Don't shoot me for asking this (possibly condescending) question...

[proxy001]

I think the big light guys agree here. Namely the radion programs like AB+ on the pro are not overly fluorescent. (The LPS program is very much). They even say on the AB+, with one hour of high fluorescence at the end of the day...
Anyway... the other thing is that many consider white light harmful to corals so they run only blues...

 

[Doctorgori]

As an avid scuba diver, and someone who has pined for a reef tank for a long time, why is it that so many setups seem to look so.... fake? Day-glo corals and purple hues just make everything seem unrealistic. I'm sure that there are plenty of reefers who have tanks dedicated to keeping reef critters typical of particular underwater ecosystems, i.e. the Caribbean, but it seems all the tanks I come across on the web look like they came out of a cheesy, black light illuminated theme park ride and not the ocean. How do I create a reef environment that looks like a... reef environment?

Flame suit on!

Sounds like you regurgitated some of my older post here. I’m sure I got a 50% ignor rate <LOL>
But yes; the green and purple color mix over a gravity defying cliff and acres of clean white sand under a windex colored sky....oh my ...
but sincerely: let no one define your hobby for you. IMO its all TOTM driven: no more ole school “wall-o-rock” So yes “fake” is all status quo.

Then one day I got converted and my next tank will indeed look like a 70’s black light poster.
Since I lost all my microfauna I have no incentive for a old school reef wall
....fake is popular but a lot easier and often very eye catching

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

As an avid scuba diver, and someone who has pined for a reef tank for a long time, why is it that so many setups seem to look so.... fake? Day-glo corals and purple hues just make everything seem unrealistic. I'm sure that there are plenty of reefers who have tanks dedicated to keeping reef critters typical of particular underwater ecosystems, i.e. the Caribbean, but it seems all the tanks I come across on the web look like they came out of a cheesy, black light illuminated theme park ride and not the ocean. How do I create a reef environment that looks like a... reef environment?

Flame suit on!

BANG! You, that’s the sound of a gun being fired! Lol

Condescending? I didn’t really take it that way, but... come on. What you like should not be projected onto the world... what you do not like is NOT A mistake by others... seriously? I took your post as being very close minded. This is a pluralistic society.... meaning.... more than one idea is okay.

Im fairly certain most of us did not get out of bed this morning to put a smile on your face... right? You go diving a lot.... and?

 

[blasterman]

Just a tech note but you can fiddle with light settings all you want and you won't match the spectrum of the sun with an LED reef light.

Cool white LEDs on reef tanks are just a blue with a smidge of green and a lesser amount of orangish red. There are massive chunks of spectrum missing. The only light source for reef tanks that can match what you see in clear water on a shallow dive is plasma sulfur. Those were popular for like 15 minutes.

I've known some reef guys that run 10k halides and those were kinda in the ball park of snorkeling along a reef. Still, halides and tubes miss big chunks of the suns spectrum that accentuate corals in the wild.

 

[PatW]

I am an avid diver and an underwater photographer. I dive the Caribbean and in the right places it has great corals. Unfortunately, all of the Caribbean hard corals are protected. You can get Caribbean Gorgonians. They are great and they are photosynthetic to boot. Now, with hard corals, you can approximate the look of a Caribbean reef by careful selection.

I agree, many tanks are over the top with colors but that is the high blue light thing. You can go with more whites and more subdued colors and get a pretty good look.

The main thing is careful selection. One thing is I don’t think I will ever get a tank big enough for a hawksbill turtle but then again, they aren’t reef safe.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

As an avid scuba diver, and someone who has pined for a reef tank for a long time, why is it that so many setups seem to look so.... fake? Day-glo corals and purple hues just make everything seem unrealistic. I'm sure that there are plenty of reefers who have tanks dedicated to keeping reef critters typical of particular underwater ecosystems, i.e. the Caribbean, but it seems all the tanks I come across on the web look like they came out of a cheesy, black light illuminated theme park ride and not the ocean. How do I create a reef environment that looks like a... reef environment?

Flame suit on!

What you don't like Windex bruh?

My Grecian ancestors are ashamed.

 

[Streetcred]

With you Hammet. This is my 500g with a 14k spectrum. 10k is also natural looking but 6.5k (daylight) is a little too washed out.

 

[dtruitt]

I think the proportions of the average reef tank play into this. Even a "large" reef tank doesn't really offer that much space. The massive structures you see diving dont scale down well. You'd be talking about one large colony of a single species / morph which would look like a greenish grey blob at typical viewing distances.

Those textures you see when you dive are more impressive because of how expansive they are. A home reef tank will derive more interest and visual appeal from some variety than large homogenous structures. The brighter color morphs make different specimens more visually distinct and draw the eye throughout the tank more easily.

Also worth noting that most reef tanks will see much, much greater variety in flow and light in a given space than that same volume in the ocean. Artificial lights don't tend to have the spread and the penetrating power of the sun. Wave makers can't accurately replicate actual waves. So you typically need different specimens from very different parts of the reef to fill it out. See above for how color affects this.

 

[Raideress]

As an avid scuba diver, and someone who has pined for a reef tank for a long time, why is it that so many setups seem to look so.... fake? Day-glo corals and purple hues just make everything seem unrealistic. I'm sure that there are plenty of reefers who have tanks dedicated to keeping reef critters typical of particular underwater ecosystems, i.e. the Caribbean, but it seems all the tanks I come across on the web look like they came out of a cheesy, black light illuminated theme park ride and not the ocean. How do I create a reef environment that looks like a... reef environment?

Flame suit on!

i have a question what about areas where reefs are very shallow etc? are some reefs colourful, maybe not luminescent? i have no idea

 

[JCTReefer]

To each their own! Do what makes you happy.You would absolutely hate my tank. Lol! I’m a sucker for color! Like a scene from Avatar. My next tank will be the same. Corals unnaturally and strategically placed by color, texture and compatibility. If I could only keep my dang RF anemones in place. They keep screwing up my painters pallet. No it’s not always this blueJust like my skittles fix in the evening Think I’ll start calling it Windex time with my reef.

 

[ycnibrc]

I like natural white light from Orphek not too much blue but still show contrast

 

[Ardeus]

Your 1st post only barely scratched the surface of ugliness that covers our tanks, lighting is just the tip of the iceberg.

I tried to create a video with the top 10 most beautiful tanks on youtube and after watching hundreds of tanks, I had not only to reduce it to a top 7 and make an even larger reduction in my standards.

Like @dtruitt mentioned, proportion also plays a big part. To achieve a more natural look we must put really tiny fish in our tanks, like freshwater aquascapers do. Huge coral colonies, less diversity and small fish.

The fact that we are collectors makes it even harder to create an harmonious looking tank.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are universal beauty rules. Who doesn't like a tank that looks miles deep?

It took many years for freshwater aquascapers to reach their current levels and reef aquascaping is a much more complex subject, so I don't think we will ever see it taken to the next level.

 

[Jilly92]

As an avid scuba diver, and someone who has pined for a reef tank for a long time, why is it that so many setups seem to look so.... fake? Day-glo corals and purple hues just make everything seem unrealistic. I'm sure that there are plenty of reefers who have tanks dedicated to keeping reef critters typical of particular underwater ecosystems, i.e. the Caribbean, but it seems all the tanks I come across on the web look like they came out of a cheesy, black light illuminated theme park ride and not the ocean. How do I create a reef environment that looks like a... reef environment?

Flame suit on!

I'm not sure. But everyone tells me lighting is everything and I'm just jumping on that train lol. I have seen a coral in 5 different personal lighting situations and I can say they do look completely different under different scenarios. Just my opinion on the topic. Also I'm new, so.. that probably doesn't credit much

 

[2BeAlive]

Maybe you are diving in the wrong places? ;Facepalm

TIC (tongue in cheek) ;Playful

 

[Fourstars]

It’s a Kodachrome world, get with the program cool thing is with the right lighting setup you can schedule it all.

 

[LesPoissons]

We all have our own desires for our tanks. I personally hate fish tanks with fake ornaments, fake grasses, fake corals, etc. But those are cheap, available, and an aesthetic many people like- esp people with kids and/or on a budget. There’s now a fake octopus in my 220g reef tank bc... kids. Lol. Set up your tank however it makes you happy to see it. The options are only limited by budget and your imagination

 

[JCTReefer]

Your 1st post only barely scratched the surface of ugliness that covers our tanks, lighting is just the tip of the iceberg.

I tried to create a video with the top 10 most beautiful tanks on youtube and after watching hundreds of tanks, I had not only to reduce it to a top 7 and make an even larger reduction in my standards.

Like @dtruitt mentioned, proportion also plays a big part. To achieve a more natural look we must put really tiny fish in our tanks, like freshwater aquascapers do. Huge coral colonies, less diversity and small fish.

The fact that we are collectors makes it even harder to create an harmonious looking tank.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are universal beauty rules. Who doesn't like a tank that looks miles deep?

It took many years for freshwater aquascapers to reach their current levels and reef aquascaping is a much more complex subject, so I don't think we will ever see it taken to the next level.

Ardeus, you should post a pic of your tank. I think this is the type setup the OP is going for. Or post a link to your YouTube video!

 

[fcmatt]

I have not researched it fully but these fresh water master pieces... give me the feeling most of the pics we see are staged, prepped, and almost made on demand for show casing. Long term to these aquascape people can be like 6 months to a year or two max. Read the forums to see what I mean. I am sure there are exceptions to this but that is my basic understanding. People set them up and are proud to call it long term at the 1 year mark. Most never get past 8 months when one type of plant dominate and the rest melt away.

It truly is a diff hobby. Long term to a reef tank is probably 5 to 10 years. It does not even fully mature until almost 2 years...

 

[92Miata]

If you want to see colors similar to what we have in our tanks, you need to dive where the corals are from. They’re not coming from the Caribbean, Mexico or Hawaii. They’re coming from Australia, Fiji, Indonesia. Dive there and you’ll see some spectacular colorful corals. You obviously won’t get the crazy fluorescence we can create in our tanks, but you’ll see lots of colors and types of corals.

Fiji, Indonesia, etc, aren't running just royal blues. It's still pretty daylight-y 30 feet down.

 

[Patientman]

That's why they make chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, strawberry and a gazillion other flavors! Everyone has their own favorite. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder … and as long as the fish and corals can thrive under the man-made par … it's all good!