Care Level: This is an indication of a coral’s difficulty, ranging from easy to advanced. The lowest, being for beginners and hobbyists or all levels. Corals on the easy side tend to be more tolerant of less than perfect conditions. The middle is for hobbyists who have had good success keeping various types of corals healthy for a good duration of time. ‘Advanced’ may require a higher level of experience. These are corals which may demand some degree of special care or can be trickier to maintain good colour and growth long-term. If you have specific questions about a particular coral’s care requirements, please reach out to us!

Lighting: Corals require vastly different amounts of light, depending on the regions where they would be collected from the ocean. We have done our best to estimate the best approximate lighting requirement for every coral on this website. Indirect, meaning slightly shaded, or fully shaded, but still receiving some ambient light. If you own or have access to a par meter, this can mean anywhere from 50-75 par. The middle of the chart represents approximately 200-250 par, an average mid to lower tank par reading. The top of the chart would be the absolute highest point found in a brightly lit (probably SPS coral dominated) aquarium. This can range from 450-500 par.

Flow: This part of the chart ranges from passive to strong flow. ‘Passive flow’, meaning that there is no direct flow, but ambient flow still reaches the coral and that you should still see some movement via its tentacles or tissue. The middle of the chart would be a part of the aquarium where flow is steady, but not particularly turbulent. This type of flow is well suited for most LPS, especially euphyllia corals. Strong flow’ would be very high output, close to a return pump or wave making pump. This is not to say any coral should have way too much flow, as poor placement can cause a coral’s tissue to literally peel off.. We use Maxspect and Red Sea Gyre pumps, as well as Ecotech Mp40’s on out systems.

Nutrients: This chart is designed to give an indication of what each coral requires for nutrient levels (NO3 and PO4) and feeding.. Corals closer to the ‘heavy’ side of the slider, are the types of coral requiring direct feeding or a higher nutrient level. This means an NO3 level of up to 30ppm and PO4 up to .1ppm. Corals on the ‘light’ side of the chart tend to either look their best with lower nutrient levels or seem less tolerant of higher NO3, especially PO4 levels. This end of the chart would represent a NO3 levels of 1ppm and a PO4 level no more than .02ppm.