How do you get your tanks so beautiful?

SteveMM62Reef · Mar 14, 2021

Where are you at in Virginia? I have an overgrowth and looking to get rid of some beginner Corals. Need to wait at least six months though. Also I can help seed your tank with some substrate from my tank. One thing you will absolutely need is a RO/DI water system. BTW, the RO/DI at my Grocery, was at best a Con Job. BTW I do not like to ship!

G Santana · Mar 14, 2021

There is no secret

Terry Le · Mar 16, 2021

Time and patience a lot of work. Nothing going to happen overnight. Dont go all gunho at the beginning and give up at first problem arrived. Enjoy and learn watch your reef mature

rwreef · Mar 16, 2021

As many others have said and you may not want to hear, time, consistency and patience is all it takes. There is no magic sauce, happy reefing!

SaltISlife · Mar 17, 2021

I leep mine looking so beautiful by using T5s not LEDS. ( i hate leds) and just keeping thr nitrates at 20-40ppm or lower. Keeping alk between 8-9 magnesium at 1350.. calcium 440.

And thats about it. I use tap water and hang on back filters. Everything else just works for me. Also i buy colonies now. I dont buy frags anymore.. they are a huge waste of money. Id rather spend 100-300$ on a nice lps colony.. than spend 100-300$ on a pinky sized frag of something with a fancy name. I used to do that.. but not anymore. In fact i wish i could sell my frags taking up room on my rocks and replace then with colonies..

Hermie · Mar 17, 2021

I think you have a really good perspective on reefing.

You can set up a really great looking tank with a bunch of colonies, but how long will that last? If you don't have the knowledge about tank maintenance and requirements then they will eventually die off and have a tank crash.

So... an experienced reefer can take a lot of big colonies and make a beautiful tank that thrives, but the experience has to come from somewhere. Either they worked their way towards that through trial and error or did a lot of reading or have money to pay someone else to take care of the tank.

Auquanut · Mar 17, 2021

So, the question being: All variables aside, do I achieve a beautiful tank by adding frags or colonies?

Here's my completely unqualified opinion. I would start with a couple of frags. See how they do. If all is well, splurge and add a colony or two (depending on the size of the tank) of something hearty like a duncan or hammer to the sand bed where it won't take over the rockwork and slowly start adding more frags. If you can maintain stable parameters, you'll be surprised how quickly the frags grow. Having that one or two colonies will give the tank some visual appeal as the frags grow into the beautiful display you're dreaming of.

To be honest, the greatest pleasure for me is watching those little pieces of color develop into a real life coral reef.