Amazing Artificial Coral
- Thread starter goldmullet
- Start date
matt randazzo
New member
OMG yeah it is amazing.. Wow thats a big tank too, hope the triggers and lions get along...
goldmullet
New member
Ya insane looking huh? Have you ever seen other artificial coral like those?
SushiGirl
Premium Member
http://www.liveaquaria.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=171
Just bear in mind stuff will grow on it, so it won't stay looking like that without cleaning.
Just bear in mind stuff will grow on it, so it won't stay looking like that without cleaning.
I have this same stuff very expensive but here is the link I have never had to pull it out to clean it still looks good and I have had it for 10 years now. The newer stuff is supposably made much better and doesn't loose it's color at all. The only thing that I have noticed on mine is that it's not as bright as when I first got it, but I called and they have a product that I can clean it with that will bring it back to new. I was told that the pores do get stuff clogged into them but they still look amazing. Here is the link these are the best by far and I did my research before spending the money, but be warned they are in the thousands, there are cheaper ones but I have had friends get them and they hated them.
http://www.livingcolor.com/
http://www.livingcolor.com/
psilentchild
New member
I myself was looking into getting a couple of years ago.I never did order any but this is the web site I was looking at.Livingcolor looks a little bit better
http://www.instantreef.com/
http://www.instantreef.com/
goldmullet
New member
ABDF do you pictures of your tank with the living color corals inside it? Would live to see it. Ya I have heard mixed reviews on the algea growth on them
But most people who have them seem to say there pretty easy to maintain.
But most people who have them seem to say there pretty easy to maintain.
flyhigh123
funky member
i used to clean a tank that i purchased really nice fake corals for. only bad thing is once every so often, i would need to pull it out and really scrub it down. Then i would soak them in bleach for a day and rinse very well....
here is a pic of mine but remember they haven't been cleaned since I got them about 10 years ago at least. they still look really good though but I am in the process of pulling them out soon and cleaning them up with their solution they told me about. I did the plug and play portion of living color so i put what I wanted on the bases. When I first got mine they were new to the business so not many options at all, but now your options are endless. The stuff you posted up are all custom made and are double what I paid at least $10,000 + i'm sure from what I have heard now a days, but that depends on what you build. They usually build those and place them into your tank before it's done being built. Go to their website and look at everything you can also call them they are very helpful. If you have any other questions feel free to ask, I hope this helps. I believe mine cost me about $3,000 10+ years ago
the new tank
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC00007.jpg
my old system
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC01039.jpg
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC01038.jpg
the new tank
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC00007.jpg
my old system
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC01039.jpg
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/arcg/DSC01038.jpg
barbianj
New member
I like the look of yours better than the overly bright new ones. I can appreciate using artificial coral in a FOWLR, but the super bright colors don't look very realistic to me, but that's just my opinion.
Thank you and yes I agree the super bright stuff doesn't look as realistic
goldmullet
New member
Thanks so much for the pictures. Yours looks great. I agree the bright ones arent realistic but it looks like a piece of art.
Ya, I think Living Color makes the best artificial corals around. They make artificial coral reefs for public aquariums and zoos and have some very realistic looking stuff http://www.livingcolor.com/aquariums/commercial-public-aquariums
Chuck H.
Member
My wife just ordered an Instant Reef insert for me, for my 65 Undy tank:
http://www.instantreef.com/Saltwate...m-Artificial-Coral-Reef-Tank-Insert-R045.aspx
I'm tired of just live rock covered with algae (I realize anything can be covered in algae, but that's another issue) in there with him. I'll post some pics, before and after, once I get it all set-up next weekend. I also purchased about 50 lbs of BRS reef saver dry rock to provide for increased biological filtration and perhaps a base for the fake reef if I need to raise it up a bit.
Chuck
http://www.instantreef.com/Saltwate...m-Artificial-Coral-Reef-Tank-Insert-R045.aspx
I'm tired of just live rock covered with algae (I realize anything can be covered in algae, but that's another issue) in there with him. I'll post some pics, before and after, once I get it all set-up next weekend. I also purchased about 50 lbs of BRS reef saver dry rock to provide for increased biological filtration and perhaps a base for the fake reef if I need to raise it up a bit.
Chuck
I ordered a set up from livingcolor which should arrive early August for my 155 bow front. I actually took a trip to Fl and went to their factory showroom in Ft Lauderdale. I'm getting 2 overflow covers, a 36" free standing display for the center of the tank, a small eel cave and a stand alone brain along with 5 or 6 plugs of eel grass. The whole thing ran me $2500 delivered. I'll post pics once I get it set up. They sell a cleaning/preventative solution which is added to the tank water and doesn't harm the fish. It's some type of concentrated sodium peroxide solution. They also recommend that you brush it with a vegetable type brush on a regular basis. I hope that if I use GFO to keep the algae down along with heavy flow using Vortech MP40's will help keep it clean. Time will tell. This stuff is way different from the cast concrete type fake corals which I think tend to be very pourous and therefore hold the dirt and algae more.
Jfannin
New member
I know this is an old thread but would love to see the tanks that never got posted. I got out or the reef tank and just ha e my fish and LR but was strongly considering a fake reef though. If not this them I will soon be getting out. Love my fish but hate just plane old LR.
Thanks
Thanks
I've had my reef insert from Living Color for over 2 years and have no regrets. Eventually they do get some algae on them but I've discovered that instead of using their Aqua Maid cleaning solution I use 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide about 6 oz added directly to the tank with no ill effects and it really cleans things up. I use it about every 3 weeks. Aqua Maid is only available through dealers of which I couldn't find one in my area. I bought the food grade over the internet (www.purehealthdiscounts.com) for about 1/4 the price. Even though the insert is expensive when you consider the cost of LR along with cost of corals etc it becomes much more affordable. I use a wet dry filter with pond matrix instead of bio balls that have more surface area in comparison. No special lighting is needed so I use TrueLumen Pro Series LED striplights by Current. Low heat and I've been running them from day one and they're still going. As far as the colors being too bright I would agree that they do look bright and thus somewhat fake but I've found that in time as they start to pick up some algae that they actually look better with age and even after cleaning with the solution it still retains a more realistic look. Hope this helps.
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Zoodiver
As seen on TV
The trick is to keep it clean from the start. Once it gets away from you, it's hard to get them cleaned back to the original look. Get into a regular routine for scrubbing down. I have several LC coral inserts to keep up with. They hold color very well, and I use several different types of brushes on them (different shapes and bristle stiffness) to get all the details clean every week.
