"semi-reef"

[BelleAmour]

Hi! I am very new to the world of salt water, and really want to start one up. I have a question though, that may sound really stupid. Is it possible to do a tank with dead/fake coral and to mix it with some real corals and live rock? I only ask because to do a whole tank in live corals and rocks would just be too expensive. So... is it possible to have a few corals here and there in a tank, as long as the fish I have in there are reef safe and won't peck at them of course. Thanks!

 

[sianeds]

Yes you can certainly put fake corals in a tank with real corals. You can put pretty much any aquarium decorations in a marine tank as long as they are clearly marked that they will tolerate salt water. It is much more corrosive than freshwater. The better quality fake corals are actually pretty expensive and don't look great close up. You may find it cheaper to just buy small coral frags and let them grow, that way in time you will have a beautiful display for a fraction of the price.

 

[BigIan]

and you don`t need to buy all your corals at once, you can save up for them and get them for birthdays ect.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

also if your prepared for a fairly long cycling period you can buy a load of base rock that's pretty cheap and seed it from a small quantity of live rock