Artificial corals for FOWLR

eddtango · #1 09-10-2006, 05:10 AM

I plan to set up a FOWLR tank and want a reef look but I don't really want to deal with live corals. Does anybody know where I can buy those Artificial corals?

littlesilvermax · #2 09-10-2006, 05:36 AM

That was my thinking exactly about 4 years ago. I bought quite a few real nice fake corals, they all looked good for about a week and then started to get covered in algea, it was a royal PITA to keep them looking nice.

In the end I found that I just slowly evolved into a real reef, a lot of work at first and considerable cash outlay, but my 250 SPS tank right now is far easier to care for then my 90 FOWLR.

Not trying to put a downer on this discussion.

I got mine from mops, but the company that made them no longer does, so I doubt that Dan would be able to get anymore, seeing that 4 years ago was the end.

Johnny Reefer · #3 09-10-2006, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlesilvermax

.... they all looked good for about a week and then started to get covered in algea, it was a royal PITA to keep them looking nice.

I considered it too when I set up my FOWLR 10 months ago, but decided against it in the end for this very reason. I foresaw it coming and decided to save some cash.
Like the guy with the accent says..."Save your money".

(ING Reference).

Cheers,

eddtango · #4 09-10-2006, 06:26 AM

Well, I can always set it up with just live rocks. I'll just try to arrange the rocks so it will look like a reef. Thanks for your thoughts.

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #5 09-10-2006, 07:15 AM

Check out ebay for artificial corals.

spikehs · #6 09-21-2006, 05:48 PM

Check these one out... look like they are good quality, and cheap.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...e=Naturesimage

Flusher · #7 09-21-2006, 06:08 PM

I've got a FOWLR mantis shrimp nano tank. I put aipstasia in it, and it looks pretty good. The aipstasia helps keep the water clean, too. I've heard that mojano anemones are similar (another tank nuisance), but they look a lot nicer.

Feather dusters and macro algaes could also help give you a reef look without having to worry about corals. These also help to filter the water.
________
Double penetrated

Quagmire · #8 09-22-2006, 12:07 AM

Depending on the fish you plan on haveing,you could also put in some Zoas.Most will adapt to lower light higher No3 of a FOWLR tank,and they are easy to maintain.

Raf · #9 09-27-2006, 06:24 AM

You can go with Living Sea coral inserts, Big Al's sells them and they ARE expensive. Just make sure you use less light over them as they will get covered in algae and scrubing them is no easy chore.

I have recently set-up a tank for a client the uses a mix of both living sea inserts and live rock. IMO, this works better as the liverock contributes to the overall health of the tank and outcompetes most of the algae for nutrients as it is also covered with macroalgae. Therefore the fake coral looks better, longer.

Another option is to use liverock and throw in a few seafans and such as I did in our 110gallon:

http://www.riftnreef.com/110gal.html

HTH