Help Needed...

[Francois]

Hello all,

I am thinking about creating a 55 gallon FO tank, and I used to was it with Live Rock (either DIY or bought from store), but I realized that if I was not going to upgrade to a reef tank later, the live rock would not make the tank look as nice as other decorations...

So here it is, I have decided to buy fake decorations, and I am particularly interested in FAKE CORALS!!!!
They are a bit pricey, but, they are definitely worth it. I have a few questions...
What companies and make/sell them, could you post the URL?
I've heard of Walt Smith, Nature's Image or w/e, but are there others.

Also, I am thinking to blend some base rock with it, do you guys think it would look nice?
How much fake coral should I buy for a 55 gallon? I want some open water, but I also want the tank to look very very nice. so what's your opinion guys? I now it's rly up to me, but I rly like to have other's people opinion as far as my tastes go.

And finally, whoever that reads this thread and who occurs to own a tank with fake coral in it, would you mind posting pictures of it on this thread, I really need ideas, yeah I know, creativity is definitely not my strength...

Anyways,
Thanks for reading this thread, and thanks even more for answering it!!!

-Francois

[leebca]

It all depends on what looks good to you. Even the best still looks fake. Do an Internet search and your hits will be many thousands. But honestly, after a year in an aquarium they get covered by algae, etc. and don't really stand out like they did when first put in.

Maintenance is a bit more than for live rock for instance, to keep it looking good, you should take it out and clean it routinely (every few months).

[Francois]

Yeah, I plan on cleaning them a lot, do you happen to have any pictures of them in tanks? I actually like their look even though they look fake...
Sorry for posting the thread twice, I did a wrong moved and added a new thread instead of changing its title...

Do you know any websites that sell them? I know of a few, but, I want the opinion from an experienced person!

[gregr]

I'm pretty sure the company that sells fake coral under Walt Smith's name is not owned by Walt Smith any more. The way I heard it is someone found out Walt didn't have a patent for his fake coral designs and got their own patent, then sued Walt and put him out of the fake coral business. Nice...

[Francois]

Hey, so I just bought my fake coral, but I need to clean it, and need your help... How should I clean it, with bleach?

I'm scared that it will take the color out, because, I have a bright pink piece, a green one, a barnacle cluster, and two beige ish pieces

[Francois]

Also, here's a list of fish I am thinking about:

1 Lionfish
1 Type of angel
1 Cowfish OR Toby
1 Dogfish puffer (btw, is it compatible with a cowfish or toby?)
1 Type of butterflyfish
1 Lyretail or fomosa wrasse
1 Eel

Yeah, what's your input, I am a beginner btw!

[gregr]

Hello Francois-
I don't know about cleaning the corals- no experience with those things. I would expect they would probably be ok after you soak them and then wipe them real well paper towels. Use ro water.
As for your fish list- I'll try to be gentle Some of your selections are not appropriate for a 55g tank. Admittedly, I've not kept predators- I've always had reef/community tanks so I'm not 100% positive about all of them. Some though, like the wrasses and butterflies, will be very bad choices. The wrasses get really big quickly and the butterflies just do not do well in captivity except for a very small few. Copperbands come to mind, but even those have a very low survival rate I think. And in a fish-only system it very unlikely they would live more than a few weeks.
I read that tobies stay fairly small and are somewhat hardy- you could probably keep one of those, as long as there were no other tankmates that he could get close enough to munch on.
A snowflake eel might be ok though they can get up to 2 feet long. You'd have to have a very secure tank though (they will try to get out).
One of the pygmy angels would do very well- flame, bi-color, coral beauty, etc. The larger angels get too big for a 55 I think.
Lionfish... never kept one so don't know. They are beautiful.
The Dogface Puffer is recommended for tanks at least 90g.
Read/research before you buy! That is the key to success The Scott Michaels "Marine Fishes" books are very informative. So are the stickies in the various forums. You should start with this one.

[Francois]

Thank you, well, I'll take the butterflies out of my list, I'd rly like to keep a dogfish puffer, but as you said, they need a 90 gallon, would it be ok if I kept it and brought it back to the LFS once it is too big? or is that a bad idea...

And to all other users, I'm still looking to know how to clean those corals...

[leebca]

Clean in hot soapy water. Rinse, rinse, rinse, and then rinse some more. I would also let them stand in used aquarium water (if your aquarium is going and you're making water changes) or let them stand in freshly made up saltwater for a week. Change out that water once during that time. Use an air stone to move the water around them (don't pack them so tight that they don't have good water circulation around them).

Then rinse in Deionized or distilled water. Then should be ready to use!

[Francois]

Ok, thank you, the brand of my fake corals is Coral Impressions. Do you know anything about it? Also, do you know what type of puffer I can put in my tank?

[leebca]

For a 55 gallon aquarium, look for a puffer that doesn't excee 4" at full growth. I'm assuming that is the only fish you will keep in there.

[Francois]

wait, the ONLY fish? rly? If I have a puffer, I can't get any other fish?

[leebca]

You need to read more: Fish Stocking Limit - for FO and FOWLR

The Puffers eat 'lumps of food' and waste 'lumps of waste.' Their pollution factor is high. A 55 gallon tank, will contain about 46 or so gallons of water (after considering it doesn't fill to the top, gravel, and decorations). If the tank is the show size -- tall, that 4" fish would be about its limit. A 6" puffer belongs in a 75. If the 55 gallon is short, with a 'large' footprint, then another fish (or about 3" more of fishes) is possible.