Need ideas for a centerpiece Acro $200 or less

[RyanHoan]

I like super furry, bright Acros

Rainbow milli
Smurfette milli

Millis!

 

[army446909]

I think a properly colored tenuis under daylight looks even more phenomenal under blues...
that said...
1) confetti
2) JF HW
3) RR UOP
4) SCOP
5) old school SSC

Translation please? New to the designer coral scene lol

 

[SeaDweller]

Translation please? New to the designer coral scene lol

1. vivid confetti
2. jason fox homewrecker
3. reef raft ultimate orange passion
4. sexy corals orange passion
5. strawberry shortcake acro

 

[Oberst Oswald]

Love my centerpeice... a size of a basketball Bali Green Slimer. I admit the absolute lowest on the list of the snob elite but it just looks great surrounded by the others.

 

[army446909]

1. vivid confetti
2. jason fox homewrecker
3. reef raft ultimate orange passion
4. sexy corals orange passion
5. strawberry shortcake acro

Thanks I just look all of them up and they are gorgeous!!!

 

[jsvand5]

Definitely Vivids confetti. Actually looks nice under white lights. People unfamiliar with SPS won’t even notice the expensive Tenuis next to a confetti.

This is about the most realistic pic I found on google

 

[Flatlandreefer]

How big of a tank? One of my favorite is Sam Parker’s green slimer from Parker’s reef. Nothing fancy but he let it grow out to a giant colony and I can’t think of anything that is a better true show stopper center piece than that. Anybody would notice it right away. Seems to me for a center piece what really sticks out is solid bright colors as opposed to nuanced rainbow colors that only true hobbyists appreciate at first glance.

 

[BradB]

Large colonies are impressive. The biggest criticism of an Acropora tank is nothing moves. Very expensive pencil eraser sized corals are not impressive.

 

[Big E]

Confetti
ASD Rainbow Milli
Red Planet
Paletta pink tip

All the above grow fast enough and are very impressive large.........you will have to frag them.

Oregon Tort for sure, but do you want to wait that long?

Any large vivid colored coral will be impressive......size is important for it to stand out.

 

[ReefBum]

We need more pics in this thread

I prefer to feature solid colored corals in my tanks. The Oregon Blue Tort is my favorite but I also like other, and cheap, classic alternatives like the Tyree Red Dragon, Cali Tort and ORA Hawkins.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Could go no name,

Acropora aculeus
Under white just has less color but never looks brown. There is a reflection of blue, from my tank but is mainly provided by the lighting of the room. Which are Warm white.

 

[psychobilly07]

Any blue tenius will look great as a centerpiece just try not to pay for some crap made up name that adds an extra 0 to the price

 

[McPuff]

I agree with a lot of the ideas listed here and I love that most of these are "classics" so to speak.

Oregon tort - can't find another coral that is more BLUE! This would be a standout for sure. Another super blue one you might consider is Milka Stylo. This glows blue, grows quick, and is very fuzzy so it actually MOVES a bit. Really eye catching. People notice this one every time!

Red Dragon - not a super fast grower but if you're able to keep it happy then it'll be a great centerpiece. With a lot of flow, it'll also get nice and dense!

Green slimer! Many people don't view this as a must-have but it was always one that I needed to have. I've got two type of green slimer, a yellow slimer, and a purple slimer. The greens are well over a foot wide and tall and look amazing... getting very thick too. Also have a huge crayola stag which is just as big. I guess these are the centerpieces? I haven't thought of it that way.

I've got a few of the "designer" corals such as Pink Floyd (gets a LOT of comments), two types of Walt Disney, pink cadillac, etc. But I think that many of my favorites are those "OG" corals as were mentioned earlier: strawberry shortcake, red planet, pink lemonade, Oregon tort, Cali tort, PC rainbow, etc. You definitely don't need to spend $200 on a centerpiece to find something you'll really be happy about. Enjoy the search and don't be afraid to change your mind!

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Any staghorn is a good bet for a centerpiece. A large colony grown well that has nice even formation of branches will catch anyone’s eye very quick no matter what it is.

 

[Reefer40b]

I would say

Hawkins echinata, very eye catching growth pattern with great color.
More Bushy I would say either a Pink Lemonade or OG shortcake both have amazing color and Seadweller describes this perfectly!
For big branch an OG slimmer, they are just stunning when huge and super bright.

 

[Bryce M.]

I love the hawkens

 

[jda]

I cannot believe that I forgot to mention ORA Pearlberry.

 

[BantyRooster97]

The 3 pieces I have right in the middle of my tank (all frags) are:
Diabolic Pacman
Vivid Confetti
ORA Pealberry

Second row
JF Fox Flame
SC OP
HW

The firsy 3 pop no matter what the color (so does the fox flame)
SCOP & HW really op when it is just blue in the morning & evening as the lights ramp down.

What lights do you use? That makes a big difference as well.

 

[Triggreef]

Snipers blue grows fast and has a nice open branching pattern. Look really good as they grow big. Also will our grow what you already have to make it be an actually center piece.

 

[Triggreef]

I cannot believe that I forgot to mention ORA Pearlberry.

My favorite but can never get it to stay long term in my tank. Grows well for a few months and poof.