In case you haven't seen it...

[Pescador]

These are the ones I was looking at last year, kind of the same idea.
http://www.3d-aquarium-backgrounds.c...y/prod_11.html


In Taiwan they had some plain black molded foam reef backgrounds that were cheap and looked awesome once they were covered in coraline. I was already over limit on my luggage. I should ask the Brother-in-law if he could track them down.

[support@proline]

We do distribute reefceramics in canada ,all pieces in stock & you can get them from our dealers,in case of Alberta Golds would be the best place to go with for reef ceramic ,Albert knows about those pieces & he can bring them in if you wish.
The other benefit of using Reef ceramics over live rock is minimal cycling ,with almost no algae cycles ,there is no nutrient build up & no pests of any kind,they are real ceramic made out of calcium based material & porous.
The shapes are amazing ,my favorites are the back wall plates.

[Quagmire]

So if you went ceramic,you would still have to find a pod population somewhere.Or maybe still have some live rock.

[support@proline]

All you will need for pods ,is the rocks that your corals are attached to or a piece of macro algae in fuge .
You can also purchase various different live pods or other organisms from LFS in a bottle.
You can also throw a couple small pieces of LR in tank for that reason.
IMHO the best thing about Reefceramics ,is ZERO NUTRIENT BUILD UP & THEREFORE NO ALGAE CYCLES.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by support@proline

the best thing about Reefceramics ,is ZERO NUTRIENT BUILD UP & THEREFORE NO ALGAE CYCLES.

I am not sure I quite understand this as it doesn't make sense. I can see that there will be a reduced algae cycle as it come practically new with nothing to contribute to the algae cycle, but are you saying that if I have the ceramic rock in my tank for 3 years there won't be any nutrient build up at all? If so the only reason I can see that happening is if bacteria or anything else won't populate it. Seeing that it is porous then I would expect bacteria to develop with in it and turn it into a type of live rock.

I guess just the way it is worded is funny to me as of course it will have a nutrient build up over time but it doesn't come with one.

Steve

[support@proline]

Sorry if my choice of words were not too clear ,what I meant is that ,does not matter where you will buy LR it will have some dead matter on or in it that needs to be cycled off simply because of handling & transportation ,however even if you get fresh LR right out of the ocean it will still have some nutrient buildup inside it ,because it houses bacteria that cycles nutrient & has loaded the rock with some nutrients overtime .
Moving rock in the tank will cause a mini cycle even if the rock has been cured ,simply becauase some organizims will die because of being moved to dark side & some have been moved out of cryptic zone .
In case of ceramics there is no live matter on them to die so simply this will not be the case.
If you click on the reefceramic site they have discussed this in detail in german ,online translator will give you an idea what they are talking about.
I appologize for not being clear & I hope this helps ,if you have any more questions ,please let me know
Regards
Proline

[support@proline]

Last thing Steve
You are right over time it will have nutrient build up same as any Live rock will have in a tank .
Regards

[andrewsk]

Can we get some pics posted of the rocks so that we know what to order from Albert?

[albert_dao]

If you exported a bunch of Chaeto from another refugium, you'd be in good shape.

On that note, sometimes I see people putting more work into getting a pod population going than they do into making a tank that they're proud to look at. Personally, I think the role of microcrustaceans is largely overrated. Unless you're trying to keep a Mandarin or similar fish alive, your time is better spent watching paint dry. Just my opinion of the whole pod thing though. :P

[Quagmire]

My Hawk likes pods,but ya I have lots in my sump.