Artificial reef and corals?

daniella3d · #1 01-02-2013, 03:41 PM

I do have a few artificial sponges because it is nearly impossible to keep those alive in the aquarium, so I get them fake.

They will need regular cleaning and brushing, like once a month or more if your system does not generate too much algae and if they are in a shaded area.

I think that fake corals look very fake, but artificial sponges look quite convincing. Everybody who come to my place, every single person, have always thought they were real.

Both orange sponges here are artificial. It is easy to get them for quite cheap on ebay, just do a search for artificial sponge coral.

Reef_Geek · #2 01-02-2013, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

I do have a few artificial sponges because it is nearly impossible to keep those alive in the aquarium, so I get them fake.

As I'm sure mrhasan can tell you, those real miniature ruins are pretty near impossible to grow as well, that's why he goes with a fake one

cchomistek · #3 01-02-2013, 05:17 PM

One of my main concerns with watching these shows is it gives the unrealistic expecation to people that watch the show that you can set up a tank and put in 20 large fish or more and they will survive and be healthy. Also the types of fish they add in the tanks is ridiculous!! I'd say they are a joke aswell as they don't seem to care about the health of their livestock after the fact. My favorite part was when they were building the large reef tank and trying to convince the guy to go fish only because it was going to be soooo difficult to maintain!! The guy lived in Miami and already had a 150gal full reef tank and they thought he didn't know anything. I guarantee he knew more about coral and reefs then the guys on the show!! It was pretty pathetic to be honest. These guys just want to build big fish only tanks and have no idea what a full reef tank should look like!! Also them trying to place corals on top of the rocks with tongs was really funny to watch. We all know how well corals just stay once placed somewhere without using putty or something like that!!

Reef_Geek · #4 01-02-2013, 05:34 PM

I like to grow Easter island heads and fabric plants

kien · #5 01-02-2013, 05:58 PM

I have lots of bright fake corals in my son's fresh water tank. He absolutely loves them because they look cool to him and in the end that's all that really matters.

mrhasan · #6 01-02-2013, 06:41 PM

There are people who have way too much money and want something which looks awesome but with least maintenance. And for them, FOWLR with fake corals exists along with ATM. And if they ripoffs and have bad reputation (like overstocking leading to dead fishes), people wouldn't be going back to them for business; as simple as that. These are millionaires and billionaires and if ATM messed with them, they would have more lawsuits than apple-samsung patent war.

Reef_Geek · #7 01-02-2013, 07:07 PM

There's also what's feasible.

This is a photo of the 27 foot deep main display at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, where I used to volunteer as a diver/algae scrubber.

There's no feasible way to have a real reef. Think of the lighting, skimming, and labour intensity required, as well as fish disease management... if it were real corals. Just not feasible. Public zoo and aquarium standard practices is to use fabricated displays. There are a few large live coral reefs as well, but those are very ambitious and rare exceptions. I saw this one at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta (the one with whale sharks), kudos for accomplishing this display, but it's rare to see the really big tanks go with live corals.

more details on what's involved in this live reef display: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-03/feature/index.php

daniella3d · #8 01-03-2013, 02:56 AM

yeah, but those ruins are ugly, sponges are still pretty.

I surely would not put that in my tank. yuck

but hey...it's only a matter of personnal taste.

I love sponges, real or artificial.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

As I'm sure mrhasan can tell you, those real miniature ruins are pretty near impossible to grow as well, that's why he goes with a fake one

btymens · #9 01-03-2013, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

yeah, but those ruins are ugly, sponges are still pretty.

I surely would not put that in my tank. yuck

but hey...it's only a matter of personnal taste.

I love sponges, real or artificial.

Wow, who knew that I would have gotten so many respones from this thread that I started..What I would like to know is the cost of this tanks these guys do after their installations and also I was also curious about their "pre-boxed" saltwater that they use. How you guys ever seen that or even heard about that?

Madreefer · #10 01-03-2013, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniella3d

yeah, but those ruins are ugly, sponges are still pretty.

I surely would not put that in my tank. yuck

but hey...it's only a matter of personnal taste.

I love sponges, real or artificial.

wow!! And people say i'm ignorant. Maybe he likes those ruins. It's a good thing your on my ignore list as I only see your posts when i'm logged off.