Fake Coral Question

SwitchingtoSalt · 12/08/2011, 08:31 AM

Hi, I'm considering switching from a freshwater tank to a saltwater tank and I'm doing research in regards to fake coral or coral made out of resin. Trying to fill an 8 ft. tank with coral made of resin is going to cost around $ 1,000.00and I'm wanting to know if anyone has any suggestions on how to fill an 8 ft. tank with fake coral that won't cost and arm and a leg?

I'm not sure if this site is strictly for real coral, but thought I'd give it a try.

Any help, advice, suggestions, etc... would greatly be appreciated. Thank you!

Dustin1300 · 12/08/2011, 08:35 AM

The 'Fish Only & Agressive Tanks' section is probably going to know. I'd never consider the fake stuff but I know from seeing it that it is not going to be cheap no matter what.

Get the aquarium going with live rock and fish and then later you can look at keeping real coral and upgrading lighting to meet the requirements

Danzig · 12/08/2011, 12:45 PM

Why would u do fake coral especially when it costs more than reAl coral lol.. $1000 is that a joke

SneakyPete · 12/08/2011, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig

Why would u do fake coral especially when it costs more than reAl coral lol.. $1000 is that a joke

I can only guess because he wants to have non reef friendly fish...

However, along with this, you may want to be careful. That good looking fake coral will quickly cover in coralline algae and then may not look very good. It would be a pain to clean, especially 8 ft worth.

Personally, if you are doing a FOWLR, it would be fine to not have fake coral and build a cool aquascape out of rock. The focus of your tank probably won't be the fake coral, it would probably be your Picasso Trigger or whatever you are looking to put in it (angelfish maybe if you are not going agressive?).

Anyway, salt is a lot of fun!

xCry0x · 12/08/2011, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig

Why would u do fake coral especially when it costs more than reAl coral lol.. $1000 is that a joke

A joke? Lighting alone to keep corals in an 8' tank would cost $1000+. Add in the cost of enough coral to actually fill the tank, cost of power for the lights (LEDs would be way over $1,000), cost of supplements, additional test kits, higher water standards, higher flow etc, heck even extra salt to keep the salinity at reef levels.

MrTuskfish · 12/08/2011, 01:08 PM

If fake coral is anything like the pre-LR days when dead coral skeletons were used----you'll spend every weekend trying to keep them looking like coral and not algae-covered junk. I've never used this stuff; but have never heard anything positive about it either.

chez2011 · 12/08/2011, 01:12 PM

buy a used equipment, is lot cheaper.

dzfish17 · 12/08/2011, 01:52 PM

My FOWLR has artificial corals in it. I spent about 1000.00 for 38 corals that drop into holes in my rock wall aquascape. The tank has been running since March and some of the corals look as good as the day I bought them and others have faded a little bit. I take them out for a good cleaning every couple of months and it only takes about an hour for all of them.

I think a FOWLR looks better with the artificial corals instead of just rock. My plan is to incorporate some easy, real coral into the tank someday to make it look a little more realistic. I love the way my tank looks with the artificial corals and the maintenance is so easy.

MuffsAbby · 12/08/2011, 05:16 PM

If you're looking to fill an 8ft tank with decent artificial corals, then I suspect $1,000 is as good as it's going to get price-wise. A less expensive alternative would be to use live rock and some (but fewer) artificial corals, which would give you the option of adding real corals over time as you gain more experience (should you wish to go that route). Alternatively, if you want to keep non-reef-safe fish, you could just add more artificial corals over time, as your budget allowed.

As for algae, my tank has been set up since July, with artificial corals and no live rock. My corals can't be removed from the tank (long story). I had a very slight diatom bloom when cycling, but that came off easily with a soft brush and never returned. Other than that one minor issue, I have had zero algae, and I don't clean the corals. Believe it or not, I keep hoping for a bit of algae, since my tank is too pristine.

I opted for artificial corals because well-meaning people told me how difficult it was to keep real corals. I heard stories of daily water testing and hours upon hours of water changes. I had visions of spending my life hauling buckets! If I knew then what I know now, I would have opted for live rock and real corals...because even though my artificial corals are as realistic as one could expect and are extremely low maintenance, they just can't hold a candle to the real thing.

12/08/2011, 08:31 AM	#1
SwitchingtoSalt Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 1	Fake Coral Question Hi, I'm considering switching from a freshwater tank to a saltwater tank and I'm doing research in regards to fake coral or coral made out of resin. Trying to fill an 8 ft. tank with coral made of resin is going to cost around $ 1,000.00and I'm wanting to know if anyone has any suggestions on how to fill an 8 ft. tank with fake coral that won't cost and arm and a leg? I'm not sure if this site is strictly for real coral, but thought I'd give it a try. Any help, advice, suggestions, etc... would greatly be appreciated. Thank you!

12/08/2011, 08:35 AM	#2
Dustin1300 Reefaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Carmel, IN Posts: 5,135	The 'Fish Only & Agressive Tanks' section is probably going to know. I'd never consider the fake stuff but I know from seeing it that it is not going to be cheap no matter what. Get the aquarium going with live rock and fish and then later you can look at keeping real coral and upgrading lighting to meet the requirements __________________ INDMAS President Check out my tank in the Large Tank Forums, "A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build"! Current Tank Info: 600 Gallon DT, 140 Gallon Grow Out Tank, 125 Gallon Sump, 90 Gallon Fuge, 200 Gallon Fish QT, 15 Gallon Frag QT

12/08/2011, 12:45 PM	#3
Danzig Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 694	Why would u do fake coral especially when it costs more than reAl coral lol.. $1000 is that a joke __________________ Keep our planet clean "PH s/b 7.9-8.3, salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp abt 80. Alk and cal will not rise if mg is low."

12/08/2011, 01:08 PM	#6
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	If fake coral is anything like the pre-LR days when dead coral skeletons were used----you'll spend every weekend trying to keep them looking like coral and not algae-covered junk. I've never used this stuff; but have never heard anything positive about it either. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

12/08/2011, 01:52 PM	#8
dzfish17 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Fresno,Ca. Posts: 2,545	My FOWLR has artificial corals in it. I spent about 1000.00 for 38 corals that drop into holes in my rock wall aquascape. The tank has been running since March and some of the corals look as good as the day I bought them and others have faded a little bit. I take them out for a good cleaning every couple of months and it only takes about an hour for all of them. I think a FOWLR looks better with the artificial corals instead of just rock. My plan is to incorporate some easy, real coral into the tank someday to make it look a little more realistic. I love the way my tank looks with the artificial corals and the maintenance is so easy. __________________ 600g (96x36x46) FOWLR

12/08/2011, 01:12 PM	#7
chez2011 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Canal Winchester Ohio Posts: 63	buy a used equipment, is lot cheaper.

12/08/2011, 05:16 PM	#9
MuffsAbby Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Mississauga, Ontario Posts: 327	If you're looking to fill an 8ft tank with decent artificial corals, then I suspect $1,000 is as good as it's going to get price-wise. A less expensive alternative would be to use live rock and some (but fewer) artificial corals, which would give you the option of adding real corals over time as you gain more experience (should you wish to go that route). Alternatively, if you want to keep non-reef-safe fish, you could just add more artificial corals over time, as your budget allowed. As for algae, my tank has been set up since July, with artificial corals and no live rock. My corals can't be removed from the tank (long story). I had a very slight diatom bloom when cycling, but that came off easily with a soft brush and never returned. Other than that one minor issue, I have had zero algae, and I don't clean the corals. Believe it or not, I keep hoping for a bit of algae, since my tank is too pristine. I opted for artificial corals because well-meaning people told me how difficult it was to keep real corals. I heard stories of daily water testing and hours upon hours of water changes. I had visions of spending my life hauling buckets! If I knew then what I know now, I would have opted for live rock and real corals...because even though my artificial corals are as realistic as one could expect and are extremely low maintenance, they just can't hold a candle to the real thing.