Acropora Valida

The Purple Tri-color Valida is a classic among the acropores. It has thin branches and well-spaced tubular corallites, the colony can reach a large size.

The Purple Tri-color Valida is a classic among the acropores. It has thin branches and well-spaced tubular corallites, the colony can reach a large size. This is one of the most easily adaptable species. It has a deep purple coloring on the tips that fades as we go down to the base and green polyps in a very noticeable way.

Characteristics

• Difficulty Difficult
• Aggressiveness Calm
• Water flow This coral needs a moderate to strong water flow

Relief

Prefers medium to high lighting levels. T5s, Metal Halides or LEDs can all grow SPS if the right levels are provided. Place in the upper part of the aquarium. We recommend a color spectrum of 14-20K for best coloration.

Placement

In terms of placement, this coral can thrive very well in both the middle and upper part of an aquarium. This depends on the lighting and current. After the appropriate amount of time in the center of the reef tank to acclimate, adjust the placement based on the results you see. Can be placed in close proximity to other similar peaceful corals in the reef aquarium. Remember this coral can grow large over time, so give it room to grow and branch out.

Diet and nutrition

All of your SPS corals will be happier if fed. The size of the mouth for each polyp is relative to the body size of the polyp and this size will more or less determine the particle size a coral can eat. We have found that even the smallest SPS polyps, even Anacropora, will accept food. There are several types of coral food available to the aquarium hobbyist and we generally mix a few with different particle sizes and feed them specifically to all of our corals. We have successfully fed all our corals and found that our Echinophyllia Montiporas, Acroporas and especially A. millepora respond well to feeding. When you feed your corals you will want to turn off the power in your tank and carefully target each coral. We like to feed our corals at the end of the day when the lights are still on their daylight setting. You can even try broadcasting some food into the tank before focusing on feed as a "food bell" for your corals, or try polyp lab reef booster as a way to prepare your corals to eat. We recommend feeding your corals several times a week. After a few days of feeding, your corals should respond more quickly to your food bell and all look more vibrant. Some of the benefits we noticed after 2-3 weeks included more polyp expansion, swollen body tissue, more colorful, increased growth (compared to unlined corals). Excellent SPS Cora foods include Phyto Feast, Oyster Feast, Roti Feast, Phyto Plankton, Zoo Plankton, Marine Snow, Coral Frenzy, Cyclops. We also always recommend target feeding as this feeds the corals with less food while keeping your nitrates and phosphates lower.

Water chemistry

It is important that proper calcium (420-440 ppm), alkalinity (8-9.5 dkh - run it 7-8 if you are dosing carbon) and magnesium levels (1260-1350 ppm) are all maintained. Gradually increasing the magnesium level to 1400-1600 ppm is a big help in fighting algae outbreaks, just keep the calcium and alkalinity levels where they should be while increasing the magnesium level. Try to keep the nitrate level below 10 ppm, the phosphate level below 0.10 ppm. We recommend changing the water regularly to keep the nitrate level below 10 ppm. If the phosphate numbers are above 0.10 ppm, change your phosphate control media. To use your phosphate media as efficiently as possible, we recommend using a media reactor.

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