What’s up with SPS

[eea60123]

Is it just me or has the prices of corals gotten a little ridiculous? People take pictures under the brightest blue lights so that it will fluoresce and name it divorce papers and sell a 1/2” frag that you can’t see for $300. Do people buy it because they think $300 makes it special, or is it because the picture shows how great it can look for a 2 hour cycle in your tank? I honestly don’t bother shopping for corals here because of this.

 

[CivicS14]

That’s not just here, its across the board. Local sellers do the same thing. Sad part is if you post realistic pictures with whites on, people don’t buy it. It’s as if the average hobbyist these days prefer the unrealistic overly saturated pics.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Is it just me or has the prices of corals gotten a little ridiculous? People take pictures under the brightest blue lights so that it will fluoresce and name it divorce papers and sell a 1/2” frag that you can’t see for $300. Do people buy it because they think $300 makes it special, or is it because the picture shows how great it can look for a 2 hour cycle in your tank? I honestly don’t bother shopping for corals here because of this.

My personal opinion is that corals look great flouresing under blues as well as under white lighting. There's a lot of time and money invested in bringing in corals, I watched a video from Macna last night about costs associated with corals and fish. I use radions over my tanks and run a modified ab+ schedule similar to WWC. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

 

[CivicS14]

Also, I guess some hobbyist do keep their tank mainly blues, so I guess if that’s how you have your tank, then I guess the pics in all blues makes sense.

Myself, I prefer the crisper white lighting.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

My personal opinion is that corals look great flouresing under blues as well as under white lighting. There's a lot of time and money invested in bringing in corals, I watched a video from Macna last night about costs associated with corals and fish. I use radions over my tanks and run a modified ab+ schedule similar to WWC. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Couple of pics from my local clubs frag show in white and then my tank under blues, I like the blues better, lol.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

In the second picture you can see tyree flower petals Monti under whites (halide) and here it is under radions.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

I ramp up in whites and down in blues. Fish show during the day, coral show at night!

 

[eea60123]

My local store cranks up his blues to 100% because it makes them pop. He said no one would buy them if he didn’t because they don’t look as good.

 

[TinyTinCans]

I also prefer a slightly less blue tank, and as I am returning from my reef sabbatical prices have become astronomical. I miss the days where torches, frog spawns and hammers where $5 bucks a head. I’m all for someone turning a profit but you can’t tell me the cost to produce a gold tipped torch is several hundred dollars. Anyway not to rant I just wanted to share austinaquafarms.com they seem to be bucking the system.

Check this site out, they seem to use less blue light and I think his prices are reasonable.

Austin Aqua Farms: Buy Coral Online | Live Coral Store

Saltwater Coral store located in Austin, Texas. Our selection includes corals, anemones, clams, and more.

www.austinaquafarms.com

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I don’t like the all blue look either but I can’t stand a brown/yellow looking tank (that’s what more white looks like to me). When y’all say more white are y’all talking about closer to 20k or closer to 10k?

If you don’t want to spend $300 on a designer frag (which you can grow, frag and resale or trade), then don’t spend $300 on a designer frag. It’s that simple.

 

[A. grandis]

Unfortunately threads like this won't change the course of the hobby. I wish! The tendency is to get worse. If that is what this generation wants, that is what it's gonna be. Blue supersaturated pics on web sites and blue LEDs in stores! The majority likes the new style on the market. The mid 90s was the best time of what I can remember. People use to exchange frags and friends were made that way. They use to travel just to meet guys and exchange corals. Tanks actually reflected what a reef would look like in nature. Good old times.

 

[SeaDweller]

Did you just jump back in? Prices have been like this for the past couple-few years, and the difficulties with importing any pieces from Indonesia haven’t made it better. Nows the time to make a lot of good friends in the hobby, cuz demand is high and supply is ultra low (nutrient).

 

[TinyTinCans]

Here is another active post right now that is talking about the same thing.

Are we ruining the hobby???

I've been a marine aquarium hobbyist since 1965. Actually, we did quite well back then at keeping all types of fish, inverts, anemones, etc. I had many tanks and worked at Marine World in the Chicago area. Tanks were beautiful, basic, and most fish lived well. Myself and friends had all sorts of...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[myinvalidname]

I understand the move toward more blue - higher color temp - but we also have to remember that CCDs used in all modern cameras are more sensitive to the blue part of the spectrum. I’ve seen tanks running 15-20K, which to me is a nice compromise, but the pictures taken have the appearance of more blue than in person.

 

[Bob Weigant]

I generally only buy from locals I know and have met. I have met some very cool reefers and have been able to get more than a finger nail size frag. Only on a few occasions have I gotten a small frag and even then it was told to me before hooked up

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Unfortunately threads like this won't change the course of the hobby. I wish! The tendency is to get worse. If that is what this generation wants, that is what it's gonna be. Blue supersaturated pics on web sites and blue LEDs in stores! The majority likes the new style on the market. The mid 90s was the best time of what I can remember. People use to exchange frags and friends were made that way. They use to travel just to meet guys and exchange corals. Tanks actually reflected what a reef would look like in nature. Good old times.

This still happens all the time. I've met so many people along the way that have become life long friends. I also run a very white per say anemone tank, it's just that corals tend to look amazing under blues.

 

[BeejReef]

I can deal with the blues, it's the extreme zoom in that aggravates me... particularly with zoas. I see the coloration. I love it. I bid more than I really cared to, given that I'm not a zoa nut. Then the individual polyps are miniscule. If it's more than 6" away from the front glass, you can't even see it :mad:. Lived and learned.

 

[ReefHomieJon]

My local store cranks up his blues to 100% because it makes them pop. He said no one would buy them if he didn’t because they don’t look as good.

Exactly lol

 

[ReefHomieJon]

This still happens all the time. I've met so many people along the way that have become life long friends. I also run a very white per say anemone tank, it's just that corals tend to look amazing under blues.

I don’t see the problem. We found out that corals have a secret power and that’s to look extra magnificent under blues lol can’t be mad at the corals for having a secret power that is no longer secret. And can’t be mad at people for loving it