetwater jarred zooplankton.
<< I would add live phytoplankton or Cyclop-eeze or golden pearls. >> Now the brain has steadily been accruing what I am presuming to be diatoms on it. I consistently have a low-level growth of the stuff in the tank, presumably due to silicate in my well water (the well gets quite a bit of sand in it, a test kit for it is currently on order). Its not exactly covered with the stuff, but its slowly turning brown.  << Increase the water flow around it. >> Info on Favias seems a bit spotty. Culled from myriad sites, my understanding is they should be relatively hardy, a good "beginner" coral, moderately tolerant of nutrients, requiring moderate current & not necessarily blasting light, & nocturnal in behavior. I believe I have met these conditions, but I just am not really sure if my Favia is still alive or not. << I wouldn't think of any stony coral as being a beginner coral. Certainly Anthelia and Xenia is the best beginner route. Maybe even mushrooms. >> One article had commented that they can accrue some detritus, but by giving them a bit more current, it should help clear it up. I tried to direct one of the MJ1200s to go right over it, but not so much that it gets blown off its perch. I understand that if the coral is nocturnal, it may be only very late at night that it comes out, & I just might not have stayed up late enough to see. << Well it can open in the day, if you feed it in the day. So that is why I suggest that live phytoplankton. That can really help out. >> So I guess what I'm asking, is how do I know if its still alive or not? I'll probably be getting an RO unit in due time for the well water, but that'll be a way down the road yet (looking hard at the Kold Ster-il). In the meantime, I am preparing to perform Boyd Enterprises Chemi-Clean on the tank, after which I will add Chemi-pure filter media to my Eheim. As always, thanks for your insights... << I'm not a fan of those products. I'd suggest water changes as well. >> 
Brainstorming,
Pete Cushnie
<< Blundell >>